Hearing Officer Recommends Upholding Harmon's $10 Million Fine
Senate President Don Harmon answers media questions at a news conference in April. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
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An Illinois State Board of Elections hearing officer has recommended Senate President Don Harmon pay all of the nearly $10 million fine he received for alleged campaign violations last year.
Attorney Barbara Goodman heard Harmon’s appeal of the SBE’s $9.8 million fine for violations of campaign finance laws during the 2024 cycle. Harmon wasn’t on the ballot as a candidate, but broke the self-financing caps anyway to take unlimited donations during the cycle. Harmon has typically raised millions for his members, either through his own “Friends of Don Harmon for State Senate” committee or the Illinois Senate Democratic Fund caucus committee.
“The Committee argues that because Harmon was not running at the March 19, 2024 election, the removal of contribution limits lasted until he would actually be running at the March, 2026 election,” Goodman wrote in her recommendation to the full SBE. “However, the Committee’s argument ignores the references in [in the law] to election cycles.”
Goodman cited five times that Harmon had previously filed notifications of self funding, breaking the state contribution caps in his Senate races, and said it was clear his campaign knew they were tied to election cycles.
“The evidence presented establishes that the Committee knew that the periods of time for the lifting of self-funding limits were governed by election cycles,” Goodman wrote. “Nonetheless, the Committee for the first time, either changed its interpretation of the time period for the lifting of the contribution limits or simply chose to ignore them.”
The full State Board of Elections is expected to vote on the recommendation next week.
Harmon’s campaign spokesman, Tom Bowen, hinted in a statement the Harmon team expects to take the matter to court.
“We are confident in our legal interpretation of this matter and look forward to presenting our arguments at the next phase of this process,” Bowen wrote in a statement.
The $9.8 million fine is the largest levied by the State Board of Elections since it was created in the 1970 constitution.
