Bank money focus of dispute in Ill. treasurer race

SPRINGFIELD -- The Democrat running for Illinois treasurer accused her opponent Thursday of improperly accepting donations from banks doing business with the state.

Robin Kelly says Republican Dan Rutherford took $3,500 from two banks, one where the state had deposited money and one bidding on a government contract.

At a Chicago news conference, she called it a violation of new laws aimed at ending "pay to play" politics in Illinois. Kelly said she would file complaints with state elections and ethics boards.

But Rutherford spokesman Brad Hahn said Kelly has her facts wrong.

He said the ethics law covers state contracts, not decisions about where the state will deposit its money. He said deposits are made according to an open, competitive bidding process.

"The law talks about contracts. This is not a contract," Hahn said.

One of the banks was bidding on a state contract when it gave $500 to Rutherford's campaign, but Hahn said Rutherford had no way of knowing that. Under the law, companies making such bids are not supposed to donate to candidates for the government office involved.

The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform says donations from banks are a gray area in a complicated ethics law. But the group's director, Cindi Canary, said it's probably smart for treasurer candidates to reject the donations because of the ethical questions they raise.

Kelly agreed.

"I will not take money from a bank, period," said Kelly, who is now chief of staff to Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, a candidate for U.S. Senate.

Hahn said there's no reason for Rutherford, a Pontiac state senator, to reject the donations if they aren't banned.

"Dan Rutherford is following the law. Every contribution he takes is public record and open to scrutiny," Hahn said.