Illinois State Board of Elections met Feb. 22.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
PRESENT: Ian K. Linnabary, Chair
Casandra B. Watson, Vice Chair
William J. Cadigan, Member
Laura K. Donahue, Member
Tonya L. Genovese, Member
Catherine S. McCrory, Member
William M. McGuffage, Member
Rick S. Terven, Sr., Member
ALSO PRESENT: Bernadette M. Matthews, Executive Director
Jeremy Kirk, Assistant Executive Director
Marni M. Malowitz, General Counsel
Amy L. Calvin, Board Liaison
The meeting convened at 9:30 a.m. via videoconference with all Members present. Chair Linnabary and Members Cadigan, McCrory and Terven were present in the Chicago office, Members Donahue and Genovese were present in the Springfield office and Vice Chair Watson and Member McGuffage were present via Zoom.
Chair Linnabary opened the meeting by leading everyone in the pledge of allegiance.
Member Cadigan moved to recess to executive session to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, performance, or dismissal of specific employees and pending litigation pursuant to Sections 2(c)(1) and 2(c)(11) of the Open Meetings Act, 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1), 2(c)(11). Member Terven seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0. The meeting recessed at 9:31 a.m. and reconvened at 11:45 a.m. with the same attendance as noted in the initial roll call.
Member Terven moved to approve the minutes from the January 18 meeting as presented. Member Cadigan seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Malowitz presented a motion for reconsideration for agenda item 3.a.1) SBE v. Friends to Elect Patty Gustin, 21909, 22AJ022 and recommended denial of the motion. Member Cadigan moved to deny the motion for reconsideration, which was seconded by Member Donahue and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Malowitz presented and reviewed the following settlement offers for agenda items 3.a.2-3.
3) SBE v. Citizens to Elect Kevin Paul, 32739, 22NF021. Ms. Malowitz recommended denial of the offer because it did not comport with the Board’s settlement guidelines. Mr. Paul was present and offered a revised settlement of $900. Member Cadigan moved to accept the revised settlement offer of $900, which was seconded by Member McCrory and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
2) SBE v. Friends of Jimmie Watson, 21738, 22JQ041. Ms. Malowitz recommended that the previous board order be modified to settle all outstanding fines for the $500 offered. Member McCrory moved to accept the modification of the settlement offer of $500, which was seconded by Member Donahue and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Malowitz presented an appeal of campaign disclosure fines where she concurred with the hearing officer recommendation to grant the appeal for agenda item 3.a.
4) SBE v. Committee to Re-Elect Roy Mosley, Jr., 37332, 22MQ157. Member Cadigan moved to grant the appeal, which was seconded by Member McCrory and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Malowitz presented the following appeals of campaign disclosure fines where she concurred with the hearing officer recommendation to deny the appeals for agenda items 3.a.5-9:
5) SBE v. Friends of Charles Griffin for Mayor, 22696, 22JQ045;
6) SBE v. Chicago Latino Public Affairs Committee, 22755, 22AJ092;
7) SBE v. Friends of Curtis Tarver II, 34112, 21SQ113, 22DQ075, 22AD035;
8) SBE v. Friends of Jamie Healy, 35247, 22JQ105; and
9) SBE v. Republican Delgado for Clerk, 37472, 22JQ188.
Member Cadigan moved to deny the above noted appeals, which was seconded by Member McCrory and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Malowitz presented and reviewed a complaint following public hearing for agenda item 3.a.
10) Mullen v. Rodriguez, 22CD029. She concurred with the recommendation of the hearing officer, including acceptance of the settlement agreement reached by the parties. Michael Dorf was present on behalf of the respondent and agreed with the recommendation. Member Cadigan moved to adopt the recommendation of the General Counsel and hearing officer and accept the settlement agreement. Member McCrory seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
A listing of payment of civil penalty assessments was presented for informational purposes.
Ms. Malowitz presented the complaints following closed preliminary hearing for agenda items 3.a.13-16 and noted that they could be dismissed in open session since the complainant failed to appear:
13) Henry v. Voters for Sean M. Morrison, 22CD033;
14) Henry v. Coalition to Cut Taxes, 22CD034;
15) Henry v. Coalition to Stop the Proposed Tax Hike Amendment, 22CD035; and
16) Henry v. Keith for Mayor, 22CD041.
