Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Latest Post | Last 10 Posts | Archives

Previous Post: Indiana goes all in
Next Post: SB 1652: A National Model for Smarter Regulation

The final insult

Posted in:

* Sheesh…

The unsuccessful 2011 mayoral campaign of Carol Moseley Braun has failed to file documentation on how $315,000 in campaign funds was spent, something that is required by state law.

Illinois Board of Elections officials told the Chicago Sun-Times and NBC5 News they have been unsuccessful in getting either Braun or her now-defunct campaign to explain how the money was spent.

Candidates are required by law to file quarterly campaign disclosure statements. In an April 15 filing, Braun reported raising $323,000 and spending $315,000.

In the report, the Braun campaign listed “Vendors Multiple” instead of itemizing expenditures over $150.

* And any remaining good will for Carol Moseley Braun should now vanish forevermore…

Any fault, according to Moseley Braun, lies with her former treasurer, Billie Paige.

“If Billie Paige neglected to (detail those expenses), it doesn’t surprise, she is elderly and overwhelmed,” Moseley Braun said by phone this week.

First of all, Billie Paige resigned as Braun’s campaign treasurer on April 13th. If this reporting problem was her fault, Braun has had plenty of time to straighten out the books since then.

Secondly, Paige said she warned the Braun campaign about the problem…

By phone this week, Paige told NBC Chicago she had raised questions herself about the expenditure omissions.

Thirdly, Billie Paige has been one of Braun’s best friends for decades. To make these accusations now is inexcusable. Paige has defended Braun through thick and thin, and there’s been plenty of both over the years.

And, lastly, Ms. Paige is not a senile old woman. Far from it. To suggest that this problem was caused by Paige’s age and lack mental acuity is just flat-out disgusting and wrong. She’s still as sharp as a tack. The real problem was a wholly disorganized and disjointed campaign apparatus created by Braun’s total incompetence. Nobody knew what was going on from minute to minute because Braun thought she knew best. She didn’t.

Carol Braun ran a terrible campaign, and these financial reporting problems are further proof of this fact. Thankfully, she has finally been exposed as the horribly disorganized, mean-spirited person many of us have long known her to be.

It was obvious to all of us who knew her that Paige realized early on that she’d made the biggest mistake of her life by convincing Braun to run for mayor. It weighed on her heavily, and probably broke her heart.

And now this. The final insult, and a total crock to boot.

Go away, Carol, and never come back.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 5:51 am

Comments

  1. Carol Moseley Braun never had any intention of being mayor, she just wanted to raise some money and have a good time.

    Comment by foster brooks Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 6:31 am

  2. Who ran her campaign? carol was a plant from day 1

    Comment by Glass is half full Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 6:42 am

  3. Rich, Rich, Rich…

    Have some organic tea and mellow out man..

    A state election official said that’s not true, noting two letters were sent this summer to Braun and her most recent campaign treasurer asking them to provide details on how the money was spent. To date, no details have been provided.

    “There is no there, there,” Braun said by phone, defending her campaign and adding, “I am out of politics and not in your world anymore.”

    You can’t hide from this Carol as much as you would like to. One can only hope the book is tossed at her in terms of fines.

    Comment by OneMan Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 6:52 am

  4. Just Carol’s way of living off he public dole. Run for office, squander the funds, blame discrepancies on someone else, usually the press for pointing this out. It’s sad that Ms Paige was targeted this time.

    Comment by Wensicia Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 6:56 am

  5. Inflation ? For the 1992 Election it was only $ 249,000 she didn’t properly document and got away with it. Blamed the ” bookkeeper.”

    Comment by x ace Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 6:56 am

  6. Nothing “sad” about it. Billie Paige was just the same in her day. Karma, etc.

    Comment by MCgone Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 7:02 am

  7. Carol Mosely Braun has to be the most unqualified person to ever be electred to the Senate. And to think she actually ran for president and people paid attention to her is an indication of how messed up the system can be sometimes.

