According to the Illinois State Board of Elections (ISBE), candidates running for office who don’t plan to raise $5,000 or more to fund their campaign need not file the traditional campaign disclosures. Those disclosures typically include a, “Statement of Organization,” naming officers of the campaign committee and the financial institution to be used for campaign donations and expenses.
Further, quarterly reports must be filed detailing all financial transactions made by the committee and everything from campaign websites, to mailers, to signs, etc., must identify the name of the committee that paid for such marketing.
Leah Collister-Lazzari has filed no campaign disclosure documentation with the ISBE. Therefore, we can assume she does not anticipate obtaining campaign donations totaling more than $5,000. However, once she deposits more than that amount, she will have to report and file all required ISBE documentation and follow required financial reporting guidelines.
The concern we have is many campaign collateral fulfillment houses are typically generous when it comes to “floating” committees for a couple of months before payment is due for their services (even after the election). And who’s to say when the $5,000 threshold is actually reached if donation checks sit in a desk drawer for a few weeks before they are deposited.
Barry Altshuler, on the other hand, so far has filled out the necessary ISBE forms for campaign disclosure (D-1 found here), with the exception of one glaring omission.
As seen below, Barry failed to designate who the Treasurer of his campaign committee is as required by the ISBE:
So, are we suggesting these two candidates and incumbent District 220 Board of Education members are dishonest? No.
Are we suggesting voters think twice before handing a check to these candidates (let alone voting for them)? You decide.
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