College of Dupage – Candidate Maureen Dunne’s SEI document raises concerns – UPDATED

DuPage Co. (ECWd) –

UPDATED : Ms. Dunne has confirmed she was neither compensated or employed at the U of I in 2018. 

“I was given a courtesy appointment in 2018 as an Adjunct Professor in anticipation of some exciting technology projects that will be externally funded starting in 2019. I was not compensated/employed by the U of I in 2018.” – Maureen Dunne

Each and every election cycle we see people seeking office who fail to disclose key items on their Statement of  Economic Interest document.  This document is required by law and is designed to ensure the voters are informed of all the candidate’s interests.  We routinely review these documents, and as it relates to the College of DuPage, we FOIA’d the County for these records February 1, 2019.

Candidates sign this document just above a very clear statement:

“I declare that this Statement of Economic Interests (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 my economic interests as required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act. I understand that the penalty for willfully filing a false or incomplete statement shall be a fine not to exceed $:1,000 or imprisonment in a penal institution other than the penitentiary not to exceed one year, or both fine and imprisonment.”

Item number 7 on the SEI statement:

“List the name of any unit of government that employed the person making the statement during the preceding calendar year other than the unit or units of government in relation to which the person is required to file.”

Candidates are required to file the SEI for the unit of government in which they seek office (units of government in relation to which the person is required to file) and required to “list the name any unit of government that employed the person making the statement during the preceding calendar year. 

According to Candidate Maureen Dunne’s LinkedIn page, she is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Illinois.  This same disclosure of government employment was found in the Daily Herald Candidate Profile on Dunne.

However, her Statement of Economic Interest document fails to disclose her government employment.  Clearly, she reported she was employed by the U of I in other forums, so why was it not disclosed on her mandatory SEI election filing document? We have asked her for confirmation of this employment and to date have recieved no response.

What did she sign her name to?

“..has been examined by me and to the best of my knowledge and belief is a true, correct and complete..”

How can the people believe the document is true, correct, and complete when in two other public disclosures, which are her own disclosures, say otherwise? Was this document honestly examined by her and with the best of her knowledge and belief?

Does it matter?  

Considering the “penalty for willfully filing a false or incomplete statement shall be a fine not to exceed $1,000 or imprisonment in a penal institution other than the penitentiary not to exceed one year, or both fine and imprisonment”, yes it matters.

It also matters because if elected, this person may be in a position to be a member of the education officers electoral board as outlined in the election code at 10 ILCS 5/10-9(5).

If the person can’t file a simple SEI form that is “true, correct and complete”, how can we expect them to identify and enforce the election laws for others seeking public office at COD?

A recent petition hearing at the College of Dupage resulted in multiple felony charges and a conviction against the candidate.

As we have said multiple times in past articles, if a person is unable to properly and or honestly fill out a mandatory document that is intended to inform the voters of a persons economic interest, maybe they should not run for elected office.

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