ICPR Letter
The Hon. Calvin Giles
State Representative for the 8th District
4905 West Ohio Street
Chicago, Illinois 60644
March 22, 2004
Dear Rep. Giles,
We are writing today to urge you to take whatever steps are necessary
to file campaign disclosure forms for your political committee,
Citizens for Calvin L. Giles (State ID 5806).
Your committee has not filed any disclosure reports in over a year.
State law requires semi-annual and pre-election disclosure of the
sources and disposition of campaign funds. Your committee has failed
to file the following reports:
• a disclosure report covering the first half of 2003, due
by July 31, 2003;
• a disclosure report covering the second half of 2003, due
by February 2, 2004; and
• a report covering the period January 1, 2004 through February
15, 2004, due by March 2, 2004.
Moreover, if you received any campaign contributions in excess
of $500 between February 15, 2004 and the General Primary Election,
those contributions should have been disclosed within two business
days. As of 12:00 Noon today, none of these reports had been filed.
We note also that the political committee of the 37th Ward Regular
Democratic Committee (Local ID 7062), which you lead, is similarly
in arrears.
The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform was founded to monitor
campaign finance issues and to recommend reforms where necessary.
As Illinois’ Election Code focuses primarily on disclosure,
we take the timely release of required finance reports very seriously.
We are dismayed by your committee’s inability to file in a
timely manner the same reports submitted by each of your colleagues
in the General Assembly.
At its March 11 Regular Meeting, the Board of Directors of ICPR
voted unanimously to authorize the filing of a complaint with the
State Board of Elections against your committee for the failure
to file the required reports noted above. ICPR has never before
taken this kind of action against a political committee. We hope
we will not have to take this step against your committee. However,
unless the reports are filed fully and properly with the State Board
of Elections in accordance with the Election Code by 12:00 noon
on Monday, March 29, we will be compelled to take this public action.
We are deeply concerned that your example displays a disregard
for the law, sets a poor example for others and, if allowed to continue
unchallenged, may foster an environment that disrespects voters’
right to know the finances of their elected officials’ campaign
funds. We hope that you will file the forms required of you for
the past three disclosure periods, and that in the future you will
file the required disclosure forms in a timely manner as required
by law.
Should you have any questions about this request, please do not
hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
Cynthia Canary - Coordinator
David Morrison - Director
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