The more you vote, the better you feel
Posted: Aug. 12, 2006
Cary Spivak &
Dan Bice
State Senate candidate Donovan Riley is a big believer in democracy.
So much so that he rarely misses a chance to vote.
And, in one case, Riley may have gone so far as to vote twice in the same election.
Yep, that's right - twice in the same election.
That is the allegation laid out by a special-interest group in a complaint filed with the state Elections Board on Friday.
The complaint by All Children Matter, a proponent of private school vouchers, cites documents that suggest that Riley, a 69-year-old former CEO of the University of Illinois Hospital, voted twice in the 2000 general election, once in Chicago and then again in Oconomowoc. A well-heeled liberal Democrat, Riley is running a vigorous primary campaign against state Sen. Jeff Plale, a conservative Dem from South Milwaukee.
Late Friday, Riley offered this stunning written response to the charges:
"My best recollection is that I was splitting my time between Wisconsin and Illinois, and it's possible I made a mistake. If the Elections Board decides to look into this matter, I will gladly assist."
Not what you would call a vigorous defense.
In his statement, Riley went on to attack the group that filed the complaint, accusing it of diverting attention from Plale's Senate record and the substantive issues of the campaign.
Reached Friday night, Plale said he was unaware of the complaint.
"Wow!" said Plale, who has come under attack from the right and left since winning a Senate seat in 2003. "It's news to me, but you've piqued my curiosity."
Even stronger was the reply from the lawyer for All Children Matter, who called Riley's explanation "preposterous."
"How can you claim it's a mistake when you registered the day before the election, then voted in Wisconsin and go and vote in Illinois on the same day?" asked Michael Crooks, a Madison attorney. Crooks noted that the statute of limitations on voter fraud is six years.
All Children Matter, a Michigan-based non-profit that supports Plale, a school choice proponent, asked in its complaint that state Elections Board staff look into the allegations. The complaint is signed by George Mitchell, a vocal vouchers proponent who helps run a conduit that has directed thousands of dollars to Plale's campaign over the years.
A top state elections official, however, said his agency would not have jurisdiction on the matter.
"If we received evidence of that (double-voting), we would refer it to the appropriate district attorney or U.S. attorney," state election czar Kevin Kennedy said late Friday.
Records provided us by Tom Leach, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, indicate that Donovan W. Riley voted in the city nine times from Nov. 8, 1988, to Nov. 7, 2000. The registration information says Riley, who is listed as being born in 1937, lived initially on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago before moving to Harbor Drive in the city. Riley is recorded as having voted in person in all of these elections.
According to his campaign Web site, Riley has over the years taught at Loyola University, practiced law for Michael Best & Friedrich's Chicago office and was the CEO of the University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago and the associate chancellor of the University of Illinois Medical Center. His campaign manager, James Chiong, said he held all of these jobs at various times between 1988 and 2000.
Riley moved to Bay View in late 2005, a year after retiring and shortly before he launched his campaign bid.
Of course, Chicago has built a reputation for its sloppy and sometimes creative election record-keeping. This is the place, after all, where people vote early and vote often.
But by the 2000 election, Leach said, the city was scanning ballots to verify that someone voted, instead of doing it by hand.
"There's always a chance (of a mistake)," Leach said. "But we're right 99 percent of the time."
Riley also owned property in Wisconsin and was splitting his time between the two locations after his divorce became final in early 2000.
Peggy Chapman, the Oconomowoc clerk-treasurer, said Friday that Riley registered to vote in Oconomowoc on Nov. 6, 2000. The complaint contains a copy of his registration form bearing his birth date and Social Security number. Chapman said her records show Riley voted there on Nov. 7, 2000, and in six other elections, most recently on April 5, 2005.
In addition, the complaint contends that Riley kept his voter registration active in Chicago by returning a canvassing postcard on Sept. 15, 2004, confirming that he was still a resident. The previous day, the complaint notes, Riley voted in an election in Oconomowoc.
Leach downplayed the significance of the fact that Riley is still listed as a registered voter in Chicago, saying it's possible the 2004 update was simply a clerical error. Every major city, he said, has people on its voter rolls who have since moved elsewhere. He pointed out that Riley is not listed as having voted in Chicago in the past six years.
What's more important, he and everyone else agrees, are the records that list Riley as voting in two locations on the same day.
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That fking turd should be strung up!