    Comment by Stooges Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 7:48 am

  8. Awwww thanks for sticking up for the working folk in the campaigns Rich :)

    Comment by Dirt Digger Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 8:10 am

  9. –Carol Mosely Braun has to be the most unqualified person to ever be electred to the Senate.–

    She’s probably in the class picture, but there’s a lot of competition there. Sen. Bilbo of Mississippi comes to mind.

    Comment by wordslinger Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 8:14 am

  10. Rich said:

    “Go away, Carol, and never come back.”

    To jail.

    Comment by Cincinnatus Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 8:25 am

  11. staffers? consultants?

    Comment by amalia Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 8:29 am

  12. Wordslinger: definitely. The U.S. Senate is where incompetence goes to thrive.

    Comment by Dirt Digger Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 8:30 am

  13. Great idea Carol! Through the “elderly and overwhelmed” under the bus. Shesh….

    Comment by Stones Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 8:39 am

  14. You go Carol, throw Billie Paige under the bus. How about Victor Reyes and Mike Noonan, they’ve been around a campaign before.

    Comment by Jim Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 8:48 am

  15. I wonder how much money Victor Reyes was eventually paid for helping this mess run for mayor.

    Comment by Hi Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 9:02 am

  16. But seriously $300K is a LOT of street money. That could have bought her an ad on broadcast.

    Another case study in the uselessness of “Chicago-style” politics.

    Comment by Dirt Digger Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 9:06 am

  17. Ole “C”an’t “M”anipulate her own “B”udget should be held accountable. I agree with foster brooks and Wensicia - Braun likely used these monies to fund her own life. What else has she got going for her? Tea that no one buys? That great lecture tour? Her new tell all book? Consultant gigs? Wouldn’t look good for a former Senator to be slingin’ hash somewhere. What’s next, a run for gov? pres? dog catcher?

    GO AWAY. Preferably for a 3-5 stretch for fraud.

    Comment by dupage dan Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 9:21 am

  18. CMB is an example of why the founding fathers saw the need to create a Senate in addition to the House. …….Oh, wait a minute, she was elected to the Senate! Our representative republic is in serious trouble!

    Comment by One of the 35 Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 9:36 am

  19. The whole campaign wasn’t for real it was just a chance to make money for Carol. I wonder how much campaign cash made it’s way to carols home loan or so called tea business. It’s criminal but in Chicago cook county it normal.

    Comment by Fed up Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 9:37 am

  20. shouldn’t be too hard to investigate. pull bank statements, look at checks that were written.

    Comment by Robert Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 9:43 am

  21. Carol Braun has been in over her ski’s for a long
    time. Good riddance.

    Comment by mokenavince Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 9:48 am

  22. There is nothing in these latest revelations that could not have been truthfully said about CMB and her character in 1998. It just takes some people longer to acknowledge reality.

    Comment by Barskittles Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 9:59 am

  23. Perhaps if state law called for a campaign to be suspended if filing wasn’t done would have addressed this issue. There is no reason to attack Carol, who was a great state and U.S. senator. She served us well.

    Doug Dobmeyer

    Comment by Doug Dobmeyer Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 10:05 am

  24. So she hired someone for a job and that person wasn’t up for the task, according to her. Glad she didn’t win.
    not that she had a chance.
    Carol, don’t let the door hit you on the way out, thanks for playing.

    Comment by frustrated GOP Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 10:13 am

  25. Don’t hold back Rich, tell us what you really think. And dear Mr. Dobmeyer, please define “great”

    Comment by Dan G. Ling from the 3rd Floor Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 10:22 am

  26. Carol’s classnessness is surpassed only by her sense of entitlement.

    Comment by Corduroy Bob Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 10:23 am

  27. I was amazed when she decided to run, like some kind of bizarre political zombie out there running what was a comically horrible campaign.

    Now for all her funds to be unaccounted for (basically)…she deserves everything she has coming to her. She is finished for good, thank God. Bad senator, bad candidate, and given this story as well as plenty of other stories from the past - a worse person.

