Lyons Township Official Misused Public Resources For Campaign: Watchdog

COUNTRYSIDE, IL – A Lyons Township official misused taxpayer resources to promote her political campaign, giving her an unfair advantage over her opponent, a watchdog said Wednesday.

Illinois law bars government resources from being used for political causes.

About two weeks ago, the township's elected clerk, Elyse Hoffenberg, posted a video to her campaign's YouTube page.

The video features a STEM Camp, which was from Aug. 10 to Aug 14 at the township's office in Countryside.

The township's advertisement said the camp was for fifth to eighth graders to conduct research projects. (STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math.)

The 33-second video is of Hoffenberg speaking to the camera while students are working behind her. It also includes footage of the students at computers.

At the end of the video is Hoffenberg's campaign logo.

Hoffenberg, a Democrat who is running for the Cook County Board against Republican Liz Gorman, did not return a message for comment on Monday.

But in response to a Patch inquiry, Alisa Kaplan, executive director for Reform for Illinois, didn't mince words about the video.

"She shouldn't have done that," said Kaplan, whose group monitors government ethics issues. "She repurposed an official town event, which she hosted in her official capacity as clerk, for a campaign ad. Her time, the event, and the venue were all paid for with taxpayer funds and should not have been used to persuade people to vote for her."

She continued, "It may have just been a mistake, but it most likely violates ethics rules about using official resources for campaign activity."

Hoffenberg attracted headlines last week after she released a video of Bridgeview Mayor Steve Landek, a former Democratic state senator, kissing her in her office. The footage had been requested by Gorman, her opponent.

Over the last year, Patch reported on instances of DuPage County officials wearing their government name pins to political events.

Four years ago, a board member for Bensenville Fire District No. 1 promoted a Republican state lawmaker's campaign by putting flyers in mailboxes with the district's official stamp. The DuPage County state's attorney's office took no action.