* As you may recall, Tom DeVore is attempting to intervene in a lawsuit filed by Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) over the assault weapons ban. Cities 929, which was profiled by the Washington Post for its far-right bent, reached out to both DeVore and Caulkins…
“What you can’t do is use campaign money for your own personal legal fees… if you’re gonna spend money on legal fees it has to be associated with your political activities, and this lawsuit that was filed by Mr. Caulkins, in his individual capacity, he can’t use campaign funds and you certainly can’t use that money to pay for some association that doesn’t exist,” said DeVore. “You can give it to Gun Saves Lives and National Rifle Associations because those are non-profit organizations.”
The Illinois Supreme Court recently weighed in on this topic…
The Supreme Court affirmed the Illinois State Board of Elections decision that found Solis’ use of campaign funds to pay legal fees was a proper expenditure “incurred to defray the customary and reasonable expenses of an officeholder in connection with the performance of governmental and public service functions” in accordance with state law.
Rep. Caulkins could probably claim that his lawsuit has a “public service” function. But…
Caulkins filed the lawsuit in his personal capacity outside of his official position and is the lead plaintiff.
* More from the story…
Tom DeVore said six individuals felt misled by Dan and reached out to him and expressed that they were upset that they have been added to an association,Law-Abiding Gun Owners of Macon County,” that they have never heard of. So now, DeVore filed a request in that case for the judge to issue an order saying, ‘We are not members of this association and we are not plaintiffs in this case.’ […]
Caulkins also said his attorney has talked with Tom DeVore and Caulkins offered to pay Tom $5,000 for using his lawsuit arguments in his own lawsuit. Tom said he refused the money.
“He thinks he is smarter than anyone else,” said Caulkins. “We will see him in court.”‘
* The Illinois Freedom Caucus, of which Caulkins is a member, released this statement the other day, which not so subtly sides with Caulkins…
The Illinois Freedom Caucus today is issuing the following statement on the various lawsuits being filed to challenge the weapons ban legislation recently signed into law.
“Illinois, like the federal government, is comprised of three co-equal branches. The Legislative and Executive branch have the ability to enact legislation into law, but it is the job of the courts to be a check on the other two branches and to ensure the laws we have on the books are Constitutional.
To that end, the Illinois Freedom Caucus supports ALL legal challenges to this unconstitutional legislation. We are in unprecedented territory and now is the time to be united. We support and welcome all legal actions that could result in restoring our 2nd Amendment rights and putting our out of control government in check.
We support these lawsuits because upholding our Constitution is paramount. The idea that honest citizens must register their firearms with the state as a condition to exercising their 2nd Amendment rights is unconstitutional on its face. It is imperative for honest citizens to take a stand against this extreme law and that is what exactly what Illinois Freedom Caucus members are doing.”
The Illinois Freedom Caucus is comprised of State Representatives Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich); Chris Miller (R-Oakland); Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville); Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City) and Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur). The members of the Illinois Freedom Caucus are members of the Illinois General Assembly who are advocating for limited government, lower taxes and accountability and integrity in government.
…Adding… More from Rep. Caulkins in the full interview…
I’ve tried to stay above board, take the high road. Tom just seems to keep wanting to pound away and pound away. I don’t know whether he misses the spotlight of running for Attorney General. I don’t know what’s wrong. […]
Now, this is a big money-making deal for Tom. He’s made almost $500,000 in the last month or so with these two lawsuits, and soon to be three lawsuits. And I don’t you know, I don’t understand, you know, why he thinks he needs to get involved in mine. […]
I’ve talked to him and I’ve corresponded with him. He is on a rampage. I don’t know why he won’t listen. He talked to our attorney yesterday, called the Attorney General’s Office, he’s making a mess of this. […]
He’s gotten on my Facebook page, and put up things that I think are probably derogatory. Well, they are derogatory. And defamatory? I don’t know, but I’m not interested in that. And I can’t talk to Tom. He has already made it perfectly clear that he’s on his own trail.