Prairie State Wire

Illinois State Board of Elections met April 15.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

PRESENT:

Casandra B. Watson, Chair

Laura K. Donahue, Vice Chair

Cristina D. Cray, Member

Tonya L. Genovese, Member

Catherine S. McCrory, Member

Rick S. Terven, Sr., Member

Jack Vrett, Member

ABSENT:

Jennifer M. Ballard Croft, Member

ALSO PRESENT:

Jeremy Kirk, Assistant Executive Director

Marni M. Malowitz, General Counsel

Amy L. Calvin, Executive Administrative Assistant

The meeting convened at 10:00 a.m. via videoconference with seven Members present. Vice Chair Donahue and Members Cray, Genovese and Terven were present in Springfield and Member McCrory was present in Chicago. Chair Watson and Member Vrett were present via Zoom. Member Ballard Croft was absent and Chair Watson held her proxy.

Chair Watson opened the meeting by leading everyone in the pledge of allegiance.

Vice Chair Donahue moved to approve the minutes of the March 18 meeting as presented. Member Terven seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

Ms. Malowitz presented and reviewed a motion for reconsideration for agenda item 2.a.1.

1) SBE v. Committee on Affirmative Leadership IL Coal Ass., 1091, 24AS008. Ms. Malowitz recommended denial of the motion to reconsider as the committee’s failure to pick up its certified mail assessment letter at the post office is not outside its control or otherwise extraordinary. In addition, the committee would not have prevailed on the merits in an appeal because it does not qualify for an electronic filing defense, as there is no evidence the committee contacted Board staff about its electronic filing problems within three days as required to meet the elements of the defense. Kevin Morphew was present on behalf of the committee and asked the Board to grant the motion. He said the committee did not receive notice of the violation and if it had received it, the committee would have filed an appeal. Mr. Morphew noted that the contributions were entered but the last step to upload the report was not completed. After Board discussion, Vice Chair Donahue moved to adopt the recommendation of the General Counsel to deny the motion for reconsideration. Member Cray seconded the motion, which passed by roll call of 7-1. Member Terven voted in the negative. Member Vrett moved to allow the committee to engage in the settlement offer negotiation process, which was seconded by Chair Watson and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

The Board discussed the procedures for receiving a receipt after a report is electronically filed. Tom Newman, Director of Campaign Disclosure, indicated he would work with the IT department to develop a process which will send the filer an automatic receipt via e-mail after the report is uploaded and filed. Mr. Newman will send an update tomorrow with the implementation date.

Ms. Malowitz presented appeals of campaign disclosure fines where she concurred with the recommendation of the hearing officer to grant to the appeals for agenda items 2.a.2-3.

2) SBE v. Will County Republican Central Committee, 695, 24AS007; and

3) SBE v. Committee to Elect Jay C. Hoffman, 1334, 24AS009. Vice Chair Donahue moved to grant the above noted appeals. Member Cray seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

Ms. Malowitz presented an appeal of campaign disclosure fines where she concurred with the recommendation of the hearing officer to grant the appeal and order the committee to file an amended report for agenda item 2.a.4.

4) SBE v. Citizens for Danijela Sandberg, 36557, 24AS045. Vice Chair Donahue moved to grant the appeal and order the committee to file an amended report to reflect the proper dates of deposit. Member Terven seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

Ms. Malowitz presented appeals of campaign disclosure fines where she concurred with the recommendation of the hearing officer to deny the appeals for agenda items 2.a.5-7.

5) SBE v. Citizens for Kimberly Bowman, 39003, 24JQ157;

6) SBE v. Citizens for Mary L. Cole, 39461, 24AS061; and

7) SBE v. Citizens for Mike Drew, 39962, 24AS089. Vice Chair Donahue moved to deny the above noted appeals, which was seconded by Member Cray and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

Next on the agenda for 2.a.8 was a memo from Mr. Newman regarding adjustment of guidelines for low dollar committees in the settlement offer process. The memo was contained on pages 61- 62 of the packet and Chair Watson asked Mr. Newman to proceed. Mr. Newman reviewed his memo and recommended the Board raise the threshold to at least $5,000. He said that is also the minimum dollar amount in which a committee is required to form and file with the agency. Mr. Newman indicated that $10,000 is the minimum dollar amount in which a committee is required to electronically file and that level could be considered as well. Vice Chair Donahue moved to raise the threshold for low dollar committees to $10,000 effective immediately. Member Terven seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0. Mr. Newman will also post the updated information in the settlement offer section of the agency website.

A list of payments of civil penalty assessments for agenda item 2.a.9 was presented for informational purposes.

Vice Chair Donahue 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 Cray seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0. The meeting recessed at 10:40 a.m. and reconvened at 11:35 a.m. with the same attendance as noted in the initial roll call.

