If nobody has the votes, nobody loses.
The fix was always in, but it wasn’t until Tuesday that it was official.
The Illinois State Board of Elections voted 4-4 — four Democrats against four Republicans — effectively dismissing an alleged campaign-finance violation and proposed $9.8 million fine filed against Democratic Illinois Senate President Don Harmon.
The board needs five votes to reach a decision on the merits of its cases. But it tied on a partisan vote, as it routinely does, and the complicated matter seemingly has been put to bed.
That being the case, it’s another triumph for the cynics who passed a campaign-finance regulation bill designed not to work.
Its purpose is to fool the relatively small number of Illinoisans who care about the issue into thinking the state is serious about addressing it.
“We’re pleased to have this matter finally behind us and to focus all of our energy on solving the real problems facing Illinoisans every day,” said a Harmon spokesman.
That first assertion is obviously true. The campaign-finance dispute has been hanging over Harmon’s head for months now. He even tried to sneak a legislative fix into current law that would have let him off the hook, but House Dems rebelled.
As to the second half of statement regarding “solving the real problems facing Illinoisans,” dream on. If that was the case, Illinois wouldn’t be a stinking mess of corruption and financial mismanagement.
Harmon may not be completely out of the woods. The Chicago Tribune reports that the Liberty Justice Center has filed a citizen complaint with the elections board that might — just might — “allow the matter to go to court and sidestep the bipartisan election panel’s stalemate.”
The gist of Harmon’s alleged campaign-finance violations is real inside baseball, exactly the kind of issue about which lawyers often disagree.
First reported in 2024 by the Tribune, no doubt after receiving an inside tip, Harmon allegedly accepted $4 million more in campaign funds than the law allowed as election season approached.
The details of the legal dispute are mind-numbing, raising questions about what constitutes an election cycle and when donations can be made.
But investigators from the elections board concluded that Harmon had broken the rules, a finding confirmed by a board hearing officer.
The recommended fine of nearly $10 million seems over the top. But that’s a separate issue that’s irrelevant.
There was never going to be a fine, because the board was always going to split 4-4 along partisan lines, precluding a decision.
This is not a partisan issue. If it had been a Republican charged instead of a Democrat, it still would have been 4-4, with the Ds and Rs switching sides.
Think of it as political kabuki theater, Illinois style.