Posted: Aug. 12, 2006
Cary Spivak &
Dan Bice
State Senate candidate Donovan Riley is a big believer in democracy.
So much so that he rarely misses a chance to vote.
And, in one case, Riley may have gone so far as to vote twice in the same election.
Yep, that's right - twice in the same election.
That is the allegation laid out by a special-interest group in a complaint filed with the state Elections Board on Friday.
The complaint by All Children Matter, a proponent of private school vouchers, cites documents that suggest that Riley, a 69-year-old former CEO of the University of Illinois Hospital, voted twice in the 2000 general election, once in Chicago and then again in Oconomowoc. A well-heeled liberal Democrat, Riley is running a vigorous primary campaign against state Sen. Jeff Plale, a conservative Dem from South Milwaukee.
Late Friday, Riley offered this stunning written response to the charges:
"My best recollection is that I was splitting my time between Wisconsin and Illinois, and it's possible I made a mistake. If the Elections Board decides to look into this matter, I will gladly assist."
Not what you would call a vigorous defense.
In his statement, Riley went on to attack the group that filed the complaint, accusing it of diverting attention from Plale's Senate record and the substantive issues of the campaign.
Reached Friday night, Plale said he was unaware of the complaint.
"Wow!" said Plale, who has come under attack from the right and left since winning a Senate seat in 2003. "It's news to me, but you've piqued my curiosity."
Even stronger was the reply from the lawyer for All Children Matter, who called Riley's explanation "preposterous."
"How can you claim it's a mistake when you registered the day before the election, then voted in Wisconsin and go and vote in Illinois on the same day?" asked Michael Crooks, a Madison attorney. Crooks noted that the statute of limitations on voter fraud is six years.
All Children Matter, a Michigan-based non-profit that supports Plale, a school choice proponent, asked in its complaint that state Elections Board staff look into the allegations. The complaint is signed by George Mitchell, a vocal vouchers proponent who helps run a conduit that has directed thousands of dollars to Plale's campaign over the years.
A top state elections official, however, said his agency would not have jurisdiction on the matter.
"If we received evidence of that (double-voting), we would refer it to the appropriate district attorney or U.S. attorney," state election czar Kevin Kennedy said late Friday.
Records provided us by Tom Leach, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, indicate that Donovan W. Riley voted in the city nine times from Nov. 8, 1988, to Nov. 7, 2000. The registration information says Riley, who is listed as being born in 1937, lived initially on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago before moving to Harbor Drive in the city. Riley is recorded as having voted in person in all of these elections.
According to his campaign Web site, Riley has over the years taught at Loyola University, practiced law for Michael Best & Friedrich's Chicago office and was the CEO of the University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago and the associate chancellor of the University of Illinois Medical Center. His campaign manager, James Chiong, said he held all of these jobs at various times between 1988 and 2000.
Riley moved to Bay View in late 2005, a year after retiring and shortly before he launched his campaign bid.
Of course, Chicago has built a reputation for its sloppy and sometimes creative election record-keeping. This is the place, after all, where people vote early and vote often.
But by the 2000 election, Leach said, the city was scanning ballots to verify that someone voted, instead of doing it by hand.
"There's always a chance (of a mistake)," Leach said. "But we're right 99 percent of the time."
Riley also owned property in Wisconsin and was splitting his time between the two locations after his divorce became final in early 2000.
Peggy Chapman, the Oconomowoc clerk-treasurer, said Friday that Riley registered to vote in Oconomowoc on Nov. 6, 2000. The complaint contains a copy of his registration form bearing his birth date and Social Security number. Chapman said her records show Riley voted there on Nov. 7, 2000, and in six other elections, most recently on April 5, 2005.
In addition, the complaint contends that Riley kept his voter registration active in Chicago by returning a canvassing postcard on Sept. 15, 2004, confirming that he was still a resident. The previous day, the complaint notes, Riley voted in an election in Oconomowoc.
Leach downplayed the significance of the fact that Riley is still listed as a registered voter in Chicago, saying it's possible the 2004 update was simply a clerical error. Every major city, he said, has people on its voter rolls who have since moved elsewhere. He pointed out that Riley is not listed as having voted in Chicago in the past six years.
What's more important, he and everyone else agrees, are the records that list Riley as voting in two locations on the same day.
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That fking turd should be strung up!
