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Interview: Examining Lavish Spending From Campaign Accounts

Creative Commons via Flickr.com/rustypenny
Rushton found one state legislator who'd spent $3,931 in campaign funds for two stays on the Cayman Islands.

In the March 17 issue of Illinois Times, Springfield’s alt-weekly newspaper, Bruce Rushton looks at how some state lawmakers are spending money they'd collected to fund their political campaigns.

Searching through public documents, he found thousands of dollars spent at the Ritz-Carlton in the Cayman Islands, maintenance on luxury automobiles, and a purchase at a men’s clothing store — that last one was classified as “work attire.”

A lot of this spending would seem to be prohibited by law, but state election officials say the reality is not quite so black and white.

Brian Mackey formerly reported on state government and politics for NPR Illinois and a dozen other public radio stations across the state. Before that, he was A&E editor at The State Journal-Register and Statehouse bureau chief for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.
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