Berrios faces $127,000 more in fines over campaign contributions

2018年5月2日星期三

Berrios faces $127,000 more in fines over campaign contributions

Topspin

Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios faces another $127,000 in fines for accepting campaign contributions in excess of legal limits.

The Cook County Board of Ethics vote to issue the penalties on Tuesday follows $41,000 in fines it levied against Berrios in January.

Now the total amount of fines against Berrios, his 31st Ward political fund and his own campaign committee is up to $168,000.

Berrios sought re-election to a third term but lost in the March primary to Fritz Kaegi, a wealthy asset manager.

Most of the fines are tied to excessive contributions from property tax lawyers. His attorney Kevin Forde has contended the lawyers represent people and businesses appealing property assessments and should not be restrained by the county ordinance.

Berrios' next step is to ask the ethics board to reconsider its latest fine or appeal the ruling in court, where he also could seek a stay of the fine, Forde said. Berrios has so far failed to get the previous fines thrown out. He also has lost an attempt to get the county ordinance declared unconstitutional, but the matter is pending before the Illinois Appellate Court.

"We always hope for the best and prepare for the worst," Forde said after Tuesday's vote. "We have a lot of confidence in our case. I think we have an excellent case on appeal of the constitutionality of the ordinance." (Ray Long)

What's on tap

*Mayor Rahm Emanuel is expected to attend an event about a public library branch being located at the future Obama Presidential Center.

*Gov. Bruce Rauner will attend a motorcycle safety event in Springfield.

*Paul Vallas is scheduled to announce his mayoral campaign. Read an interview with him here.

*The Illinois Senate is in session.

From the notebook

*The rules: At issue in the Berrios case is the county ordinance that limits contributions to $750 per year or $1,500 in election years from people or businesses that have "sought official action by the county within the preceding four years." Berrios has contended that standard is too vague.

Berrios also has contended the county did not have authority to set campaign contribution limits that are more stringent than those in state law, pointing out that state limits are lifted when candidates put a lot of their own money into the race.

Kaegi contributed $1.55 million to his campaign, which Berrios said created an uneven playing field.

The Board of Ethics sent notices in March that Berrios had accepted about $300,000 above the limits from lawyers and others involved in property tax appeals.

That was based on a preliminary tally of 158 alleged violations over the last nine months of 2017. In the end, though, the number of violations was whittled to 127, with fines of $1,000 for each violation.

Broken down, the fines represented 77 violations tied to the 31st Ward Democratic political fund that Berrios controls and 50 violations tied to Berrios' own political committee.

Forde pleaded unsuccessfully for the board to hold off on any action because Berrios is fighting the first round of $41,000 in fines in court. (Ray Long)

*McCann sues Brady: A state senator from central Illinois who is running for governor as a third party candidate filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Republican leadership, alleging taxpayer funded services are being withheld from him.

Sen. Sam McCann's suit against Senate Republican leader Bill Brady says he was "expelled" from the GOP caucus after announcing his bid. McCann says he no longer has access to legislative staff and other support he previously received.

McCann contends that withholding those services violates his right to free speech and creates two classes of voters: those who have full representation in the legislature and his constituents, who now have a senator that "is only allowed to participate to a severely limited degree."

A Brady spokesman late Tuesday said he hadn't been notified of the lawsuit.

McCann is running for governor under the Conservative Party banner, contending Republican Gov. Rauner has abandoned conservative voters by expanding taxpayer funding of abortion and supporting legislation to protect immigrants in the country illegally. (Monique Garcia)

*Surgeon general in town: U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams will be in the Chicago on Wednesday to talk about the country's opioid abuse problem.

Adams previously has suggested that more people carry naloxone, the opioid overdose antidote that has become more common in recent years. Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren of Plano will host Adams in Sugar Grove for an event billed as a "Community Leadership Forum on the Opioid Epidemic."

"Our communities in northern Illinois have experienced this problem firsthand for several years, and we will benefit mightily from hearing Dr. Adams' perspective on this national challenge," Hultgren said in a statement.

Before President Donald Trump appointed Adams as surgeon general, Adams was a top health official in Vice President Mike Pence's home state of Indiana.

What we're writing

*Five female paramedics sue, alleging pervasive sexual harassment at Chicago Fire Department.

*Rebuild veterans home plagued by Legionnaires' disease, Rauner task force says.

*Obama Foundation announces new public library branch at presidential center.

*Cinco de Mayo parade canceled amid dispute between alderman and organizer.

*Cook County selling nearly 3,200 vacant lots to encourage redevelopment.

*On first day, Chicago issues 500 municipal ID cards, officials say.

What we're reading

*Illinois Supreme Court faces its smallest caseload in decades.

*Rauner aide suggested blaming Duckworth for Legionnaires' deaths.

*Kerry Wood and "the greatest game ever pitched": The oral history.

*Flaming Lips will be a Taste of Chicago headliner.