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Arlington Heights board finds no violation in campaign complaint against Michelle Hunter; amendment to force state filing failed
Summary
The Village Board accepted the village attorney's report that a resident's complaint alleging campaign contribution violations against trustee candidate Michelle Hunter was not sustained. The board declined an amendment requiring Hunter to file additional corrections with the Illinois State Board of Elections by March 10, 2025.
The Arlington Heights Village Board on March 3 accepted a report from Village Attorney Hart Passman finding no violation of the village's campaign contributions ordinance in a complaint about trustee candidate Michelle Hunter.
Passman told the board the village received a complaint on Jan. 30 from resident Keith Moons alleging improper in-kind contributions from the Illinois Republican Party and, in an amended complaint, a $1,000 check from Barbara Bly. "After reviewing the information presented to me and some of my own research of what's available to me through the state board of elections website, it's my determination that there has not been a violation of our campaign contributions ordinance," Passman said.
The village attorney said his review showed the Illinois GOP in-kind payments were made in connection with a prior state representative race and thus were not covered by the village code, and that the $1,000 Bly check was adequately documented as two $500 contributions. Passman recommended Hunter "take all steps practicable to correct the reporting on the State Board of Elections website," but framed that as advice rather than a finding of a violation.
Hunter told the board she has practiced law for 23 years and defended her filings as compliant. "I would never do anything to jeopardize my law license," she said, describing timeline details of the complaint and saying she and her treasurer made corrections for the Bly contribution and that the GOP in-kind reporting related to her prior state representative campaign.
After comments from residents and trustees, the board voted on two items. An amendment proposed by Trustee Dunnington that would have required Hunter to amend her Illinois State Board of Elections filings with corrected information by March 10, 2025 failed on a 3-5 roll call. The board then adopted the village attorney's recommendation to accept the report and take no further action; roll call recorded eight votes in favor and 1 opposed.
Residents who spoke during the meeting urged the candidate to update state filings so that public records do not give the appearance of impropriety. Complainant Keith Moons also urged a faster state filing: "Please ensure the candidate amends her committee now or very soon in order to remove those obvious campaign contribution errors," he said.
The village code cited in the report caps individual donations for village office cycles at $500 and organization donations at $1,000; Passman noted the code applies only to contributions intended for village races. The attorney also noted federal guidance on joint checks when explaining how the Bly contribution was documented.
The board's acceptance of the report means no municipal penalty or remedial action will be imposed by the village. Several trustees urged clarity in future filings and encouraged voluntary corrections to state records to avoid lingering appearances of impropriety.
The minutes will record the full discussion and vote.
