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* Kimberly Vertolli and Mark Kirk were divorced in 2009, before Kirk’s successful US Senate run. Vertolli has alternated between high praise and criticism of her former spouse ever since.
The public posturing culminated about the time that Vertolli sat down for a photo shoot with the Chicago Tribune this past April 27th, while Sen. Kirk was still in the hospital recovering from a stroke. The paper subsequently ran a story on May 29th about how Vertolli had filed an FEC complaint last November…
Soon after Mark Kirk’s ex-wife announced she would no longer support his 2010 run for the U.S. Senate, he brought her onto his campaign team, then quietly paid her after his victory.
But Kimberly Vertolli, a lawyer who received $40,000 from the campaign, again is at odds with her ex-husband, filing a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that Kirk and his then-girlfriend may have broken campaign finance law.
* We’ve already talked about her allegations.
But check out what Vertolli apparently did after she sat down with the Tribune and before the damaging article ran. Vertolli’s online activities indicate that she attended the 100th anniversary of the Congressional Club’s First Lady luncheon on May 9th. The Congressional Club is for congressional spouses. Yep. Almost three years after the divorce, and weeks after she dissed him to the Tribune, Vertolli Tweeted and crowed on Facebook about attending a spouse event with the First Lady and bringing along some gal pals.
Here’s a screen cap from Vertolli’s Facebook page…
Vertolli’s Twitter page has a link to a write-up of the spouse event by one of her friends…
None of this would have happened without the supreme generosity of Kimberly Vertolli, who opened her home to Leora, Marta and I (Marta is a physical therapist who drove all the way from Texas to attend), and took the three of us as her guests. Kimberly is a knock-out force herself.
A “knock-out force” indeed.
Oy.
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 1:04 pm
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First Wives Club.
Comment by amalia Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 1:39 pm
Nothing is as dangerous as a women scorned.
Comment by mokenavince Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 2:07 pm
For some reason, I thought Kimberly Vertolli lived in Illinois all this time. I guess I was wrong.
Comment by Cheswick Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 2:08 pm
To paraphrase Keith Richards, once you’ve had your tongue in someone else’s pie, it’s hard to stop going back for more.
Comment by Cheswick Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 2:13 pm
Stay Classy….
“. Kimberly is a knock-out force herself.” If I didn’t know any better I would assume that was written by Sneed.
Comment by OneMan Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 2:14 pm
Shore rushing to her defense in 3-2-1…
Comment by Thermopylae Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 2:26 pm
The site seems to say that once a member, always a member…. And if she received an invitation, it would seem she was still considered a member, wouldn’t it?
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 2:32 pm
Oh, so Senator Hush Money’s staffers are doing on oppo dump on the ex-wife? This should end well, it’s not like she has a history of lashing out and spilling the dirt. I bet she sees the error of her ways and goes away quietly. And affordably.
Comment by The Captain Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 2:32 pm
What is unbelievable is the idea that Vertolli hasn’t already permanently discredited herself with her praise/criticism/put me on the payroll behavior.
I also find it unbelieveable that Rich is a Twitter follower of Vertolli’s.
Which leads me to the fact that some Kirk lover somewhere tipped Rich to this in an effort to discredit Vertolli, who as mentioned above, has already discredited herself.
But somebody feels threatened enough by the ex-wife to keep tossing this stuff out there. That’s unbelievable. Why are they so afraid of her? What does she know that could hurt Kirk?
Comment by 47th Ward Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 2:33 pm
Shameful.
Comment by John A Logan Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 2:34 pm
After you take the hush money, aren’t you supposed to hush?
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 2:34 pm
Many of us could have predicted this before they were even married. Volatile would be the nicest term I could suggest.
Comment by LincolnLounger Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 2:44 pm
“But somebody feels threatened enough by the ex-wife to keep tossing this stuff out there. That’s unbelievable. Why are they so afraid of her? What does she know that could hurt Kirk?”
And/or maybe someone simply feels threatened…period. Perfect combo.
