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By Barton Lorimor Email | @bartonlorimor
* From this morning’s Tribune…
Sen. Mark Kirk, who has needed help with some everyday tasks such as preparing meals and physically getting around since suffering a debilitating stroke in 2012, put his live-in caregiver onto his campaign payroll, according to records and interviews.
…
Kirk’s placement of his caregiver — who had no prior campaign experience — onto his campaign staff raises questions about whether Kirk used political donations to pay for personal expenses. Campaign finance records show that Kirk for Senate had paid his caregiver a salary totaling more than $43,000 from August 2013 through the end of 2014.
Federal law says campaign funds cannot be used for expenses that would occur regardless of whether the person were running for or holding office.
…
“If the expense existed irrespective of whether Sen. Kirk was a candidate or officeholder, then he cannot pay for it with campaign funds,” Ryan said. “It seems to me that Sen. Kirk had these home care expenses irrespective of his candidacy.”
* I called the Kirk campaign. They say the Senator was only under Fombe-Abiko’s care in the mornings and evenings, which Kirk paid for personally. During the day Fombe-Abiko drew a salary from the campaign for work related to the Senator’s re-election efforts, they say. He was charged with tasks like data entry and staffing events.
A senior Kirk campaign official said Fombe-Abiko was interested in doing something with his life other than home healthcare, and that the Senator thought the campaign job and assignments might help him expand his skill set.
* The Senate Select Committee on Ethics reviewed the arrangement back in 2013, and it does not appear they had a problem. The full letter is here, but here is a snippet…
Senator Kirk should take care that the individual should only provide personal assistance to the Senator to facilitate the performance of his official Senate duties, and that the individual should not perform any Senate service. Accordingly, the individual may not handle any tasks that should be undertaken by paid Senate staff and may not supervise or direct the work of any Senate employees.
Kirk’s camp says Fombe-Abiko only worked the campaign during the day and for the Senator personally in the mornings and evenings. They also say he was not one of the Senator’s body men during the day.
* The Kirk campaign official told me he was contacted by three D.C.-based publications that did not call back after they were shown the above letter. The official does not know with any certainty who was shopping the story.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 12:30 pm
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“Data entry and staffing events” for a salary of $43,000 of the course of about 16 months… Are you accepting resumes for part-time work?
Comment by The Muse Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 12:39 pm
This isn’t a campaign finance law story, it’s a way for the Tribbies to raise the issue of the after-effects of Kirk’s stroke without looking like bad guys.
There’s blood in the water as a result of Kirk’s run of crazy mouth. He’s going to get a lot of heat.
Comment by Wordslinger Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 12:58 pm
I’m not seeing a real scandal here. A lot of pols have “bag-men” to help them throughout the day, and I just assumed that is what this person was doing.
Comment by Not it Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 1:05 pm
total hit job by lighty. why didn’t he write that Kirk paid him out of personal funds?
Comment by DecaturGuy Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 1:08 pm
Notit,
===A lot of pols have “bag-men”===
I think they prefer the term “body guy.”
Kirk’s folks should have immediately made copies of the pay stubs available with the consent of the care taker.
Comment by Anon Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 1:12 pm
==This isn’t a campaign finance law story, it’s a way for the Tribbies to raise the issue of the after-effects of Kirk’s stroke without looking like bad guys==
Wordslinger, I absolutely agree with you. Just seems like a personal attack on a non-issue, especially if the Senate Select Committee on Ethics reviewed the arrangement and didn’t see a problem.
Comment by Crust Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 1:16 pm
So doing some quick math, $570 week gross pay, $420 net per week? And the guy was fired after a later incident?
Total hit piece over nothing.
Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 1:19 pm
“Just seems like a personal attack on a non-issue, especially if the Senate Select Committee on Ethics reviewed the arrangement and didn’t see a problem.”
Here’s the thing about that, as pointed out by the campaign finance expert quoted in the Trib:
Comment by The Captain Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 1:20 pm
A lot of pols do have “bag-men,” but I don’t think that’s the issue here, lol.
Comment by Wordslinger Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 1:34 pm
@ Louis G.- are you figuring in paid or unpaid vacation? Kidding!
What a worthless and weak story. Kirk has certainly caused a stir with some of his statements but this story is a joke. The Tribune should be embarrassed. Again.
Comment by JS Mill Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 1:44 pm
I don’t like the Tribune.
Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 1:45 pm
What a hatchet job. Lighty doesn’t even bother to do his research.
