Dan Proft listens April 29, 2024, during a hearing of the State Board of Elections after Illinois Democrats filed a complaint against the GOP strategist and right-wing radio talk show host for alleged illegal election coordination with former GOP gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey.
Mullen appeared at the Board of Elections meeting Tuesday, hoping board members would discuss their views on the Proft-Bailey case or provide some guidance about what they view to be prohibited coordinated activities. Mullen said he had clients seeking advice for the upcoming Nov. 5 election and he didn’t know what to tell them.that the agency pursue rules to specify what activity was prohibited or that the board seek clarification from the legislature.
But Illinois lawmakers don’t return to session until after the general election and, even then, Kent Redfield, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Springfield, is doubtful any action will be taken. In the case of the 2022 election, People Who Play By The Rules PAC was started by Proft after national ultraconservative mega-donor Richard Uihlein, the Lake Forest billionaire founder of the Uline office product supply firm, made known his interest in the race.
Democrats had contended the meeting demonstrated that Uihlein had significant money to spend for the campaign and would follow through with more. They also cited the PAC’s TV ads that used footage from Bailey’s campaign website and that several ads addressed crime in Chicago, a topic that Bailey talked about in regular visits to Proft’s radio show.