Aug. 28--The Federal Election Commission on Thursday asked Sen. Mark Kirk's campaign about contributions from mega-donors Sam Zell, a Chicago investor, and Bernard Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot, and 11 others because their donations may have exceeded the legal limits.
The FEC wants answers from Kirk's campaign by Oct. 1. Its request for information was triggered by his campaign report for April to June 2015.
Kevin Artl, a spokesman for Kirk's campaign, said Friday that the campaign knew about the issues and was taking action. "Our internal controls identified these concerns in advance of the FEC letter, and we are proactively addressing," he said.
In June, Zell gave Kirk $2,700 for the 2016 primary and $2,700 for the 2016 general election, reports show. Those are the maximum sums allowed.
But the FEC took notice because Zell already had given to Kirk's primary with a $2,500 donation in 2011, reports show.
Marcus, from Atlanta, this year gave Kirk $2,700 for the general election and a total of $3,950 for the primary, which is $1,250 more than allowed, reports show.
Marcus is a heavy hitter for Republicans and gave $1 million this year to a super political action committee supporting former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and $500,000 to another supporting Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Both are seeking the GOP nomination for the presidency.
The FEC also had questions for Kirk about contributions from three political action committees.
He had nearly $3.3 million in his war chest June 30, surpassing two Democratic challengers. U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth had $2.2 million and Andrea Zopp about $600,000 then.
kskiba@tribpub.com
