How Illinois pols have pocketed more than $5M in what Barack Obama once dubbed 'legalized bribery'
In January, with her 24 years on the Chicago City Council drawing to the end, Ald. Marge Laurino (39th) gave herself a reward: a $27,789.78 payout from her campaign fund.
Two months later, newly retired Sen. James Clayborne Jr., a Belleville Democrat, similarly marked the occasion by paying himself $42,204.65 out of his campaign fund.
For both, the amounts matched to the penny the balance each officeholder had in their political accounts on June 30, 1998.
That’s a magic date for elected officials in Illinois. That’s because it yields a magic number: the amount of money they legally can keep for themselves, no questions asked.
Read more: https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2019/7/26/8930350/campaign-funds-illinois-elected-officials-personal-payouts-ethics-reform