Foxx campaign fined more than $19K for election law violations

State election officials have levied fines of more than $19,000 against Kim Foxx’s campaign to unseat Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.

The Illinois State Board of Elections ruled on Feb. 17 that Foxx violated campaign finance laws by failing to disclose a $25,000 poll paid for by County Board President Toni Preckwinkle a year ago. The election board informed the Foxx campaign Thursday that it would be fined for the violation, records show.

The state board also found Foxx’s campaign committed other infractions, including taking longer than the law allows to disclose 10 contributions it got in September. Among those contributions was a $2,500 check from city Treasurer Kurt Summers, election officials said.

The total fines against Foxx would have totaled more than $40,000. But the amount was reduced to $19,450 because the first-time candidate had not broken the rules previously, according to the letter from the election board to the campaign.

The campaign was given a month to pay the fines or contest them.

“We intend to appeal,” Foxx spokesman Robert Foley said Monday, declining to comment further.

In November, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Foxx was involved in discussions about the poll but had not revealed she got that support from Preckwinkle, who also has contributed tens of thousands of dollars to her campaign.

Foxx, who was Preckwinkle’s chief of staff at the time of the poll, argued that she did not have to report it to the state because she had not yet decided to run when the poll was conducted.

In a statement Monday, Alvarez’s campaign said the matter shows Foxx “failed to take responsibility when confronted about it by the media and the public.”

“How can we trust Kim Foxx to enforce the law as state’s attorney when she’s repeatedly proved herself unwilling or unable to follow the law as a candidate?” Alvarez spokesman Mike Carson said.