The race for Chicago mayor took a turn toward the bizarre on Thursday as bickering between two candidates over petition challenges escalated to accusations that a high-profile adviser offered money to the other campaign if it would drop its challenges.
The claims of dirty politics grew after an Instagram account posted three video clips that purported to include the voice of former state Sen. Rickey “Hollywood” Hendon, an aide to wealthy businessman Willie Wilson’s mayoral campaign, offering money to a staffer for candidate Ja’Mal Green if Green’s campaign dropped its legal efforts challenging the validity of Wilson’s petitions. […]
Flash-forward to Thursday, when the Instagram account named “chicagomediatakeout” posted the video clips with the caption: “Willie Wilson’s campaign manager Rickey Hendon trying to bribe a Green staffer to drop the legal challenge against Willie Wilson and to join their team.” Hendon is not Wilson’s campaign manager but is a paid adviser, Wilson campaign spokesman Richard Boykin said.
Hendon does not appear in person in the video clips, but a male voice that is purportedly Hendon’s says over the phone to a man on the other end of the line: “If you withdraw, I will take care of you. And you can tell me how much you would need.” That person, listening on speaker while wearing a Green campaign shirt, was identified later by Green’s camp as campaign volunteer Kevin Hobby, who filed the objection to Wilson’s signatures.
Green is also accusing Wilson of violating the residency requirements to run for Chicago mayor, claiming Wilson’s main home is in south suburban Hazel Crest. The two candidates have a history dating back to at least the 2019 Chicago municipal election, when Hendon—who was Wilson’s campaign advisor at the time—challenged Green’s petitions. After that, Green clashed with Hendon, with Hendon later posting on Facebook that he and Green exchanged threats about fighting one another. […]
In a response to The TRiiBE, Wilson’s campaign spokesperson Richard Boykin confirmed that Hendon’s voice is on the recording.
“The comments made by former Sen. Rickey Hendon were not authorized by me or my campaign. This is a personal issue between Sen. Hendon and Mr. Green,” Boykin wrote in a press release on Thursday. […]
Illinois law makes it a felony to intercept, record or transcribe any private telephone or electronic communication unless all parties consent. The TRiiBE has not yet been able to verify if the conversation was recorded legally.
Hendon: We both know ya’ll wasn’t in there looking at them [petition signature] lines. So Willie is gonna make it. Ja’Mal is not. So, why do you have to suffer? We can work something out. You can come on our team, or not. But I don’t want to jam you, bruh. I got people that know you that’s like ‘He’s cool, brother, can you give him a call?’ So that’s where I’m calling.
Kevin Hobby: Well, what you offering?
Hendon: Say what now?
Hobby: What you offering?
Hendon: Well, you know, everybody can use some help financially. So I would help you there, if that was the case. I mean, I could just go through [with] the case. You know, Willie got money, he can pay the lawyer, you know he done paid the lawyer already. But I’d like to get it over with, you know, so you let me know what you’re trying to do.
[Crosstalk]
Hendon: So, if you withdraw, I will take care of you. And you can tell me how much you would need. You know, don’t nobody want you to lose money. You know? Ja’Mal ain’t gonna be on the ballot, bruh. I went through that sh*t. I had 25 people down there for a week. Sawyer ain’t gonna be on the ballot. I never miss. Don’t shoot if I’ma miss. So what about what’s gonna happen with you? You know, you got a family. You know, kids and sh*t. They gotta eat. Christmas coming up. Why go through this? And then, you know, the [Chicago Board of Elections] can look at the shotgun [challenges, which are against the law] that they did it on Willie because they don’t get every name on every page, you know, and refer that sh*t over to the states attorney. Who wants to do that? I won’t to do that to you.
Hobby: Right.
Hendon: So just think it over, and then you let me know if there’s something you willing to do. You know, you’d have to, you know, file it as a document, you’d have to file it, you know, 69 W. Washington [the Chicago Board of Election headquarters]. Just withdraw the objection against Willie and I’ll look out for you. I don’t like putting, you know, amounts and stuff. We are talking on the phone. But you can tell me, look, ‘Okay, I’ma do it.’ Soon as you do it, I’ll meet up with you. I’ll meet you down there. You know what I’m saying? If you talk in the streets with people who know me like, the people who called me about you, they’ll tell you, Rickey Hendon keeps his word. Whether it’s good or bad [laughs]. I’ma keep my word, you know?