John Fogarty was present on behalf of the respondents in 3.a.13-15 and agreed with the dismissal of the complaints. Member Cadigan moved to dismiss the above noted complaints for want of prosecution, which was seconded by Member McCrory and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Member McGuffage moved to recess to executive session to consider complaints following closed preliminary hearing pursuant to Section 9-21 of the Election Code, 10 ILCS 5/9-21, and Section 2(c)(4) of the Open Meetings Act, 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(4)). Member Cadigan seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0. The meeting recessed at 12:15 p.m. and reconvened at 1:25 p.m. with the same attendance as noted in the initial roll call.
Member Cadigan moved to approve the executive session minutes from the January 18 meeting, which was seconded by Member McCrory and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
As to agenda item 3.a.12) Hardin v. People Who Play by the Rules PAC, 22CD032, Member Cadigan moved to adopt the recommendation of the hearing officer, as modified by the General Counsel and the matter proceed to a public hearing. Member McCrory seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
As to agenda item 3.a.17) Henry v. People Over Politics, 22CD042, Member Cadigan moved to find that the complaint was not filed on justifiable grounds and the matter be dismissed. Member Terven seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
As to agenda item 3.a.18) Leoni v. Be Lisle Party, 23CD002, Member Cadigan moved to adopt the recommendation of the hearing officer and General Counsel to find the allegation under Section 9- 2(d) of the Election Code for running more than one PAC was filed on justifiable grounds. The remaining allegations were not filed on justifiable grounds and no public hearing is needed at this time because the Board has no ability to fine the committee. In addition, the committee is ordered to comply with and not violate Section 9-2 for the next year, and if they do, they will be subject to a $5,000 fine for violating a board order. Member Terven seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Next on the agenda was the report of the Executive Director and Ms. Matthews began with an update on the 2023 Consolidated Elections. She noted that a limited number of election jurisdictions were holding a Consolidated Primary Election on February 28, with the City of Chicago having the largest election. Staff in both offices will be available from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. to man the phones and respond to inquires regarding the election. Ms. Matthews indicated that a full report will be presented to the Board at the March meeting.
A voting systems pre-election testing update was presented for informational purposes and Ms. Matthews noted that Lake County was selected for testing prior to the April 4 Consolidated Election.
Ms. Matthews gave a legislative update and informed the Board that most initiatives on the legislative agenda secured sponsorship and have been introduced. The audit cleanup items related to BEREP and Raffles Act were introduced by Senator Sally Turner as SB 144 and 145 and the advisory public question language was introduced by Representative Marcus Evans, Jr. as HB 2225. Following approval from the legislative sub-committee, staff redrafted language for the criminal penalty legislation. That language is currently being reviewed by the Legislative Reference Bureau and will be drafted as an amendment, since the deadline for new proposals was February 3. A listing of elections related legislation was included on pages 108-112 of the board packet for informational purposes. Ms. Matthews noted that staff is tracking those bills and responding to requests from staffers and General Assembly members. In addition, a House Budget Hearing is scheduled for March 8 and the Senate Budget Hearing is scheduled for April 19. Ms. Matthews indicated she would keep the Board updated with the outcome of those hearings.
Board discussion was had regarding the utilization of private grant funding by the election authorities and the sources of that funding.
Dustin Schultz reported on the status of the IVRS rewrite project and said progress continues with Gartner. They are scheduled to present the results of the market scan, which is being conducted by Gartner to get insight into the commercial off the shelf systems that may be available, as well as modular type of systems. Mr. Schultz indicated that in the coming weeks staff will conduct Future State Vision workshops with Gartner on a business and technical level, which will determine the requirements for the Request for Purchase to define the functionality and future capabilities of the system.
The voter registration activity report, grant funding update, fiscal status reports and two year plan of staff activity for the months of February and March were all presented for informational purposes.
Member McCrory moved to recess to executive session to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, performance, or dismissal of specific employees and pending litigation pursuant to Sections 2(c)(1) and 2(c)(11) of the Open Meetings Act, 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1), 2(c)(11). Member Donahue seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0. The meeting recessed at 2:00 p.m. and reconvened at 3:15 p.m. with seven Members present. Member Cadigan left the meeting at 3:05 p.m. and Chair Linnabary held his proxy.
Member McCrory moved to appoint John Oldfield to the position of Director of Voting and Registration Systems for a two year term. Vice Chair Watson seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
With there being no further business before the Board, Member Donahue moved to adjourn until Tuesday, March 21, 2023. Vice Chair Watson seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. The meeting ended at 3:16 p.m.
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