Comment by Caitie Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 1:48 pm
This has everything to do with making Kirk seem feeble, poor, helpless, and lacking strength in health, wealth, and knowledge.
It’s more petty than powerful. It’s more whisper than reporting.
Artl, I’m still with you and Kirk. Go get ‘em.
OW
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 1:49 pm
Why do people report on things that don’t matter? Let’s talk about issues that will make or break IL and the nation. We are talking about day care! Day care!!!!!!
Comment by King Maker Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 2:44 pm
King maker, do you live in some world where day care is not an important issue for real people who go to work every day?
Comment by Wordslinger Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 3:39 pm
From a disability perspective, this development has extremely interesting implications for practicing politics with a disability. Senator Kirk is certainly not the first politician who is attacked because of his disability or because the supports he needs as a person with a disability. This is called ableism, and is every bit as discriminatory and negative as discrimination on the basis of race, gender and sexuality. What makes this REALLY interesting is that Kirk is running against Duckworth, another person with a disability, and you don’t hear people questioning her ability or her supports, especially as a new parent. Advocates seeking politicians with disabilities are in a bit of a pickle over this race as it poses two people with disabilities against each other…perhaps a dream come true? At any rate, the hit on Kirk is disability related and really quite despicable in its ableism (and sloppiness).
Comment by Widget Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 3:50 pm
King Maker, no one was talking about day care. In case you didn’t notice, this is a story about Sen. Kirk. Thanks for playing.
Comment by Tournaround Agenda Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 3:51 pm
Sling said it. This is a weasely way to bring Kirk’s personal challenges to the public eye, under the cover of faux campaign shenanigan outrage.
But why? Do they have a favored candidate to replace him?
Comment by walker Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 4:16 pm
You don’t have to get pre-approval from the FEC to make a campaign expenditure; it does have to be for a bona fide campaign purpose, but that covers a very broad range of things (and would include somebody driving him to a campaign event and helping him in and out); working as a campaign aide is different from working as a tax-payer funded Senate staffer and there is no evidence this person ever performed any official governmental activities (which would be wrong). In the absence of any evidence that this person was paid campaign funds to provide personal assistance unrelated to campaign activities, there is no “there” there other than perhaps bad judgment in employing someone who turned out to have unrelated petty criminal issues (and was apparently terminated).
Comment by Orboman Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 4:20 pm
Widget, wondering if an elected official is still up to the job after a health incident is not “ableism.” It’s called democracy. There is no civil right that entitles Kirk or anyone else to be re-elected. Stop the inanities. This is news, not earth-shaking perhaps, but news. I’m guessing we haven’t heard the last of this story.
Comment by Michael Westen Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 4:29 pm
The long deceased Col. M. Is rolling in his grave. When he ran the Tribune, facts were reported.
Times have changed.
Comment by Daabear Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 7:59 pm
Walk, I thnk the Tribbie story is a case of a reporter being fed a line by a political hack and going with it hook, line and sinker for personal glory.
I don’t think Todd Lighty is sifting receipts on his own initiative.
The motivation isn’t some ideological deal, but a realization that there’s blood in fhe water with Kirk and chance for a reporter to claim a kill, to make a name. It happens.
I suspect the info feed is a hangover from the Gidwitz play, that he put it out earlier and the Tribbies didn’t get around to it when it all blew up in his face.
I don’t see how pointing out the difficulties of recovery helps Duckworth.
Comment by Wordslinger Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 8:34 pm
Forget all of the intrigue. I look at the headline “Kirk puts home care worker on campaign payroll” and think “of course he does. So what?”
The man’s thinking may be sharp, but his body isn’t. He needs help to get around, to respond to mail, to write speeches. That’s no frivolous expense, it’s a necessity. Who cares what account the check comes out of?
There are probably a dozen staffers, maybe more, at that pay grade, who are much less useful.
Comment by Concerned Observer Wednesday, Aug 12, 15 @ 11:01 pm
Mighty hypocritical of the Kirk people to complain about the unfairness of this when they repeatedly carped about Dan Seals’ expenses, as in the below typically smarmy post. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. http://teamamerica10th.blogspot.com/2008/07/house-race-hotline-to-dan-seals-get-job.html
Comment by Ghost of Harold Thursday, Aug 13, 15 @ 12:17 am
Isn’t there a whistle-blower lawsuit going on somewhere related to the IL dept. VA?
Comment by Pete Thursday, Aug 13, 15 @ 6:42 am