It’s been a busy election season, so maybe you missed last Sunday’s Daily Herald that details Republican political parties and candidates in DuPage, Will and suburban Cook County taking money donations from public taxing bodies. The Daily Herald found no Democrats doing it. In today’s newspaper editorial the Herald rightly concludes that public bodies should not donate money to politicians or partisan groups. Here’s a list of which current Republican DuPage and Will County politicians and party groups took taxpayer money - and from whom - based on the article.
DuPage County
Republican State Senator Carole Pankau, then a State Representative and now running for Comptroller, took donations from
- Glenside Fire Protection District in Glendale Heights and
- Bloomingdale Fire Protection District
Pankau’s spokesperson said, ś[S]he™s not surprised that some [local governments] gave money to her…. They aren™t doing anything wrong.”
Democratic Comptroller Dan Hynes, the newspaper reports, “has never accepted a contribution from a taxing body, according to state records.” Hynes campaign manager Joe Enright said, śSenator Pankau™s response speaks for itself…. She just doesn™t get it.ť Dan Hynes has also been promoting a bi-partisan Government Integrity Initiative - given Pankau’s brazen disregard for propriety and appearances, perhaps Hynes may have to add a “Pankau” amendment to it.
Bloomingdale Township Republican Central Committee took contributions from
- Bloomingdale Park District and
- Bloomingdale Golf Club (village-owned)
Pete Null, chairman of the Bloomingdale Township Democrats said simply, śIt™s unethical.ť
Will County
Republican Will County Sheriff Paul J. Kaupas took donations over the last two years from
- Naperville Park District
Democratic candidate for Sheriff Rich Girot has been critical of the way Kaupas handles money, saying,
“Funding for the Will County Sheriff’s Office has increased over $7 million since the current Sheriff has taken charge. Where has it gone? A decrease in officers, a decrease in equipment, a decrease in training…An increase of Chiefs from 7 to 9 and an increase of Directors from 1 to 2.”
Girot wants to put more officers on the streets and cut patronage positions to save money - I’d guess he wants to cut the Sheriff taking money from the Naperville Park District for political campaigns too.
Wheatland Township Republican Organization grabbed a donation to support their political efforts from
- Naperville Park District
The Wheatland Township Democrats believe the Naperville Park District money should go to parks - not political groups. The Democrats think that’s just commonsense ethics. Apparently the Wheatland Republicans have a different ethical sense of things.
As the Daily Herald says in the article,
“In every local case, the money and in-kind donations went to Republican candidates [or organizations].
State law expressly prohibits the use of tax dollars to influence elections. The statute is less clear on the expenditure of money gleaned through outside revenue streams, though critics argue it™s still an abuse of the taxpayers™ trust.
‘The bottom line is this is not how state government is supposed to work,’ said Cindi Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. ‘There™s something horrific about it.’”
You can help end the horror on November 7th by voting for Democrats who believe DuPage and Will county government funding should work for DuPage and Will residents - not be diverted to Republican political campaigns. If Republicans want publicly financed campaigns, which I support, then they should be honest about it. That doesn’t mean squeezing local government bodies for political contributions - or taking money from a park district that should be spending their money on parks.
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