SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Senate President Don Harmon said Wednesday that he disagrees with Illinois election officials who said he collected millions of dollars more in campaign contributions last year than he was allowed to under a state law designed to curtail big-money influence in Illinois politics, but he maintained he is taking the issue “seriously.”

Harmon made the remarks in response to a Tribune report that the Illinois State Board of Elections informed him last month that he improperly accepted numerous political contributions within nine months of the March 2024 primary that exceeded campaign finance limits by nearly $4.1 million.

“I don’t agree with their interpretation,” Harmon said in an interview steps from the Senate floor. The Oak Park Democrat added that he is “confident this will be resolved.”

In a certified letter sent to Harmon after a Tribune inquiry in March about his fundraising, state election officials said he has until April 18 to return the excess campaign cash above the limits “to the contributor or donate an equal amount to charity” or to the state’s general fund.

Otherwise, Harmon potentially could face a fine of $6.1 million, the 150% penalty the state statute calls for against campaign committees that willfully accept contributions over the limit, the letter said. The likelihood of such a massive penalty, however, is minuscule, as politicians often successfully appeal elections board violations or reach settlements with the board, an agency well-known for having minimal enforcement powers.

Senate Republican leader John Curran of Downers Grove contended that the Harmon issue “highlights the need for real-time enforcement by the State Board of Elections,” saying his GOP candidates in the 2024 election were “placed at a significant disadvantage by the failure to enforce campaign finance rules.”

“A board letter and any other action after the election is over is not sufficient,” Curran said in a statement. “Illinoisans deserve a campaign finance system with clear rules, timely oversight and full transparency. Fair elections demand nothing else.”

At issue in Harmon’s case is whether a loophole that allows politicians to remove campaign contribution limits was in effect when he collected what the board considers extra cash between March 2024 and the end of the year.

When caps are in place, candidates can accept only up to a certain amount from individuals, political action committees, corporations and unions. The caps are lifted in races where any candidate reports reaching a “self-funding threshold” in which they give their campaign more than $250,000 for statewide races and $100,000 in state lawmaker and local government races.

It’s a maneuver political insiders call “the money bomb.” Harmon has used the move to lift the contribution limits even when he doesn’t have an opponent.

The election board’s calculation that Harmon accepted nearly $4.1 million more than allowed puts the spotlight back on the loophole, which was highlighted in the 2024 Tribune “Culture of Corruption” series.

Harmon collected as much as $1.2 million from Chicago Land Operators Joint Labor Management PAC and hundreds of thousands of dollars from other public action committees that each were limited to giving no more than $68,500, under the board’s interpretation of state statutes. He also collected more than the $13,700 limit placed on other entities, such as the Sports Betting Alliance, which is seeking to expand gambling on the internet in Illinois and gave Harmon $250,000.

According to board records, Harmon notified election officials on Jan. 17, 2023, that he had donated $168,152 to his campaign fund, triggering the removal of the contribution caps. Those same records show Harmon indicated he thought the limits would be off through the November 2024 election cycle.

But election officials disagreed and sent a letter to Harmon’s fund immediately, saying limits were off only through the March 2024 primary. Harmon was not even on the ballot in 2024 because his four-year seat isn’t up for reelection until 2026.

“We’re taking this very seriously,” Harmon said Wednesday. “It’s my own personal commitment that we comply with our campaign finance laws. Our campaign lawyers are reviewing it. They’ll respond to the board, and I’m confident they will be able to satisfactorily resolve it.”

Harmon said he would respond to the board’s position after a review of his own campaign lawyers’ work, saying he does “not know exactly where they are going to land.”

Alisa Kaplan, executive director of Reform for Illinois, called Harmon’s campaign matter “serious, and I’m glad the Board of Elections is acting on it.”

“Hopefully, there will be meaningful consequences if the board finds the law was violated,” said Kaplan, whose nonprofit group tracks money and advocates for transparency in government.

She maintained that “the money bomb” loophole that allows politicians to circumvent contribution limits “shouldn’t exist to begin with.”

Kaplan noted that Harmon and House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, a Democrat from Hillside, as well as ex-Speaker Michael Madigan and, to a lesser extent, Republican legislative leaders, have used the loophole for years to get around contribution caps.

“This loophole lets legislative leaders jump right over those guardrails,” she said. “It also lets them distribute large amounts of money to their favored candidates, tightening their control over their members and ensuring the kind of loyalty that protected Madigan for years.”

The cap law could be addressed multiple ways to “reduce abuses,” Kaplan said.

Harmon signaled that legislation to make changes in election laws could be forthcoming, including during this spring legislative session, but did not provide any details or say whether any legislation would address the “money bomb” loophole.

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(Wright and Gorner reported from Springfield and Long from Chicago.)

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