Joliet councilman must still pay $27,949 fine to run for office, election board says

Joliet City Council member Terry Morris can’t be on the ballot for the April 4 municipal election until he pays a $27,949 fine to the Illinois State Board of Elections, and he would have to do so before Jan. 26, according to the election board’s spokesman.

In a letter dated March 24, the Illinois State Board of Elections informed Morris’ candidate committee – Citizens to Elect Terry Morris – that he owes $27,949 for failure to timely file required reports.

Morris’ candidate committee was closed by the election board for failure to pay the fine by April 23, according to Matt Dietrich, election board spokesman.

Candidates who owe a fine can still file their candidacy petition, but they must pay those fines before the ballot is certified on Jan. 26 to appear on the ballot, he said.

Morris’ committee was fined by the election board once before on July 18, 2018, for not filing required reports. Morris was notified he owed $31,850 but he reached a settlement and paid $18,425 instead.

When Morris was asked Wednesday about the $27,949 fine and whether he plans to pay it and if so, when, he said, “I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

He said he wasn’t available to talk further because he was at work.

Back in May, Morris told the Herald-News the fine was “a misunderstanding” and said he disagrees that he must pay it to seek reelection.

“That’s not true from my legal advice,” Morris said at the time.

Monday was the first day for candidates such as Morris to file their candidacy petition to run for office in Joliet. They have until 5 p.m. next Monday to do so.

The city’s website as of 5 p.m. Wednesday did not show that Morris has filed his candidacy petition. He said Tuesday he intends to seek reelection to the District 5 seat on the City Council.

Dietrich said the state election board often accepts settlement offers of 50% of the fine owed.

But if a candidate’s committee wants to make a settlement offer, they’ll need to contact the election board’s campaign disclosure division to make sure the offer is on the agenda for the Jan. 18 board meeting, he said.

Dietrich said if someone else pays the fine, it must be reported as a contribution and the contributor must be disclosed in the committee’s itemized contributions.