County Commissioner Gorman cleared of campaign finance allegations

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Commissioner Elizabeth Doody Gorman listens to testimony at a public hearing of the finance committee of the Cook County Board at the County Building Thursday, Nov.3, 2011. | Rich Hein~Sun-Times

There was no evidence Cook County Commissioner Liz Doody Gorman violated state campaign finance laws in her 2010 re-election bid, the state board of elections has ruled.

Mark Thompson, Gorman’s opponent in the 2010 Republican primary, filed eight fraud complaints against Gorman. The state election board tossed the case, but Thompson took the case to the Illinois Appellate Court, which ultimately ruled the case should be aired at a public hearing.

Along the way, seven of the allegations in the complaint were dismissed by the election board. In the remaining charge, Thompson argued Gorman and the now-defunct The Gorman Good Government Group — a fundraising arm — violated election code by “falsely reporting the identity of parties that loaned the Group $390,000 in 2002 and reporting a false recipient” of $100,080 in June 2002.

Initial campaign finance reports showed the loans coming from Gorman’s husband’s car dealerships in Midlothian.

However, the reports were later changed to show the loans coming directly from her husband, Gerald Gorman.

A hearing was held last Thursday and decision made public Tuesday.

“The Gorman Good Government Group did not act improperly in amending their campaign financing reports in relation to the source of the loans,” the board’s order states.

“This is a good example of how some individuals like Mark Thompson use and exploit the taxpayers’ money, time and our public agencies to conduct their failed political campaigns,” Gorman, who’s district stretches across the southwest suburbs, said in prepared statement emailed to the Sun-Times.

“Mr. Thompson filed his complaints purely for political reasons. He didn’t care that the complaints would exhaust taxpayer dollars.”

Thompson, who could appeal the decision, could not be reached for comment.