Sunday, July 09, 2006
Former Lee Daniels Staffer Tells All About McHenry County Political Work on State Time
On May 23, 2003, I wrote the following for Illinois Leader. Because it relates to whay is happening now to Lee Daniels' top assistant Mike Tristano, I am running it here with very few alterations:
Lee Daniels may have kept two-term incumbent Ann Hughes (R-Woodstock) in office by heavily intervening in the 1996 primary election, but primary loser Steven Robert Verr (R-McHenry) may have the last laugh.
Verr ally Gerry Walsh of Crystal Lake took offense at an endorsement mailing from a fake group called The Taxpayers League. It arrived right after an endorsement from Jim Tobin’s well-know National Taxpayers United of Illinois endorsed.
Walsh filed a complaint with the State Board of Elections. Eventually, the House Republican Campaign Committee “’fessed up” to having financed the mailing for the “paper” group, but the State Board of Elections let The Taxpayers League off the hook.
Although not by name, The Taxpayers League is referenced in the Plea Agreement signed by former Lee Daniels mail house owner Roger Stanley. The shame group’s president, Carl Kramp, went on to be appointed to the Tollway Board in October, 1999. He was re-appointed in 2001.
And, Stanley Steward, the group’s attorney, has pleaded guilty of funneling bribes to various political campaigns on behalf of Crystal Lake Republican Donald Udstuen. Both Stewart and Udstuen have been sentenced.
Inside the 1996 Hughes Primary Campaign
I obtained numerous documents from the State Board of Elections concerning Walsh’s complaint. Among them was an unsigned memo outlining what Daniels did on Ann Hughes’ behalf. The memo’s handwritten heading says, “ATTN: BOARD MEMBERS.”
For the rest of the story, click here.
Lee Daniels may have kept two-term incumbent Ann Hughes (R-Woodstock) in office by heavily intervening in the 1996 primary election, but primary loser Steven Robert Verr (R-McHenry) may have the last laugh.
Verr ally Gerry Walsh of Crystal Lake took offense at an endorsement mailing from a fake group called The Taxpayers League. It arrived right after an endorsement from Jim Tobin’s well-know National Taxpayers United of Illinois endorsed.
Walsh filed a complaint with the State Board of Elections. Eventually, the House Republican Campaign Committee “’fessed up” to having financed the mailing for the “paper” group, but the State Board of Elections let The Taxpayers League off the hook.
Although not by name, The Taxpayers League is referenced in the Plea Agreement signed by former Lee Daniels mail house owner Roger Stanley. The shame group’s president, Carl Kramp, went on to be appointed to the Tollway Board in October, 1999. He was re-appointed in 2001.
And, Stanley Steward, the group’s attorney, has pleaded guilty of funneling bribes to various political campaigns on behalf of Crystal Lake Republican Donald Udstuen. Both Stewart and Udstuen have been sentenced.
Inside the 1996 Hughes Primary Campaign
I obtained numerous documents from the State Board of Elections concerning Walsh’s complaint. Among them was an unsigned memo outlining what Daniels did on Ann Hughes’ behalf. The memo’s handwritten heading says, “ATTN: BOARD MEMBERS.”
For the rest of the story, click here.
