Coming on the heels of former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.'s guilty plea Friday in the misuse of campaign funds, Dan Placko of Fox 32 News is reporting that Illinois State Senator Toi Hutchinson (D-40th) paid her mother $57,000 between July 2010 and December 2012.
"She really wanted to help me. It was entry level and it was exactly what I could have paid some kid to do," Hutchinson says of hiring her mother. "I needed help and I needed somebody who knew all of what that was, so she helped me manage my campaign responsibilities. She helped me get everywhere I was supposed to go and make sure I did not miss a play date, a track meet, a dance recital."
David Morrison, deputy director of Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, told Fox 32 News that "There's a history, especially in the Chicago area, of politicians hiring their relatives for no-show jobs."
David Morrison says while it's entirely legal to pay family members for political work, it raises all sorts of questions: "is the service really needed? Are you paying fair market rates? Is this really the best person to do it or is it a cover for something else?"
Toi Hutchinson is one of 16 Democrats running for the seat vacated by the resignation of Jesse Jackson Jr.
In its Chicago Tribune endorsement of the candidates in the race, in which they enthusiastically endorsed Robin Kelly, the Chicago Tribune said of Toi Hutchinson that she has "dodged or been on the wrong side of several important votes in Springfield. Illinois is in deep debt, yet she voted to keep half-empty prisons open. She skipped an important vote to save money by requiring state retirees to pay part of their health insurance premiums. She voted "present" on a bill to abolish the grossly abused legislative scholarship program. She voted against the only pension reform bill to reach the Senate floor. No surprise: That timid record won her the endorsement of the state's largest public employees union."
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John is the author of an award-winning book, the 2010 Winner of the USA National Best Book award for African-American studies, published by The Elevator Group Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots: How Barack Obama, Two Bookstore Owners, and 300 Volunteers did it. Also available an eBook on Amazon. John is also a member of the Society of Midland Authors and is a book reviewer of political books for the New York Journal of Books. John has volunteered for many political campaigns and is currently an unpaid volunteer for the Robin Kelly for Congress campaign. Robin Kelly also has a facebook fan page.
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