County Board hopefuls report fundraising: Some exceed limits, others not so much

A Republican Cook County commissioner is insisting Tuesday that a campaign contribution nearly twice the legal limit is a technical mistake and not an “illegal contribution.”

One of his colleagues is seeing a surge in fundraising from his Democratic rival — even though the incumbent is also a high-ranking Republican Party official.

And some other incumbents and challengers are reporting no contributions at all.

Those are some of the highlights of campaign finance reports filed this week by Cook County commissioners and those running for the County Board. The reports cover fundraising activity from April 1 through June 30.

Here’s a look at the latest activity as the commissioners and their challengers prepare for the final 16 weeks before the November election.

17th district

A donation from a prominent Republican donor to Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison went over campaign contribution limits, according to donation records from the state.

Morrison, a Republican from Palos Park who also heads the Cook County Republican Party, received a $9,000 donation from Richard Porter. The state’s limit on contributions from individuals is $5,600. Beyond that, Morrison received $1,000 in contributions from April 1 to June 30.

Porter is a lawyer with Kirkland & Ellis LLP who worked on the transition team for Gov. Bruce Rauner. He’s also given money to Republican Erika Harold’s campaign for attorney general and the state’s Republican Party.

Morrison dismissed his Democratic opponent’s allegations that he’s done something wrong. Morrison said the donation was categorized incorrectly, and he’s working to fix the filing of the $9,000 contribution made July 3.

“They’re unfounded,” Morrison said of the allegations. “It was supposed to be from [Porter] and his wife. I called him after the donation was made, but I haven’t heard back.”

Matt Dietrich, public information officer for the state’s board of elections, said problems like these are fairly routine and committees can “file an amended report that splits the contribution as intended.”

Those in violation of the policy have 30 days after they’re notified to address the problem. If it’s not addressed “it then becomes a violation and we will assess them for it then,” he said.

If candidates don’t address it within the 30 days after the state notifies them, they’re required to turn the contribution over to the state by way of the Treasurer’s Office, Dietrich said. Then the board can assess the committee a fine of 150 percent of the contribution.

Morrison’s Democratic opponent, Abdelnasser Rashid, accused Morrison of “thumbing his nose” at campaign finance limits and setting a poor precedent for the rest of the county’s GOP.

“Sean Morrison apparently thinks he’s above the law,” a spokeswoman for Rashid said in a statement. “He should immediately return the illegal contribution and apologize to the voters of our communities.”

Morrison’s opponent currently has more in his campaign coffers than the incumbent.

Rashid, a former deputy chief of staff in Cook County Clerk David Orr’s office, has a little over $90,000 on hand, according to campaign contribution reports — Morrison has nearly $82,000.

15th district

In the north suburbs, Kevin Morrison — who is no relation to Sean Morrison — out-raised Republican incumbent Timothy Schneider over the course of the last quarter.

Schneider, the commissioner from Bartlett who is also the chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, has more money on hand than Kevin Morrison, a former organizing director in the Cleveland and Akron, Ohio, areas for Hillary Clinton’s Democratic presidential campaign.

Schneider currently has a little over $121,000 for his campaign. Kevin Morrison has a little over $71,000 on hand, and most of that was raised between April and June.

Kevin Morrison has the backing of Democratic U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Cook County Recorder of Deeds Karen Yarbrough, SEIU Illinois State Council and AFSCME Illinois Council 31 among others.

SEIU Healthcare Illinois-Indiana and SEIU Local No. 1 are investors with an ownership stake in the Chicago Sun-Times.

9th District

Cook County Commissioner Peter Silvestri, R-Elmwood Park, received over $28,000 in campaign contributions since the primary.

His Democratic challenger, Frank McPartlin, hasn’t reported any recent contributions.

A former special assistant in the Cook County Bureau of Administration, McPartlin was fired from the position in 2015. He has sued the county, Silvestri and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, arguing he was fired in retaliation for political activity.

11th district

Commissioner John Daley, chairman of the county’s powerful Finance Committee and brother of former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, received a $1,000 contribution from Dr. Pepper Snapple Group PAC in May.

That’s the only contribution reported for the second quarter for the Chicago Democrat, whose district includes Bridgeport, Burbank and Oak Lawn.

Chicago Sun-Times

But that’s still more than his opponent.

Republican Steven Graves, who is also the 19th Ward Republican committeeman, did not report any contributions.