It’s like a political thriller. The only question is who is playing whom based on the complexity of the story. And don’t forget that the puppetmaster, who in prose usually has absolutely no loyalties, is often willing to pull anyone’s strings based on his own personal agenda, objectives, and problems.
Maybe that’s why all of this continues to be such a soap opera.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 2:46 pm
“Puppetmaster”? What is this, a Clancy novel?
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 2:48 pm
And I’ll ask again. Did she receive an invitation, or did she break into the party?
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 2:48 pm
Sorry, should have been “crash the party.”
And no, Rich. Sounds more like a Margaret Truman mystery.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 2:51 pm
Michelle Obama, the best FLOTUS ever! That should be grounds for divorce right there.
Comment by Downstate Illinois Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 2:54 pm
I’m interested in a Republican lady calling Michelle Obama “The Best FLOTUS Ever”. Michelle Obama is pretty classy, but Laura Bush was no slouch. And I say that as a hard-core fan of the entire Obama family.
Comment by Lakeview Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 2:54 pm
But then again, with Mr. Bond as one of the main characters, I suppose you’d never find out until the very chapter, would you?
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 2:54 pm
Jinx! Who buys the coke, Downstate?
Comment by Lakeview Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 2:55 pm
Sorry. “very last chapter….”
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 2:55 pm
There isn’t a possibility that all of this is just some bad PR to 1) keep Kirk in the headlines while he’s recuperating, 2) dredge up some sympathy for the girlfriend, whose popularity ratings seem very low, and/or 3) provide a distraction to cover something else up, is there?
Otherwise, it would seem to default to an FEC complaint. What if someone else–a citizen with no vested interested interest had filed it? Would the reaction be the same?
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 3:01 pm
Nope not enough high tech stuff yet…
Comment by OneMan Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 3:09 pm
“Nope not enough high tech stuff yet… ”
Yet….
Forgot options 4a and b: a) help Kirk get rid of McCracken to bring Vertolli back into his life, or b) get rid of both of them by damaging their credibility to make room for someone new.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 3:13 pm
“Shore rushing to her defense in 3-2-1….”
Andy Martin put into play by the Kirk “team” in 3-2-1….
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 3:39 pm
Eleanor Roosevelt was best FLOTUS
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 3:51 pm
“the,” Anonymous 3:52. Your sentence should read “Eleanor Roosevelt was *the* best FLOTUS.”
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 4:11 pm
Oh yeah, que Shore with the whole “I wish my daughter would grow up to be just like her” nonsense again?
Comment by Raising Kane Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 4:13 pm
Better to raise an “All-American” like Kirk.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 4:18 pm
So, who is the Michelle Obama’s protocol chief who put Vertolli on the invitation list?
Comment by Marty Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 4:27 pm
she tweeted about the stuff in the fec allegation last september according to that twitter feed. well played news journalists. watching some msm journalists “lower themselves” to new media has been kind of hilarious. “getting a facebook” hey look “I’m on twitter” “just getting acquainted with this youtube and email thingys!”
No defense here. There’s a weirdness I just can’t anymore.
The only thing I can say on the actual invitation is that it is for congressional not senate spouses so perhaps that means current and former and of current and former members. For those who have never been there that room-the international ballroom at the hilton is where the white house correspondents dinner is and it’s about the size of a football field or more so I can’t imagine it was an exclusive guest list. She was once a congressional spouse and who knows how loosely they deal with these things there.
Comment by Shore Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 5:04 pm
Once a spouse, always a spouse?
Comment by champaigndweller Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 5:13 pm
I’ll go with betting on a combo of what shore and amalia said originally, but with a bit of a twist. A club that supports wives could very easily have within it a “first wives” club subculture–which in certain circles can be very exclusive. Probably not that bad of a thing, and I’d imagine one that can help spread around quite a bit of sunshine thereby maintaining tradition that might otherwise go out the window.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 5:29 pm
“Once a spouse, always a spouse?”
Years of service to our States and Country should never be disrespected, even if a marriage ends.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 5:33 pm
And besides that. Kimberly was a very young woman when Kirk married and then brought Ms. McCracken onto “the scene.” Kimberly’s scene. If he only would have defended her, he might still be married today.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 5:40 pm
…even in spite of his “flaws.”