Hobby: Right.
Hendon: You know, that’s why I’m kicking Ja’Mal off because I told him, that [redacted], you know, if you run for dogcatcher or bootylicker, I’ma kick you off every time. Your sh*t better be perfect every time. I guess he thought I was joking. And I don’t, I’m serious.
Ja’Mal was recently made aware of the leaked conversation a volunteer made online. The Go Green team takes discretion very seriously and as such is taking steps to ensure this does not happen in the future. He was surprised a volunteer would leak this. After talking with our counsel, the video did not break the law as it was a public setting & Rickey was engaging in criminal activity. We want the proper authorities to investigate this matter further…
The leaked audio in question was a conversation between Rickey Hendon and Kevin Hobby. What was witnessed was appalling, to say the least. The complete brazenness of Mr. Henderson, to offer a quid pro quo to such a dedicated member of our team, is illegal and abominable. Mr.Green condemns the open nature of Chicago’s rampant political corruption and calls for Willie Wilson to fire Hendon. […]
Mr.Green is hoping to run a clean campaign, which is what we expect from anyone who works for our organization. However, Ja’Mal Green had this to say…
“I’m glad someone was able to capture the corrupt openness Ricky has. Let me just say that the old way of politics is pulling some desperate moves to drag me and my campaign down, going so far as to offer financial compensation to my ally. This city’s corrupt nature shows its face almost out in the open now. The sleazy deals, the open bribery, the big money talking, it needs to end! That’s why I am running for mayor in the first place.
“It’s time for the new generation of leadership, if the audio didn’t prove it then I’m not sure what will.”
32 Comments
- Stuck in Celliniland - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 10:23 am:
Even after all these years, Rickey continues to just being Rickey.
=== The definition of bribery has been melded these last few years by the G-men, but that looks… cut and dry. ===
Also I don’t think that the bribery statute applies when you are trying to buy off political operatives as opposed to elected officials. May be cut and dry, but not in the way that you think.
In the same breath, if you’re going to allegedly, illegally, record a conversation that is inadmissible in court, then leak it, you better be able to exploit the “evidence” with as much free media and paid media as you can, you just made some fruit seriously tainted for a “one day news cycle”…
The only positive I can offer about Rickey Hendon is that he is clearly the same man behind closed doors that he is in front of the cameras. Self-interested and corrupt to the bone.
Old school who gonna old school, gonna go to jail.
- Paddyrollingstone - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 12:14 pm:
I don’t see any reason why it would be inadmissible. This isn’t the government listening in; its a private citizen. That citizen’s motives, whether he committed a criminal act taping the conversation go to the weight of the evidence, not its admissibility.
===Hendon is not Wilson’s campaign manager but is a paid adviser===
We can quibble over titles, but Hendon has been Wilson’s primary political operative since he first started running in 2015. And Hendon gets no direct personal benefit from having the objections dropped - my guess is Hendon will make more money, and have money to spread around to his people, if they need to defend a petition challenge. Maybe this was “authorized,” maybe it wasn’t, but it was done for Willie Wilson’s benefit by his longest and closest advisor.
More seriously though, since it has been brought up, there is an exemption for suspected criminal activity at 720 ILCS 514-3(i):
“Recording of a conversation made by or at the request of a person, not a law enforcement officer or agent of a law enforcement officer, who is a party to the conversation, under reasonable suspicion that another party to the conversation is committing, is about to commit, or has committed a criminal offense against the person or a member of his or her immediate household, and there is reason to believe that evidence of the criminal offense may be obtained by the recording.”
Whether it actually was criminal activity does not appear to be material (a different ball of wax that depends on if a petition objector meets the definition of a person who can be bribed under the statute), it’s simply whether the recording party has a reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot.