As to agenda item 2.a.10, Berck v. Johnston and Taylor, 25CD001, Vice Chair Donahue moved to adopt the recommendation of the hearing officer and General Counsel to grant all motions to dismiss in their entirety, to deny the complainant’s request for sanctions and to deny the request for leave to amend as futile. Member Cray seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

As to agenda item 2.a.11, Kazmark v. Vote Lisle Twp. Dems, 25CD004, the complaint alleged that the name of the respondent committee did not comply with Rule 100.10(b)(5)(D) because it did not included the offices sought by the candidates. Vice Chair Donahue moved to adopt the recommendation of the hearing officer and General Counsel to find that the complaint was filed on justifiable grounds and that the Board issue an order requiring the committee to amend its D

1 statement of organization to include the name of the office that the candidates are seeking, and that any future violations of Rule 100.10(b)(5)(D) may subject the committee to a penalty not exceeding $5,000 for failure to comply with a board order. Member Genovese seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

As to agenda items 2.a.12-22:

12) Cintron v. Broadview Community Party, 25CD014;

13) Henry v. Citizens for Brian Gaspardo, 25CD015;

14) Henry v. Citizens for Michael R. Milani, 25CD016;

15) Henry v. Citizens for Healy, 25CD017;

16) Henry v. Citizens for Sean Kampas, 25CD018;

17) Henry v. Citizens for Nelson Katsenes, 25CD019;

18) Henry v. Citizens for Carol McGury, 25CD020;

19) Henry v. Keith for Mayor, 25CD021;

20) Henry v. People Over Politics, 25CD022;

21) Henry v. Citizens for Brian Riordan, 25CD023; and

22) Henry v. Citizens for Sean Morrison, 25CD024.

Vice Chair Donahue moved to dismiss the above noted complaints for want of prosecution. Member Genovese seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

As to agenda items 2.a.23-31:

23) Henry v. Keith for Mayor, 25CD025;

24) Henry v. People Over Politics, 25CD026;

25) Henry v. Citizens for Brian Riordan, 25CD027;

26) Henry v. Citizens for Brian Gaspardo, 25CD028;

27) Henry v. Citizens for Michael R. Milani, 25CD029;

28) Henry v. Citizens for Healy, 25CD030;

29) Henry v. Citizens for Sean Kampas, 25CD031;

30) Henry v. Citizens for Carol McGury, 25CD032; and

31) Henry v. Citizens for Nelson Katsenes, 25CD033.

Vice Chair Donahue moved to adopt the recommendation of the hearing officer and General Counsel to find that the allegations for the above noted complaints under Sections 9-9.5(a) and Section 9-10 of the Election Code were not filed on justifiable grounds and that all of the federal complaints be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction as they are outside of the Board's jurisdiction. Member Terven seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

Mr. Kirk began the report of the Executive Director with an update on the April 1, 2025 Consolidated Election. Mr. Kirk said that staff are seeking Board authorization to certify the results of the Fox Waterway Agency and Fox Water Reclamation District elections. The canvass of the elections is not due to the agency until April 22, therefore, staff are requesting authorization to certify the result upon receipt and review of the canvass. Vice Chair Donahue moved to authorize staff to certify those election results, which was seconded by Member Genovese and passed by roll call vote of 8-0. Brent Davis, Director of Election Operations gave a post-election report and said the consolidated election was conducted in 107 of the 108 jurisdictions in the state. The State Board of Elections had support staff available from 6:00 a.m. through 9:00 p.m. and was very quiet with minimal inquiries received. Mr. Davis said today marked the beginning of the canvassing window for the election authorities and the deadline to certify those results is May 2, 2025. He indicated that unofficial reports show typical low voter turnout, which is consistent with past turnout figures for previous consolidated elections. Mr. Kirk presented a precinct reporting memo included on page 64 of the board packet and said all jurisdictions reported their unofficial results by 2:00 a.m. without any issues encountered. The voting system pre-election testing report was included on pages 65-67 and Mr. Kirk said five jurisdictions were tested without errors.

Next on the agenda was the legislative update and a listing of elections related legislation was included on pages 68-92 of the board packet. Mr. Kirk reported that Ms. Matthews, Mr. Pryor and Ms. Goutsalenko were currently in attendance at the Senate appropriation committee hearing.

Mr. Kirk presented the FY26 board meeting schedule and asked the board for a motion to adopt the schedule. Vice Chair Donahue moved to approve the FY26 board meeting schedule as presented. Member Terven seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

The voter registration activity report, grant funding update, fiscal reports and two year plan of staff activity for the months of April and May were presented for informational purposes.

Member Vrett moved to recess to executive session to discuss the minutes of the March 18 executive session meeting and pending litigation pursuant to Sections 2(c)(11) and 2(c)(21) of the Open Meetings Act, 5 ILCS 120. Vice Chair Donahue seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0. The meeting recessed at 11:50 a.m. and reconvened at 11:59 a.m. with the same attendance as noted in the initial roll call.

Vice Chair Donahue moved to approve the March 18 executive session minutes as presented. Member Genovese seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

With there being no further business before the Board, Vice Chair Donahue moved to adjourn until Tuesday, May 20, 2025. Member Cray seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. The meeting ended at 12:00 p.m.

https://www.elections.il.gov/AboutTheBoard/MeetingMinutesAll.aspx