A year and a half after Republican Darren Bailey lost his campaign to challenge Gov. JB Pritzker, state election officials are weighing whether he illegally colluded with conservative radio show host and political operative Dan Proft in the 2022 campaign.
The State Board of Elections on Monday convened a hearing on the matter, launched in a complaint by a top official with the state鈥檚 Democratic party in the waning days of the 2022 campaign cycle. The complaint alleges Proft鈥檚 independent expenditure committee 鈥� the 鈥淧eople Who Play By The Rules PAC鈥� 鈥� coordinated with Bailey, violating both state and federal law.
If the board finds that the two organizations did illegally coordinate, Proft鈥檚 organization and Bailey鈥檚 campaign could be on the hook for millions of dollars in fines.
During Monday鈥檚 hearing, David Fox, an attorney for Democratic Party of Illinois Executive Director Ben Hardin, who lodged the complaint, painted a picture of illegal campaign coordination via a secret meeting, use of campaign footage in advertisements and Bailey鈥檚 appearances on Proft鈥檚 AM radio show.
"Mr. Bailey directly told Mr. Proft what message he wanted to get out. And Mr. Proft's PAC then released multiple ads on that message,鈥� Fox said. 鈥淎 straightforward request and response. It happened in public but that makes no difference.鈥�
Proft, who still co-hosts his 鈥淐hicago鈥檚 Morning Answer鈥� morning drive-time radio show despite his relocation to Naples, Florida, made the trip back to Chicago for the hearing. During , Proft confirmed to co-host Amy Jacobson that the hearing happened to fall on his birthday, and that he鈥檇 be celebrating 鈥渋n Illinois State Board of Elections prison.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 care. You know, you just have to deal with this specious lawfare from fraudsters like Mark Elias representing fraudsters like Jelly Belly Pritzker,鈥� Proft said, referring to Democratic attorney Mark Elias, whose firm employs the DPI attorneys handling the case, and using a derogatory nickname for Pritzker.
During the hearing, Hardin鈥檚 lawyers described a meeting between Proft and Bailey that took place the day after Bailey won the Illinois Republican primary in June 2022. On that day, Bailey traveled to a Chicago-area country club where he, his campaign manager Jose Durbin, and Proft met in a backroom to discuss the campaign.
At that meeting, Proft told Bailey that Republican megadonor Richard Uihlein had agreed to provide $20 million to Bailey鈥檚 campaign 鈥� and allegedly slid an envelope over to Bailey containing a check to that effect 鈥� if Proft was given control over it.
Questioned about the meeting on Monday, Bailey confirmed that it became heated as Proft made clear his disagreements with Durbin鈥檚 managing of Bailey鈥檚 campaign up to that point.
鈥淢r. Proft, in your own words, called Mr. Durbin an 鈥榚ffing moron鈥� 鈥� is that right?鈥� DPI attorney Marilyn Robb asked Bailey, who confirmed with a 鈥測es.鈥�
Proft said Monday he disagreed with the 鈥済eneral messaging and message discipline with respect to the primary campaign.鈥�
If Proft wasn鈥檛 given control, Uihlein would instead direct those millions to Proft鈥檚 PAC, according to testimony in Monday鈥檚 hearing. According to state campaign finance records, Uihlein gave $42 million to the PAC, which in turn spent nearly $36 million during the second half of 2022.
In addition to that meeting, Hardin鈥檚 lawyers argued that Bailey鈥檚 appearances on Proft鈥檚 talk show were a way to coordinate messaging.
鈥淲e鈥檙e denying people the truth. This is why your streets aren鈥檛 safe鈥︹�� Bailey said in a June 29, 2022 interview on Proft鈥檚 show, hours before that backroom meeting. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got the message 鈥� it鈥檚 true. We鈥檝e just got to get it out.鈥�
Proft denied the radio appearance counted as coordination, pointing to the fact that crime was a hot topic throughout the 2022 election cycle and that he had other candidates for office and public officials on his show.
Democrats鈥� passage of the SAFE-T Act, which included certain police reforms and made Illinois the first state to fully abandon its cash bail system, became a unifying theme for Republicans to knock Democrats after its passage in early 2021 and through its full implementation last year.
Proft鈥檚 PAC also used footage taken from the Bailey campaign鈥檚 YouTube channel, something that Hardin鈥檚 lawyers also argued was only done to coordinate giving material to friendly PACs.
鈥淭hat is explainable for no purpose other than a desire to help independent groups make ads,鈥� Fox said.
Under Illinois election law, 鈥渋ndependent expenditure committees鈥� like Proft鈥檚 PAC are barred from making expenditures 鈥渋n connection, consultation, or concert with or at the request or suggestion of鈥� public officials or candidates for office.
But Bailey鈥檚 lawyer said that the actual meaning of this prohibition is not clear.
鈥淭his would have been far more appropriate for the board to take up as a rule-making process and make a pronouncement so that PACs and candidates can govern their affairs more clearly based on a clearly delineated set of rules going forward rather than adjudicating somebody for violating rules before we determine what they are,鈥� Jeffrey Meyer said Monday.
In January, a previous hearing officer from the state board of elections noted that it was 鈥渞ather difficult to determine鈥� what constitutes coordination under the law, given that neither state law nor administrative rules provide further guidance on the subject.
There is also a lack of case law, according to Illinois State Board of Elections spokesperson Matt Dietrich, who said that this is the first complaint in Illinois to allege coordination between an independent expenditure committee and a candidate.
Lawyers for Hardin as well as Proft and Bailey are expected to file additional legal briefs in the coming weeks. The Illinois State Board of Elections will decide the case this summer.
Proft has also faced criticisms and a 2016 Federal Election Commission complaint over his publishing and use of a network of free 鈥渘ewspapers鈥� and corresponding websites to support conservative political candidates.
In 2018, Proft and then-Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan in federal court in an unsuccessful attempt to ease restrictions on what activities could be coordinated between political groups and candidates.
In 2020, Proft shuttered his first independent expenditure PAC 鈥� called Liberty Principles PAC 鈥� with $39,000 unaccounted for, according to state finance records. Uihlein had also donated heavily to that PAC, which Proft founded in 2012, to support conservative candidates.
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