    Comment by Baines 4 Prez Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 10:29 am

  28. Let’s again give the Chicago electorate some credit, that they weren’t buying Carol’s act.

    Granted she ran a terrible campaign, but even if she had run a competent race, she wouldn’t have won. And it’s worth noting, for the insinuations sometimes made about African-Americans voting for Obama because of his skin color, that Carol did abysmally even in the African-American wards.

    Comment by ZC Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 10:33 am

  29. Back when she ran for the Senate, I was so excited to be able to vote for a woman for the office. That she just happened to be black made it all the sweeter. Then, she proceeded to demonstrate that she was incompetent, had horrible judgment, and was just plain an embarrassment to every single one of us who voted for her. She continues to uphold that proud tradition.

    Sheesh. Disappear, already.

    Comment by Aldyth Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 10:41 am

  30. Braun’s Senate office was noteworthy for their incompetence when I dealt with them. I sent multiple pieces of correspondence and heard nothing.

    Finally I went there in person. Tempy Dandridge had been keeping all my letters in a folder.

    A veteran service officer from another organization mentioned that Dandridge was a problem for many veterans.

    Before the mayoral race I ran into a friend I respect on the “L”. He was working for the CMB campaign. I asked him about it. He talked about the campaign like he was ashamed of it. He said the campaign was poorly run. He said, “Carl, I’m doing this for the money.”

    Comment by Carl Nyberg Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 10:55 am

  31. Can anyone please give Rod Blagojevich the same message?

    Comment by Hotel Ibiza Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 10:58 am

  32. Doug D….Might want to check your facts? Don’t think she was a state senator? and she definately wasn’t “great” in any office she held.
    She was however the beneficiary of some good timing and luck, in that she got into the US Senate race after Dixon made a bad vote (Clarence Thomas) and Hofield spent a boat load of money beating Dixon up.
    She then went on to be 1 of the worst US Senators in our history.
    To use her words, she was “overwhelmed”.

    Comment by Are Ya Kiddin' Me? Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 11:00 am

  33. Oh! And another thing, Carol Mosely Braun has been this way since day one. Why is this such a shock to everyone?

    Comment by Hotel Ibiza Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 11:01 am

  34. What kind of fine might she get for this? A ban on seeking future office is possible, but in what hallucinatory fantasy would CMB ever run for office again?

    (Then again, I could have said that a year ago, so perhaps there are some teeth in that penalty.)

    Comment by Boone Logan Square Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 11:16 am

  35. CM-B always makes me sad. She was going so well until she hit the Senate and then it was like her common sense, political sense and grey matter was slowly sucked out her ears. I wonder if Jesse Helms didn’t insert some insidious bug. Now she’s become the Harold Stassen of Illinois. What a waste.

    Comment by D.P. Gumby Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 11:32 am

  36. She was in the Illinois House and Cook County Recorder of Deeds before the US Senate. Anyway I begin to understand why we never hear from New Zealand.

    Comment by BigTwich Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 11:37 am

  37. No Carol should not go away from the State Board of Elections, possibly the Attorney General or the IRS. Her feet should be held to the fire. Did see pocket money without paying taxes on it? These and a number of other questions need to be answered.

    Comment by Oh Really Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 11:40 am

  38. Aldyth is basically what I think which is that while she wouldn’t have been my candidate there were a lot people who really were and could have been inspired by her and seen here as a role model and she let them down.

    Comment by shore Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 12:13 pm

  39. “Go away, Carol, and never come back.”

    Amen! A real piece of work.

    Comment by wishbone Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 12:16 pm

  40. Rich, why are you racist and sexist? THat is the only reason you do not like CMB.

    lol

    Comment by Wumpus Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 1:50 pm

  41. All of the people on her payroll(staffers, ministers and consultants) are probably pretty happy about the non reporting!!

    Comment by Lucky Friday, Sep 30, 11 @ 3:28 pm

Add a comment

Sorry, comments are closed at this time.

Previous Post: Indiana goes all in
Next Post: SB 1652: A National Model for Smarter Regulation

Last 10 posts:

more Posts (Archives)

WordPress Mobile Edition available at alexking.org.

powered by WordPress.