- Volunteer. Min Salary $4,000. - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 1:11 pm:
I understand that sometimes staff go off and do things, but calling Kevin Hobby a volunteer when you’ve paid him $3,949 for “petition consulting” and Kevin Hobby is who the campaign is using to challenge Wilson’s petitions, does not seem to be an accurate portrayal of his role in the campaign. It is far more likely they had him to do this, but now no one wants to have frank conversations with them for fear of being recorded.
Yeah, I am sorry, but what is cut and dry about it?
Kevin Hobby is not a public official. According to Green, he is a campaign “volunteer.”
How do you bribe a volunteer?
IDK maybe it falls under witness tampering. But they have not convicted Marie Newman yet, where charges involving the withdrawal of an opponent are far more serious.
It has been, and remains, perfectly acceptable activity to walk up to the guy being paid $150 to hand out flyers in front of the polling place for your opponent, and pay them $250 for all of the flyers and to go spend the rest of the day in a tavern somewhere.
It’s perfectly legal to pay Charles Thomas $50K to endorse you.
And if it’s okay for Jam’al Green to offer Kevin Joy compensation for filing an objection to Willie Wilson, it honestly seems reasonable to me that Ricky Hendon ought to be able to offer him a non-government job in exchange for dropping his objection.
In politics, money equals speech, and I don’t see how you win the argument that one side can spend money to advance their campaign but the other side cannot spend money to counter their advance.
Private companies try to hire away talent from the opposition all of the time.
- Stuck in Celliniland - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 10:23 am:
Even after all these years, Rickey continues to just being Rickey.
- St. Nick - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 10:25 am:
The definition of bribery has been melded these last few years by the G-men, but that looks… cut and dry.
- Homebody - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 10:26 am:
If the eavesdropping law doesn’t have an explicit exception for recording criminal activity, it should.
- NIU Grad - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 10:26 am:
Hendon…Boykin…quite the dream team Wilson has established there.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 10:30 am:
===but that looks… cut and dry. ===
Not if it’s inadmissable.
- Glengarry - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 10:32 am:
Hendon still provides a laugh to this day.
- Hannibal Lecter - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 10:35 am:
=== The definition of bribery has been melded these last few years by the G-men, but that looks… cut and dry. ===
Also I don’t think that the bribery statute applies when you are trying to buy off political operatives as opposed to elected officials. May be cut and dry, but not in the way that you think.
- dr. jimmy - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 10:35 am:
good grief.
- Hannibal Lecter - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 10:36 am:
=== If the eavesdropping law doesn’t have an explicit exception for recording criminal activity, it should. ===
This behavior, while unsavory, may not fit the definition of “criminal activity”
- /s - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 10:40 am:
Motion to add “if you run for dogcatcher or bootylicker” to the lexicon of incredible Chicago politics phrases.
- High Socks - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 10:50 am:
Rickey Hendon, Richard Boykin, if we get to Hermene Hartman I’m calling Bingo
- Rudy’s teeth - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 10:56 am:
The Grammar Police would like a word.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 11:08 am:
It’s time to let the old ways die…
In the same breath, if you’re going to allegedly, illegally, record a conversation that is inadmissible in court, then leak it, you better be able to exploit the “evidence” with as much free media and paid media as you can, you just made some fruit seriously tainted for a “one day news cycle”…
- Roadrager - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 11:31 am:
The only positive I can offer about Rickey Hendon is that he is clearly the same man behind closed doors that he is in front of the cameras. Self-interested and corrupt to the bone.
- Big Dipper - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 11:37 am:
As if Wilson has a chance to win anyway.
- Huh? - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 12:06 pm:
Old school who gonna old school, gonna go to jail.
- Paddyrollingstone - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 12:14 pm:
I don’t see any reason why it would be inadmissible. This isn’t the government listening in; its a private citizen. That citizen’s motives, whether he committed a criminal act taping the conversation go to the weight of the evidence, not its admissibility.
- Cheswick - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 12:17 pm:
I’ll take a twinkie.
