Internal GOP report expands on McKenna admonishment

SPRINGFIELD - State Republican party officials concluded that governor hopeful Andy McKenna "compounded one ethical misstep with another" when he used party resources to poll his own name as a possible candidate for the office, according to an internal party report leaked to a downstate newspaper.

Party officials concluded that McKenna, who resigned his post as party chairman in August to run for governor, shouldn't have included his name in the poll without the central committee's approval.

The report, which was the result of an internal ethics investigation, concluded that the polling that was tailored to McKenna "reveals both an apparent and an actual conflict of interest" between his political aspirations and role as party chairman.

The report's language, first published in the Springfield State Journal-Register, is much stronger than a joint statement issued by the Illinois Republican Party and the McKenna campaign earlier this month, which said McKenna "had no intent to violate the spirit or the intent of the party's bylaws, and he sincerely apologizes for having done so."

Despite the published report disclosing the contents of the report, Illinois Republican Party spokesman Curt Conrad said Tuesday that GOP officials continue to consider the matter closed and have no plans to officially release the report.

A McKenna spokesman also had no further comment.