Prairie State Wire

Illinois State Board of Elections met May 20.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

PRESENT: Casandra B. Watson, Chair

Laura K. Donahue, Vice Chair

Jennifer M. Ballard Croft, Member

Cristina D. Cray, Member

Rick S. Terven, Sr., Member

Jack Vrett, Member

ABSENT: Tonya L. Genovese, Member

Catherine S. McCrory, Member

ALSO PRESENT: Bernadette M. Matthews, Executive Director

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 six Members present. Vice Chair Donahue and Members Cray and Terven were present in Springfield. Members Ballard Croft and Vrett were present in Chicago and Chair Watson was present via Zoom. Members Genovese and McCrory were absent, and Member Terven and Vice Chair Donahue held their proxies respectively.

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

Member Terven moved to approve the minutes of the April 15 meeting as presented. Member Cray seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 7-0. Member Ballard Croft abstained from the vote.

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

1) Vote Lisle Twp Dems, 39977, 25CD004. Ms. Malowitz said the Board ruled on this case at its last meeting and ordered the committee to amend its D-1 statement or organization to change its name to include the offices sought by the candidates supported by the committee. Ms. Malowitz recommended denial of the motion as the committee has not provided a sufficient basis to grant the motion. Albert Sacks was present on behalf of the committee and offered his comments in support of the motion. He said it is impractical to change the D-1 to include all of the names of the candidates on the slate in the committee name and would require a new bank account, EIN, etc. for each update. Ms. Malowitz indicated that some rule amendments are being prepared that may impact the issues in this case and anticipates Board consideration this summer. After Board discussion, Member Cray moved to place the matter on the August or September meeting agenda. Member Ballard Croft seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

Ms. Malowitz presented and reviewed the settlement offers for agenda items 2.a.2-6.

2) SBE v. Committee on Affirmative Leadership IL Coal Assn., 1091, 24AS008. Ms. Malowitz noted that at its last meeting, the Board denied the committee’s motion for reconsideration but expressed an interest in entering into a settlement for the outstanding fines. She recommended denial of the offer as the factors in settlement guidelines weigh against acceptance of the offer. The committee is not low dollar and the offer falls below 50% of the fine amount. Ms. Malowitz said that the Board can consider the committee’s high receipt ratio and the fact that the violations did not occur within the sixty days before the election in order to accept a settlement offer. Kevin Morphew was present on behalf of the committee and said the committee did not receive the initial notice of the violation. When the committee received the final notice, he contacted agency staff immediately and explained the circumstances regarding the electronic filing issues. Mr. Morphew indicated that a good faith effort was made throughout the process and that the excessive fine was not appropriate in this case. Member Terven moved to accept the settlement offer as presented, which was seconded by Member Vrett and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

3) SBE v. 36th Ward Dems, 36448, 23AD027. Ms. Malowitz recommended denial of the offer as the factors in the settlement guidelines weigh against acceptance of the offer. However, she noted that the Board has the discretion to weigh settlement factors as it sees fit. And if the Board accepts the offer, Ms. Malowitz recommended conditioning the acceptance on the committee withdrawing its pending appeal in 23AS39. Pericles Abbasi was present on behalf of the committee and said a new consultant did not forward the contributions to the committee to file the A-1’s in a timely manner. He indicated that he was prepared to pay the settlement today and asked the Board to accept the settlement offer. Member Terven moved to accept the settlement offer as presented and order the committee to withdraw its previous appeal. Member Cray seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

4) SBE v. Jenna DeYong for City Clerk, 36632, 24SQ106;

5) SBE v. Friends of Marcus Herbert, 37245, 24SQ118; and

6) SBE v. Neighbors for Miquel Lewis, 39849, 24SQ182. Ms. Malowitz recommended acceptance of the above noted settlement offers, as the factors in settlement guidelines weigh in favor of acceptance. Member Cray moved to accept the above noted settlement offers as presented, which was seconded by Member Vrett and 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 in part and deny the appeal in part for agenda item 2.a.7.

7) SBE v. End Homelessness, supporting Bring Chicago Home, 35451, 24AM029. Member Cray moved to grant the appeal as to three of the six penalties. 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.8-20.

8) SBE v. Livingston County Republican Central Committee, 297, 24AM005. David Rice, Chair of the committee was present and said the late filings were unintentional. He then offered a settlement in the amount of $375. Member Cray moved to deny the appeal and accept the settlement offer. Member Terven seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

18) SBE v. Friends of Lamont Williams, 37248, 24AS051. Mr. Williams was present on behalf of the committee and asked for leniency as they were undergoing staff turnover at that time. He then offered a settlement in the amount of $865. Member Ballard Croft moved to deny the appeal and accept the $865 settlement offer toward the current penalties totaling $1,730. Member Terven seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0

20) SBE v. Kristian for 22nd Ward, 38894, 24NF091. Kristian Armendariz was present on behalf of the committee and said due to his inexperience, he did not realize at the time that he was not required to file as a committee because he did not reach the $5,000 threshold. He then offered a settlement in the amount of $500. Member Terven moved to deny the appeal and accept the settlement offer. Member Cray seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

9) SBE v. Bridge Struc & Rein IW LU #1 PAC, 1035, 24SQ010;

10) SBE v. Friends of Mayor Terry R. Wells, 4334, 24SQ013;