- vern - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 12:28 pm:
===Hendon is not Wilson’s campaign manager but is a paid adviser===
We can quibble over titles, but Hendon has been Wilson’s primary political operative since he first started running in 2015. And Hendon gets no direct personal benefit from having the objections dropped - my guess is Hendon will make more money, and have money to spread around to his people, if they need to defend a petition challenge. Maybe this was “authorized,” maybe it wasn’t, but it was done for Willie Wilson’s benefit by his longest and closest advisor.
- Anon324 - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 12:45 pm:
Maybe Hendon and Green should just go back by the phones where the press can’t see and “settle” this now.
- Anon324 - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 1:09 pm:
More seriously though, since it has been brought up, there is an exemption for suspected criminal activity at 720 ILCS 514-3(i):
“Recording of a conversation made by or at the request of a person, not a law enforcement officer or agent of a law enforcement officer, who is a party to the conversation, under reasonable suspicion that another party to the conversation is committing, is about to commit, or has committed a criminal offense against the person or a member of his or her immediate household, and there is reason to believe that evidence of the criminal offense may be obtained by the recording.”
Whether it actually was criminal activity does not appear to be material (a different ball of wax that depends on if a petition objector meets the definition of a person who can be bribed under the statute), it’s simply whether the recording party has a reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot.
- Volunteer. Min Salary $4,000. - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 1:11 pm:
I understand that sometimes staff go off and do things, but calling Kevin Hobby a volunteer when you’ve paid him $3,949 for “petition consulting” and Kevin Hobby is who the campaign is using to challenge Wilson’s petitions, does not seem to be an accurate portrayal of his role in the campaign. It is far more likely they had him to do this, but now no one wants to have frank conversations with them for fear of being recorded.
- MisterJayEm - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 1:12 pm:
“As if Wilson has a chance to win anyway.”
Big money + big field of candidates = ???
– MrJM
- 47th Ward - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 1:27 pm:
So I’m guessing the offer has been rescinded. Lol. And now Mr. Hobby has Rickey an a motivated political enemy. For. Ever.
- Juvenal - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 1:29 pm:
=== that looks cut and dry ===
Yeah, I am sorry, but what is cut and dry about it?
Kevin Hobby is not a public official. According to Green, he is a campaign “volunteer.”
How do you bribe a volunteer?
IDK maybe it falls under witness tampering. But they have not convicted Marie Newman yet, where charges involving the withdrawal of an opponent are far more serious.
- Big Dipper - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 1:39 pm:
==Big money + big field of candidates = ???==
Same thing last time.
- Thomas Paine - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 1:39 pm:
It has been, and remains, perfectly acceptable activity to walk up to the guy being paid $150 to hand out flyers in front of the polling place for your opponent, and pay them $250 for all of the flyers and to go spend the rest of the day in a tavern somewhere.
It’s perfectly legal to pay Charles Thomas $50K to endorse you.
And if it’s okay for Jam’al Green to offer Kevin Joy compensation for filing an objection to Willie Wilson, it honestly seems reasonable to me that Ricky Hendon ought to be able to offer him a non-government job in exchange for dropping his objection.
In politics, money equals speech, and I don’t see how you win the argument that one side can spend money to advance their campaign but the other side cannot spend money to counter their advance.
Private companies try to hire away talent from the opposition all of the time.
- Chris - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 2:01 pm:
Seems to turn on whether he is a volunteer or an employee/agent.
If he is an employee or agent, it at least appears to be a violation of the commercial bribery statute, 720 ILCS 5/29A.
- MisterJayEm - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 2:06 pm:
Yes, you’re right.
His campaign will also be more experienced and able to apply lessons from the last race.
My mistake.
– MrJM
- Homebody - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 3:01 pm:
@Anon324: Thanks for the citation. Glad to see someone else thought of this (probably many years ago) before I did today.
- Stuck in Celliniland - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 3:14 pm:
Politics + Entertainment = Hendon
- JoanP - Friday, Dec 9, 22 @ 3:29 pm:
= is about to commit, or has committed a criminal offense against the person or a member of his or her immediate household, =
I don’t think that applies here. Is offering someone a bribe an offense AGAINST that person?