Illinois State Board of Elections met May 16.
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 10:30 a.m. via videoconference with all Members present. Chair Linnabary and Members Cadigan, Donahue, Genovese, McCrory and Terven were present in the Springfield office, Member McGuffage was present in the Chicago office and Vice Chair Watson was present via Zoom.
Chair Linnabary opened the meeting by leading everyone in the pledge of allegiance.
Member Terven moved to approve the minutes from the April 18 meeting as presented. Member McCrory seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Malowitz informed the Board that the attorney for agenda item 2.a.1 was running late due to a Supreme Court argument and the matter could be considered later on the agenda.
Agenda item 2.a.9) SBE v. Friends of Azam Nizamuddin for State, 37260, 22JQ074 will be placed on the June meeting agenda.
Ms. Malowitz presented the appeals of campaign disclosure fines where she concurred with the hearing officer recommendation to deny the appeals for agenda item
2.a.2-8 & 10: 2) SBE v. Teamsters Local 916 D.R.I.V.E., 11420, 22SQ018;
3) SBE v. Friends of Elgie Sims, 22210, 22SQ033;
4) SBE v. Wine and Spirits Distributors of Illinois PAC, 23689, 22DQ047, 22AM020, 22AJ027;
5) SBE v. Ballot Access Illinois, 25933, 22SQ052;
6) SBE v. Citizens for Steger First, 32732, 23SQ067;
7) SBE v. People for Zulkey, 34258, 22SQ074;
8) SBE v. Friends of Gabrielle Torina, 36221, 22SQ111; and
10) SBE v. Citizens for Jennifer Alber Blakely, 37421, 22SQ166.
Member Cadigan moved to deny the above noted appeals, which was seconded by Member Donahue and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Malowitz presented a listing of civil penalty assessments necessitating a final board order for agenda item 2.a.11. Member Cadigan moved to assess the civil penalties against the committees listed on pages 74-80 of the board packet. Member Donahue seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Malowitz presented results of the new campaign disclosure fine calculations and said a memo from Tom Newman, Director of Campaign Disclosure, was included on pages 81-94 of the board packet. As a result of the new campaign disclosure fine structure, some smaller committees are being assessed very tiny fines, however, fines for those committees with A-1 violations have basically tripled. Ms. Malowitz added that when the legislature modified the statute, they removed penalties for separate types of Election Code Section 9-10 violations and placed all of them in Section 9-10(g), essentially grouping all types of fines as one. 10 ILCS 5/9-10. Ms. Malowitz opined that one of Mr. Newman’s suggested alterations to the new fine structure, allowing percentage reductions for A-1 violations, may be contrary to statutory construction to allow fine reductions only for A-1 violations and not for the other types of Section 9-10 reports. She indicated that Mr. Newman’s report was included for the Board’s information and for discussion given the circumstances of the increased fine amounts under the new fine structure. Board discussion ensued regarding the history of the fine structure, the impact of the new calculations and that agency staff was not consulted prior to enactment of the legislation. Board members generally indicated they did not want to make changes to the fine structure at this time.
The Board returned to agenda item 2.a.1) SBE v. Friends of Jawaharial Omarr Williams, 35462, 20MA079. Ms. Malowitz reviewed the appeal and concurred with the hearing officer recommendation to grant the appeal in part and deny the appeal in part. Michael Kasper was present on behalf of the committee and discussed an in-kind contribution that was received by the committee, and whether or not that was accurately and timely reported. He said there was a typo relating to the contribution date on the hearing officer report and produced an e-mail showing the original contribution date from the donor. After Board discussion, Member Cadigan moved to remand the matter back to the hearing officer for consideration of the in-kind contribution e-mail referenced by Respondent’s counsel. Member McCrory seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
A listing of payment of civil penalty assessments, random audit selection for 2023 and settlement offer guidelines were presented for informational purposes.
Member Cadigan 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 McCrory seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0. The meeting recessed at 11:05 a.m. and reconvened at 11:50 a.m. with the same attendance as noted in the initial roll call.
Member Cadigan moved to adopt the recommendation of the hearing officer as supplemented by the General Counsel for agenda items 2.a.16-18:
16) SBE v. Neighbors for Marc Kaplan, 23CD010;
17) SBE v. People to Elect Felix L. Rivera, 23CD016;
18) SBE v. Citizens to Elect Byron Stanley, 23CD017.
Member Donahue seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
As to agenda item 2.a.19) Hanns v. Neighbors for Brian Comer, 23CD024, Member Cadigan moved to adopt the recommendation of the hearing officer and General Counsel. Member McCrory seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Matthews began her report with a legislative update which was included on pages 100-107 of the board packet. After last month’s Board Meeting, Ms. Matthews along with Chief Fiscal Officer Bolinger attended the Senate Appropriations hearing, which went well. Ms. Matthews said they did not ask any direct questions and staff will be tracking the bills until session is adjourned.
Ms. Matthews also discussed the omnibus bill and indicated that historically, the draft language is received days if not hours before the bill is fully moving. Staff will be available to provide their expertise once the bill is received and Ms. Matthews will keep the Board informed of any developments.
Ms. Matthews presented the required six month review of executive session minutes. She and Ms. Malowitz reviewed the minutes for the period of September 21,2022 thru March 21, 2023 and concluded that the necessity of confidentiality does not exist to such minutes, with the exceptions as noted in the memo on page 108 of the Board packet. Member Cadigan moved to accept the recommendation of the General Counsel and remove the need for confidentiality from the minutes as set forth on page 108 of the board packet. Member Donahue seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Matthews presented the following reports for informational purpose for agenda items 2.c-h:
c. Results of the 2023 Consolidated Election for Fox Waterway Agency and Fox Water Reclamation District;
d. Voter registration activity;
e. NASED Winter Conference;
f. Grant funding update;
g. FY23 fiscal status report; and
h. Two year plan of staff activity for the months of May & June.
Ms. Matthews and Mr. Kirk responded to questions from the Board regarding the NASED Winter Conference and grant funding update.
Member Terven 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 McCrory seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0. The meeting recessed at 12:10 p.m. and reconvened at 12:11 p.m. with the same attendance as noted in the initial roll call.
Chair Linnabary noted that the last order of business was the election of a new Chair and opened the floor for nominations. Member Donahue nominated Member Cadigan as the new Chair for the period of May 17, 2023 – June 30, 2023 and with no objections, nominations were ceased. The motion passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
With there being no further business before the Board, Member Donahue moved to adjourn until Wednesday, June 21, 2023. Member McCrory seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. The meeting ended at 12.30 p.m.
https://www.elections.il.gov/AboutTheBoard/MeetingMinutesAll.aspx
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