Democrats file election complaints related to COD race

Four members of the Naperville Township Democratic Organization say the political organizations for College of DuPage board Chairwoman Kathy Hamilton and three candidates she supported during the April election broke campaign disclosure rules by failing to report loans and in-kind donations in a timely manner.

But Hamilton on Thursday said the complaints are without merit, politically motivated and "a reflection of bitterness by the people that lost the election."

Paul Mandrik of Aurora, Deanne Sereno of Aurora and Steve Purduski of Naperville sent their complaints last week to the Illinois State Board of Elections. They claim the committees for COD trustees Deanne Mazzochi, Charles Bernstein and Frank Napolitano didn't report tens of thousands of dollars of in-kind contributions within the five days required by state law.

Naperville resident Ed Agustin, meanwhile, submitted a complaint against the Committee to Elect Kathy Hamilton.

In that complaint, Agustin says Hamilton's committee didn't report a total of $66,000 in loans and loan repayments until June 30, even though the money was received between April 14 and May 13.

"She (Hamilton) had endorsed the Clean Slate group under the pretext of providing transparency for the board while failing to abide by those rules, which required proper disclosure of major campaign contributions," Agustin said.

Hamilton, a longtime critic of COD President Robert Breuder, was elevated to the position of board chairwoman after Clean Slate candidates Mazzochi, Bernstein and Napolitano won the April election and created a new majority on the COD board.

During the campaign, the Clean Slate candidates vowed to bring change to the board, which had come under fire after approving a nearly $763,000 buyout of Breuder's contract.

Since being seated, the new board majority has made policy changes and placed Breuder on paid administrative leave. The board also put two of COD's top financial administrators on leave amid questions involving their investment practices.

"We know we're making changes when people are complaining so much," Hamilton said when asked about the election-related complaints.

While COD races are nonpartisan, Kim Savage, chairwoman of the Downers Grove Township Democratic Organization, lost her COD trustee seat during the election. Another candidate defeated in the race, Dan Bailey, was supported by the DuPage Democratic Party.

Mandrik, Purduski, Sereno and Agustin are officers with the Naperville Township Democratic Organization, which is chaired by COD Trustee Dianne McGuire. McGuire has been at odds with Hamilton over numerous issues at the state's largest community college.

On Thursday, McGuire said all four acted on their own when they filed their complaints.

"I did not direct them to do this," McGuire said. "They're all savvy individuals. They're all politically aware of how campaigns should be done, and try to do the right thing."

Purduski, who made a failed bid for a Naperville City Council seat in the spring, said he pursued his complaint because he's a former candidate.

"I had to conform to the campaign laws," Purduski said. "The Clean Slate group campaigned on transparency in government, and it's failing to file over $100,000 of campaign contributions."

But Gwen Henry, who is the DuPage County treasurer and served as treasurer of the Citizens to Elect Charles Bernstein, said the group was slow in reporting some in-kind donations it received from the Clean Slate for College of DuPage Committee because it wasn't notified about the donations until recently.

"No one is trying to be devious or anything," Henry said. "It was an honest mistake on our part. We can't report something we don't know about."

If it's determined the committees violated state election rules, the groups could be fined.

Mazzochi, Bernstein and Napolitano didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.