Oppo dump!
Sen. Sam McCann, R-Plainview, has used campaign funds to purchase a sport utility vehicle.
The senator hasn’t stopped at an SUV. He also acknowledges using campaign funds to install a new engine in a personally owned Jeep. And he says that he’s spent more than $19,000 on a trailer and truck to use in parades.
Legislators, who are barred from spending campaign funds for personal use, typically lease rather than purchase vehicles. One expert on campaign finance says that the senator’s purchase of a 2017 Ford Expedition XLT for $61,146 last April raises both ethical and political questions.
“Potentially, you’ve got a violation,” said Kent Redfield, a retired University of Illinois Springfield political science professor. “You certainly have the possibility of violations. It’s just sitting there as a temptation to use. It’s probably not great politics. I would assume a competent opponent would read through your campaign reports and make an issue out of it. It certainly seems to be asking for political trouble.”
McCann, who has pondered a run for governor, responded to an interview request via email, saying that he drives so many miles that a leased vehicle, as opposed to one purchased outright, would be cost prohibitive. He said that he has driven more than 500,000 miles since his first campaign in 2009.
Go read the rest. The dude just can’t stay out of the papers on this stuff.
* As you already know, the Sangamon County GOP is backing a primary opponent against McCann. Click here for some background.
McCann responded on Facebook yesterday…
Please read the whole link below.
THEN - remember that the author doesn’t even bring up the fact that the $100,000,000.00 in tax breaks will be paid for out of the General Revenue Fund. That’s right, we have a backlog of bills owed to vendors of over $15 billion. We owe the pensions somewhere around $200 million that the politicians stole. And instead of paying those bills, they reward the wealthy and well-connected with your tax money that IS ALREADY SPOKEN FOR.
The first version of the bill didn’t include that provision. That was the version I voted for (the first version, without the the extra spending). The second version is the one most republicans ended up voting for and our republican governor signed into law as he hugged Rahm Emmanuel.
I am a real republican. Not a Raunerite. That is why the Sangamon GOP and Illinois GOP are primarying me again. They don’t want public servants who listen to their constituents and consciences, they want a #RaunerRubberStamp
The link he posted is this Chicago Reader piece about the education funding reform bill.
- Posted by Rich Miller
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