Tuesday, December 19, 2006

3 WISEMEN-HYNES SENATE CAMPAIGN FINED ELECTION LAW VIOLATIONS

According to the FEC, the Hynes committee violated provisions of a law that allows increased donations from individuals to candidates when there also is a wealthy candidate in the race who exceeds a certain dollar threshold for campaign spending. During the primary, the usual applicable limit of $2,000 per individual donation to Hynes became $12,000 per individual because of spending by millionaire businessman Blair Hull, who poured $29 million of his own money in the race. But the law bars receipt of such donations once the wealthy candidate has lost. But the Hynes committee continued to take in donations exceeding $2,000 -- to the tune of about $110,000 -- after Hull lost the March 16, 2004 primary. "In the course of its normal review of reports, the FEC discovered that Hynes for Senate continued to solicit and accept contributions up to the increased limits after March 16 to pay debts incurred during the primary election campaign," according to an agency statement. The FEC said the committee also failed to report almost $410,000 in debts and obligations on its original April 2004 quarterly report. The Hynes committee had argued that the violation was due to an "inadvertent administrative error."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/illinois/chi-ap-il-hynes-penalty,1,2596583.story?coll=chi-newsap_il-hed