State Program Failed to Disclose Payments to Top Political Insiders
Former Sen. James De Leo.
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Court filings indicate a former Democratic State Senator-turned-lobbyist from Chicago’s west side and a longtime GOP insider and lobbyist were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit sharing by a state vendor.
GOP lobbyist Nancy Kimme pictured with Bruce Rauner in 2014.
Vendor Assistance Program, LLC, owned by attorney and former Michael Madigan aide Brian Hynes, buys government debt to state contractors, recovers the unpaid funds, and pockets the late fees.
A court filing shows that De Leo, who served in the House before spending 17 years in the Senate, resigning in 2010 and Nancy Kimme, a former top aide to the late Judy Baar-Topinka and former Gov. Bruce Rauner and later became a top GOP lobbyist, were paid 1% of profits from VAP.
WBEZ reports the company filed state mandated disclosures that, through July, VAP had collected nearly $396 million in late-payment penalties from Illinois taxpayers over more than a decade.
The payments to De Leo and Kimme came to light in a suit related to VAP, accusing the company created out-of-state shell companies to avoid paying Illinois income taxes.
In the suit, the company was accused of “failing to disclose to the state that certain former public officials and lobbyists held financial interests” in VAP.
A spokesperson for VAP told WBEZ it was not required to list its deals with DeLeo and Kimme in public financial disclosures it had turned in to the state. The spokesperson also said DeLeo and Kimme no longer work for VAP.
De Leo could not be reached Monday. Kimme did not return a message from The Illinoize.
Both De Leo and Kimme have had run-ins with scandal previously.
De Leo was indicted in “Operation Greylord” but plead guilty to a lower charge that allowed him to stay in office.
Kimme was accused of using a private e-mail to discuss state jobs in the Rauner administration and of “secretive” dealings with a state lottery contractor.
Neither has been accused of any wrongdoing, but one legislator told The Illinoize Tuesday the VAP profits proves the need for dramatic lobbying and ethics reform in Illinois.
“Why we aren’t making real changes to improve the public’s trust is beyond me,” said the lawmaker, who asked not to be identified as to not impact any statehouse discussions. “This is why the public hates us.”