The Illinois Board of Elections will decide next week whether it should follow a hearing officer's recommendation and reject state Senate President Don Harmon's appeal of a nearly $10 million fine for accepting campaign contributions that exceeded the state's campaign finance limits.
The council at its Tuesday meeting will consider a recommendation from Northbrook attorney Barbara Goodman, who heard arguments Harmon's Lawyer, August 20. and found last week that Harmon's campaign committee “failed to determine by a preponderance of the evidence that the assessment was erroneous or that no actual violation (of the law) occurred.”
At issue is an Illinois election law co-authored by Harmon aimed at limiting the influence of big money in political campaigns, as well as one key provision that was ostensibly written to ensure that less-funded candidates would not suffer from campaign contribution limits. The provision was intended to offset challenges from deep-pocketed rivals who self-finance their campaigns or receive help from wealthy independent spending groups by raising contribution limits for all candidates in the contest.
But lifting the restrictions after a candidate has given himself more than $250,000 in a statewide race or $100,000 in other races quickly became a way for powerful officials, including Harmon, to receive unlimited donations to boost their own electability and build loyalties while being able to distribute money to allies' campaigns.
In Harmon's case, the issue was what constitutes an “election cycle,” and it was more complex because Senate terms are split into two- and four-year terms, unlike terms in the Illinois House of Representatives, which are elected every two years. Harmon argued that the deadline for accepting unlimited campaign contributions extends not only to the next state election, but also to when his own office is actually on the ballot.
Election officials determined that last year the Friends of Don Harmon Foundation in the State Senate funded over $4 million accepted above the contribution limit. The board's actions were prompted Chicago Tribune investigation about the activities of the fundraising committee.
Harmon contributed $100,001 to his January 2023 reelection campaign and said in his appeal that he believes the move will allow him to raise unlimited amounts of money during the November 2024 election cycle. But council officials told him the loophole would only remain open until the March 2024 primary, meaning any campaign cash in excess of the donation limits he received after the primary would not be allowed until the end of the year.
Harmon was not a candidate in the 2024 election but will be on the ballot next year.
Board team in June imposed a fine of $9.8 million. against Harmon's political foundation, but he appealed and sought to have the case thrown out, and his committee's lawyer, Democratic veteran Michael Kasper, made his case to a judge on Aug. 20.
But Goodman said that “based on the plain language” of the statute, as well as Harmon's prior actions under the self-funding statute, “the evidence establishes that the committee did exceed contribution limits and the assessment of civil penalties was appropriate.” She recommended that the board deny Harmon's appeal and declare that “the assessment of penalties remains in effect.”
In her 15-page recommendation, Goodman noted that in four previous cases when eliminating the contribution cap, Harmon's political committee followed what election officials considered “election cycles.”
“However, for the first time, the committee either changed its interpretation of the deadline for repealing contribution limits or simply chose to ignore them,” Goodman wrote. When she asked Kasper about the change, she said he “advised that previous interpretations did not matter.”
“The bylaws have not changed. The conduct of the candidate and the committee inexplicably changed when he failed to file a notice of self-funding after the March 19, 2024 election, and no reasonable excuse was given for his failure to do so,” she wrote.
Kasper's appeal also argued that the fine imposed on the board members was “unconstitutional.” But questions of constitutionality cannot be considered by the election commission, although they could be the basis for an appeal to the court if the fine is upheld.
Political consultant Tom Bowen of Harmon's political operation said, “We are confident in our legal interpretation of this issue and look forward to presenting our arguments in the next phase of this process.”
The State Board of Elections has eight members: four Republicans and four Democrats. The board could either vote to accept the judge's recommendation or support Harmon's appeal. A split vote, which is likely given the composition of the board, would allow the fine to stand, but Harmon could appeal the decision in district court.
The libertarian Liberty Justice Center, which often speaks on behalf of Republicans, tried to intervene in the case, but Goodman rejected the attempt.
Ryan Morrison, the center's senior counsel, said he was “pleased” that Goodman “correctly interpreted the law, found that Sen. Harmon violated it, and concluded that the charges and fines against him should stand.”
Morrison said that if the board does not accept Goodman's recommendation or there is a deadlock in a tie vote, it will ask to be allowed to intervene “to ensure that campaign finance laws in Illinois are applied correctly and consistently.”
The $9.8 million in fines proposed by board staff includes a payment to the state general fund equal to the more than $4 million that election officials say Harmon collected over the contribution limit, plus a fine of nearly $5.8 million based on 150% of that same amount.
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