11) SBE v. Steven Doughterty for Mayor, 25226, 24SQ048;

12) SBE v. Iron Workers Local Union No 1 PEF Fund, 25736, 24SQ051;

13) SBE v. Friends of Kyle Thompson, 32688, 24SQ071;

14) SBE v. Friends of Hadiya, 34352, 24JQ075;

15) SBE v. Good Government Illinois, 34631, 24AJ023;

16) SBE v. Friends of Paul A. Mallo, 35341, 24SQ086;

17) SBE v. Friends of Melissa Mouritsen, 37149, 24JQ136; and

19) SBE v. Iron Workers Local 1 Political Organization Fund, 37495, 24SQ123. Member Cray moved to deny the above noted appeals, which was seconded by Member Terven and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

Ms. Malowitz presented a list of civil penalty assessments necessitating a final board order for agenda item 2.a.21. Member Cray moved to assess the civil penalties against the committees listed on pages 129-135 of the board packet. Member Ballard Croft seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 7-0. Chair Watson voted present in the matter.

A list of payments of civil penalty assessments for agenda item 2.a.22 was presented for informational purposes.

Complaints following closed preliminary hearing were next on the agenda and Ms. Malowitz noted that since the parties were not present for agenda items 2.a.23 & 25, those matters could be dismissed for want of prosecution in open session.

23) Benoit v. Zinanni, 25CD037; and

25) Leoni v. Lisle Forward, 25CD039. Member Cray moved to dismiss the above noted complaints for want of prosecution. Member Terven seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

Member Cray 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 Terven seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0. The meeting recessed at 10:55 a.m. and reconvened at 11:50 a.m. with the same attendance as noted in the initial roll call.

As to agenda item 2.a.24, Shamsie v. Ropp, 25CD038, Complainant failed to appear, and Member Cray moved to dismiss the complaint for want of prosecution. Member Vrett seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

As to agenda item 2.a.26, Matthews v. Friends of Kathleen Lorenz, 25CD040, Member Vrett moved to adopt the recommendation of the hearing officer and General Counsel to find that the complaint was filed on justifiable grounds for the claim under Section 9-25 and the matter proceed to a public hearing, and the claim under Section 9-8.5 was not filed on justifiable grounds and should be dismissed. Member Cray seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

Ms. Malowitz presented the proposed administrative rules and said the first set was Part 216 Registration of Voters for the Address Confidentiality Program, which was included on pages 138- 146 of the board packet. She reviewed the new rules and noted that they were drafted to comply with the Address Confidentiality for Victims of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Human Trafficking or Stalking Act. Member Cray moved to adopt the proposed rules as presented, which was seconded by Member Terven and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

The next set of rules Part 207 Miscellaneous, Requirements for Computer-Based Voter Registration Systems were included on pages 147-155 of the board packet. Ms. Malowitz reviewed the new rules and said they allow the Board to exercise its statutory authority in Sections 4-33, 5-43, and 6-79 of the Election Code, which govern the computerization of voter records. Member Cray moved to adopt the proposed rules as presented, which was seconded by Member Terven and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

Ms. Matthews began the report of the Executive Director with an update on legislative activities. She noted that a listing of the current election-related bills and their status was contained on pages 156-180 of the board packet. Staff is monitoring all of the bills and waiting on a possible omnibus election bill, with executive staff ready and prepared to review if one is filed. Ms. Matthews reported that last month staff attended appropriation hearings in both the Senate and the House and said those hearings went well. Biran Pryor, Senior Policy Advisor said he would be on high alert and will continue to update the Board as needed.

Ms. Matthews presented the results of the 2025 Consolidated Election for Fox Waterway Agency and Fox Water Reclamation District for informational purposes.

Next on the agenda was the six month review of executive session minutes and Ms. Matthews said that she and Ms. Malowitz reviewed the minutes for the period of October 16, 2024 through March 18, 2025. Ms. Malowitz concluded that the necessity of confidentiality does not exist to such minutes except as noted in the memo on page 183 of the board packet. Member Cray

moved to accept the recommendation of the General Counsel as set forth on page 183 of the board packet. 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 May and June were presented for informational purposes.

Vice Chair Donahue indicated that an individual requested to address the Board under comments from the general public and asked her to proceed. Kathleen Gilroy was present and said she is a member of the public and a former DuPage County election judge. She expressed her concerns and issues regarding the conduct of election judges in DuPage County. Ms. Malowitz said she will review Ms. Gilroy’s written complaint and Vice Chair Donahue suggested she contact the State’s Attorney in DuPage County.

Member Vrett moved to recess to executive session to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, performance, or dismissal of specific employees, pending litigation and the minutes of the April 15 executive session meeting pursuant to Sections 2(c)(1), 2(c)(11) and 2(c)(21) of the Open Meetings Act, 5 ILCS 120. Member Cray seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0. The meeting recessed at 12:18 p.m. and reconvened at 12:25 p.m. with the same attendance as noted in the initial roll call.

Member Cray moved to approve the April 15 executive session minutes as presented. Member Vrett seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 7-0. Member Ballard Croft abstained from the vote.

With there being no further business, the Board unanimously voted to adjourn until Tuesday, June 17, 2025. Member Cray seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. The meeting ended at 12:30 p.m.

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