McHenry County Blog

The Federal Election Commission announced Wednesday a finding (MUR 5568) that “the Empower Illinois Media Fund (EIMF) violated the Federal Election Campaign by failing to register with the FEC as a political committee and file disclosure reports.”

The committee supported Alan Keyes in his U.S. Senatorial campaign against Barack Obama.

According the decision’s summary, “The FEC determined that EIMF’s fundraising communications made clear to potential donors that any funds received would be used to influence the 2004 Senate race in Illinois by conducting a media campaign targeting Barack Obama. EIMF spent about $83,000 during the 2004 election cycle, with more than $75,000 devoted to production and placement of radio and television ads opposing Obama’s candidacy.

“The Federal Election Campaign Act states that an organization that makes expenditures, or receives contributions,in excess of $1,000 must register with the Commission as a political committee and file regular financial disclosure reports. The Act prohibits political committees from receiving contributions from corporations or labor organizations and limits contributions from individuals to no more than $5,000 per year.

"EIMF accepted approximately $70,000 in contributions in amounts exceeding $5,000 per individual. EIMF signed a conciliation agreement and agreed to pay a civil penalty of $3,000.”

The FEC reports the respondents in the case were

1. Empower Illinois
2. Empower Illinois Media Fund
3. Jeffrey D. Davis
4. Alan L. Keyes
5. Keyes 2004, Inc. and Eugene T. Carter in his official capacity as treasurer
6. Jack Roeser

Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington was the complainant.

I couldn’t find anything else on the FEC web site, but Politico had this on the 527 group.

Noted in the August 17th article is the following:

”Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, MoveOn.org and the League of Conservation Voters late last year agreed to pay nearly $630,000 to settle charges they skirted campaign finance rules during the 2004 elections.”

There was this additional information. It identified Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics as

"a left-leaning watchdog group, (which) complained to the FEC that Empower Illinois was skirting campaign finance rules, partly by coordinating its attacks with the Keyes campaign through Davis and Jack Roeser, a wealthy donor.

”Roeser, an Illinois high-tech business owner who pledged to raise $1 million for Keyes' campaign, contributed $40,000 to Empower Illinois and a related group and also met with Keyes to discuss his campaign.

“But the FEC said he wasn’t complicit in Empower Illinois violations.”

Labels: 527, Alan Keyes, FEC, Federal Elections Commission, Jack Roeser, Jeff Davis

McHenry County Blog had the story about the $21,000 fine imposed on Jim Oberweis by the Federal Election Commission on January 24h.

I went to the source and found out from Oberweis himself. He told me that his decision was made from a cost-benefit point of view. It was cheaper to pay the proposed fine than the lawyers.

The Chicago Tribune's Rich Pearson ran the story July 27th, more than six months after McHenry County Blog.

Here’s what the FEC said about Oberweis yesterday:

Oberweis Dairy, Inc. (Oberweis Dairy) is a family-owned business serving Illinois, Indiana and Missouri. James D. Oberweis, the Chairman of Oberweis Dairy, was a Senate candidate in Illinois in 2004. According to the complaint, Oberweis Dairy made, and Oberweis for U.S. Senate 2004 (the Committee) received, prohibited corporate in-kind contributions. The complaint alleged Oberweis Dairy ran coordinated television advertisements featuring James D. Oberweis that were targeted to Illinois voters within 120 days of the Illinois Primary election held on March 16, 2004. The complaint also alleged the Committee utilized Oberweis Dairy employees and facilities to arrange fundraising events and organize a “meet and greet” sweepstakes.

In the summer of 2003, Oberweis Dairy began its first television advertisement campaign, broadcasting the “Sunny Side Up” ad featuring James Oberweis on Chicago area local and cable television shows from December 2003 to January 2004. Oberweis Dairy spent approximately $6,224 on production costs for the ad and an additional $37,630 for airtime costs.

The Commission found reason to believe respondents violated the Act because the “Sunny Side Up” ad met the requirements of the Commission’s coordinated communication regulation and therefore constituted an in-kind contribution from Oberweis Dairy to Oberweis for U.S. Senate 2004. Respondents contended they acted in good faith and on the advice of counsel and agreed to pay a $21,000 civil penalty to avoid protracted litigation.

FEC Commissioner Hans A. von Spakovsky disagreed with the decision and defended Oberweis in an eight-page memo.

He argued that the Oberweis decision is based on a misreading of a FEC advisory opinion says that “a candidate’s appearance in a communication would be sufficient to conclude that the candidate was materially involved in decisions regarding the communication. The dissenter argues that ”content control” must be proven as well as the candidate’s appearance in an ad. He also points out that Oberweis Dairy consulted “an attorney at a well-known law firm” who is “now an adjunct profession at a very well- respected law school” before cutting the ad.

McHenry County Blog observed that this summer’s Oberweis Dairy television ads, while containing Jim Oberweis, are much less blatant than previous ones.

