Illinois General Assembly - Illinois Compiled Statutes

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10 ILCS 5/9-3

    (10 ILCS 5/9-3) (from Ch. 46, par. 9-3)
    Sec. 9-3. Political committee statement of organization.

(a) Every political committee shall file with the State Board of Elections a
statement of organization within 10 business days of the creation of
such
committee, except any political committee created within the 30 days before
an
election shall file a statement of organization within 2 business days in person, by facsimile transmission,  or by electronic mail. Any change in information previously submitted in a statement of organization shall be reported, as required for the original statement of organization by this Section, within 10 days following that change.
The Board shall impose a civil penalty of $50 per business day upon political
committees for failing to file or late filing of a statement of organization.  Such penalties shall not
exceed $5,000, and shall not exceed $10,000 for statewide office political
committees.
There shall be no fine if the statement is mailed and postmarked at least 72
hours prior to the filing deadline.

In addition to the civil penalties authorized by this Section, the State
Board of Elections or any other political committee may apply to the
circuit court for a temporary restraining
order or a preliminary or permanent injunction against the political committee
to cease the expenditure of funds and to cease operations until the statement
of organization is filed.

For the purpose of this Section,
"statewide office" means the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State,
Attorney General, State Treasurer, and State Comptroller.

(b) The statement of organization shall include:

(1) the name and address of the political committee

and the designation required by Section 9-2;

(2) the scope, area of activity, party affiliation,

and purposes of the political committee;

(3) the name, address, and position of each custodian

of the committee's books and accounts;

(4) the name, address, and position of the

committee's principal officers, including the chairman, treasurer, and officers and members of its finance committee, if any;

(5) (blank);

(6) a statement of what specific disposition of

residual fund will be made in the event of the dissolution or termination of the committee;

(7) a listing of all banks or other financial

institutions, safety deposit boxes, and any other repositories or custodians of funds used by the committee; and

(8) the amount of funds available for campaign

expenditures as of the filing date of the committee's statement of organization.

(c) Each statement of organization required to be
filed in accordance with this Section shall be verified, dated, and signed
by either the treasurer of the political committee making the statement or
the candidate on whose behalf the statement is made and shall contain
substantially the following verification:

"VERIFICATION:

I declare that this statement of organization (including any
accompanying schedules and statements) has been examined by me and, to the
best of my knowledge and belief, is a true, correct, and complete statement
of organization as required by Article 9 of the Election Code. I understand
that  willfully filing a false or incomplete statement is
subject to a civil penalty of at least $1,001 and up to $5,000.

................ ..........................................
(date of filing) (signature of person making the statement)".

(d) The statement of organization for a ballot initiative committee also shall include a verification signed by the chairperson of the committee that (i) the committee is formed for the purpose of supporting or opposing a question of public policy, (ii) all contributions and expenditures of the committee will be used for the purpose described in the statement of organization, (iii) the committee may accept unlimited contributions from any source, provided that the ballot initiative committee does not make contributions or expenditures in support of or opposition to a candidate or candidates for nomination for election, election, or retention, and (iv) failure to abide by these requirements shall deem the committee in violation of this Article.

(d-5) The statement of organization for an independent expenditure committee also shall include a verification signed by the chairperson of the committee that (i) the committee is formed for the exclusive purpose of making independent expenditures, (ii) all contributions and expenditures of the committee will be used for the purpose described in the statement of organization, (iii) the committee may accept unlimited contributions from any source, provided that the independent expenditure committee does not make contributions to any candidate political committee, political party committee, or political action committee, and (iv) failure to abide by these requirements shall deem the committee in violation of this Article.

(e) For purposes of implementing the changes made by this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, every political committee in existence on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly  shall file the statement required by this Section with the Board by December 31, 2010.

(Source: P.A. 103-467, eff. 8-4-23.)