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 5:41 pm
I’ll add one more and I’m done–at least for a while:
If you can’t defend and protect your wife, Mr. Kirk, how can you expect citizens to believe that you are capable of defending your Country–no matter how many uniforms and hats you decide to put on?
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 5:54 pm
Who divorces a Congressman and then still goes to the events? Time to find your own life.
Comment by Anon Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 7:01 pm
Vertolli reminds me of Nicole Kidman in that movie To Die For. She’s waving to the crowd like she’s an actual celebrity and people were paying attention to her, rather than her husband.
Comment by Anon Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 7:04 pm
Ha! I thought of that movie with this post as well!
Comment by Thermopylae Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 7:37 pm
“Years of service to our States and Country should never be disrespected, even if a marriage ends.”
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 8:04 pm
(And, BTW, they–both men and women–were probably paying more attention to her than her husband on the campaign trail. Otherwise, why would he have had her out in public next to him waving (rather than marching as a “volunteer” (ha!)) all the time and attending events on his behalf as a surrogate?)
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 8:09 pm
Well at least Vertolli is getting that extra 15 minutes of fame. Who kicks someone they once loved?! I mean the man is recovering from a massive stroke. What does that say about her character? Shame on her and shame on the Trib for using a crazy person as a source.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 8:28 pm
It doesn’t sound to me as if she’s kicking him, Anon 8:28. She filed an FEC complaint. Who knows why those around Kirk–and McCracken herself–were claiming that McCracken was a “volunteer consultant” and who actually issued and knew the payments were going to her. (Though it is difficult to imagine that Kirk could NOT have known about the payments unless McCracken’s very good at hiding things.) It would seem that it’s up to the FEC to determine who, what, when, why, and for what work McCracken was paid.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 9:25 pm
She filed the complaint before the stroke and then gave an interview after the stroke. She did not need to do that. This was not a time sensative issue nor breaking news. She could’ve left it to the FEC to decide. Craving attention is seems.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 9:35 pm
Ya. But then not stating my opinion one way or the other, there were those who refused to show any mercy toward Ryan either when his wife fell ill–and those who agreed and disagreed with them.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 11, 12 @ 9:50 pm
Who cares?
Comment by Observing Tuesday, Jun 12, 12 @ 9:09 am
People who are interested in corruption and the FEC complaint care. Filling up coffers so that you can spend the money on significant others, friends, and family without benefit to citizens matters. Why–especially when it’s the candidate who sold his soul for all that money to begin with and therefore should be entitled to spend it anyway he chooses?
Because it raises the stakes for running for office, funds the sleaziest campaign consultants who are rewarded for their dubious practices and talents (including mudslinging and otherwise ruining real and perceived opponents’ lives through their “power”) by paying them the highest consulting this State and Nation have ever seen, and therefore keeps good people from winning elections.
And people once cheered candidates and politicians for their prowess in maintaining large coffers, believing that it would somehow make this a better State and Country. Imagine that.
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jun 12, 12 @ 10:07 am
And Kirk, who shot out of the gates at the beginning of his Senate race as the greatest reformer Illinois has ever seen should realize that. Right?
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jun 12, 12 @ 10:08 am
Forty percent of our Nation’s wealth is gone, Mr. Kirk. Where did those jobs go, and who voted to send them there?
Enjoy your trips to India and other regions so that you have more conversation starters at your fundraisers.
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jun 12, 12 @ 10:15 am
How about we save the attacks on Senator Kirk for when he recovers? What is wrong with some of you people? He had a massive stroke. I mean give it a rest.
Comment by Anon Tuesday, Jun 12, 12 @ 10:40 am
Hmmmm. Now there’s a thought. However, one could ask themselves what would Ms. McCracken and Mr. Kirk do?
And, besides isn’t he doing better now? The man was able, after all, to ask for his Blackberry the day after his stroke. And, why do his staff feel the need to “smear” someone in defending the FEC complaint?
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jun 12, 12 @ 11:01 am