There was also this about State Senator Chris Lauzen:

In MUR 5722, the Commission found no reason to believe Illinois State Senator Chris Lauzen violated the Act’s registration and reporting requirements for Federal candidates. The Commission also dismissed with admonishments allegations against Mr. Lauzen and his State campaign committee regarding the use of nonfederal funds to conduct polling activities to determine whether to run for U.S. Congress.

Both Lauzen and Oberweis are planning to run for Congress if U.S. Representative Denny Hastert decides to retire.

= = = = =
Jim Oberweis is seen dipping up ice cream last summer on Paul Caprio's Family PAC cruise. Want to bet that he'll be on board doing the same thing on the night of August 9th?

For more McHenry County Blog, click here.

Labels: Chris Lauzen, Denny Hastert, FEC, Hans A von Spakovsky, Jim Oberweis

The Illinois Republican Party failed to pin the tail on three donkeys.

An ex post facto rule seems to have saved the two federal legislators.

U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate Barack Obama and U.S. Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., are off the Federal Elections Commission hook with which Illinois Republicans tried to catch them for primary endorsements of then-State Treasurer candidate Alex Giannoulias in radio ads and billboards.

The GOP charged that the use of non-federal funds for the radio ads and a billboard in which Jackson endorsed Giannoulias “constituted electioneering communications and coordinated communications that were financed with non-Federal funds.”

According to its email,

The Commission concluded that

• the radio advertisement did not qualify as an electioneering communication and
• was not a coordinated communication with respect to Senator Obama.

I certainly do not know what “electioneering communication” means in FEC-speak, but it seems to me that all political radio ads are “electioneering communications.”

And, so are political billboards.

Perhaps someone more conversant with Federal rules than I can enlighten us.

The FEC

exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the coordination allegation against Congressman Jackson on the grounds that a regulation enacted four months after the airing of the radio advertisement exempts the complained-of activity from the coordination regulations.

Let’s see.

It was illegal for Jesse Jackson, Jr., to do what he did when he did it, but, if he had done it four months later, it would have been legal.

Case dismissed.

Oh, now I understand.

John Tsarpalas filed the complaint.

Nice try, John.

Labels: Alex Giannouilias, Barack Obama, FEC, Illinois Repubilcan Party, Jesse Jackson Jr., John Tsarpalas, k Obama

In a decision that should make political bloggers happy, the Federal Elections Commission denied a request for action for “failure to register and report” from Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna against

· Tenth District Blog, www.illinois10.blogspot.com

· The Illinois – 10 General Election Fund, a project of ActBlue, Matthew DeBergalis, treasurer and

· The Committee to Elect Zane Smith, Barry J. Moltz, treasurer.

Here’s what the FEC press release said (more FEC information here):

The complainant alleged that the Tenth District Blog expressly advocated the defeat of Congressman Mark Kirk (IL/10), solicited contributions for the campaigns of potential Democratic opponents, and failed to include a proper disclaimer on these communications.

The Tenth District Blog was established by an anonymous person using Google’s E-blogger software, which is offered free of charge. Both ActBlue and the Smith Committee denied any knowledge or contact with the Blog and stated that they had not received contributions from the Blog or through ActBlue. Based on available information, the Blog did not appear to have made expenditures or received any contributions that would trigger political committee status. The Commission found no reason to believe any of the respondents violated the Act.

Labels: 10th Congressional District, Blog, FEC, Political blog

Both times when dairy and investment house owner Jim Oberweis ran for the United States Senate opponents charged him with using Oberweis Dairy ads to advance his candidacies.

The first, filed by Steven A. Leahy, Chief Counsel for the Republican Assembly of Illinois, complained of a “corporate contribution,” according to a Federal Election Commission press release.

It was dismissed August 27, 2002.

During his 2004 campaign Springfield’s Sangamon County Democratic Party Chairman Tim Timoney filed another complaint.

FEC Public Information Officer Bob Biersack told McHenry County Blog, “We’re prohibited from discussing them.”

He was allowed to say,

We did in fact get a complaint and it has not been closed.

I called Timoney to ask him the most recent information he had.

His response:

I don’t have any information and the Federal Election Commission evidently does not provide an objector with the outcome of the investigation or complaint.

He did add that about once a year someone calls him to ask if he has heard anything.

No complaints were made to the FEC for the gubernatorial campaign because the Feds have no jurisdiction over state campaigns.

There are recent media reports that Oberweis may run for Congress, if House Speaker Denny Hastert decides to step down.

= = = = =
Photo of Jim Oberweis is on Paul Capiro's Family PAC cruise this summer. He is serving then state senate candidate Eric Wallace and Judge Don Weber's campaign manager Michael Galbreth.

Labels: Family PAC, FEC, Federal Elections Commission, Jim Oberweis, Oberweis Dairy, Paul Caprio, Sangamon County Democratic Party, Steven Leahy, Tim Timoney