When “Transparency” Isn’t Transparent in Lake Forest

On Thursday afternoon, January 23, many Lake Forest residents received a blast text message urging them to vote against allowing absentee voting in Lake Forest Caucus elections. The message advocated a specific outcome in an upcoming bylaws vote and was sent by an organization calling itself Lake Forest for Transparency (LF4T).

That fact alone should give residents pause — especially for a group with “transparency” in its name.
The text message is not an isolated incident. It is the most recent example cited in a Official Complaint I have filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections, alleging that LF4T is operating as an unregistered political committee in violation of Illinois law. The full complaint, including supporting exhibits, is publicly available here: https://tinyurl.com/LF4TNotTra...

Under Illinois law, any organization that solicits donations, spends money, or communicates with voters to influence the outcome of an election is required to register with the State Board of Elections and disclose where its money comes from and how it is spent. These rules exist for one simple reason: voters have a right to know who is funding political advocacy in their community.
LF4T has not registered. It does not disclose its donors. It does not disclose its expenditures. Yet it continues to send political communications — including mass text messages — advocating specific voting outcomes in Lake Forest.

There is also a striking irony at the heart of LF4T’s opposition to absentee voting. According to official public records from the Lake County Clerk, virtually all of LF4T’s leaders — as well as several of its most visible public supporters, including Prue Beidler — have themselves voted absentee in at least one presidential or gubernatorial election. In other words, the very people urging Lake Forest residents to oppose absentee voting have personally relied on that same voting method when it suited them.

Adding to that irony, former State Senator Susan Garrett, who has been publicly associated with opposition to the current Caucus proposal, voted in favor of the legislation that created Illinois’ modern absentee and early voting system when she served in the General Assembly. That law expanded access to voting statewide — a principle that Illinois has embraced for years across party lines.

LF4T frequently criticizes the Lake Forest Caucus, an organization that fully complies with Illinois law by publicly disclosing every dollar it raises and spends through required state filings. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the Caucus on policy is beside the point. The Caucus follows the rules. Everyone else should too.

The purpose of my complaint is not to silence anyone. Quite the opposite. It is to ensure that all political organizations play by the same transparency rules, regardless of viewpoint. If an organization wants to influence elections, it should be willing to stand behind its messaging openly and legally.

It is also important that residents have accurate information about the vote itself.

The Lake Forest Caucus bylaws amendment vote will take place Saturday, January 24, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the Gorton Community Center, 400 E. Illinois Road. Any registered voter in Lake Forest is eligible to vote by presenting a valid photo ID. PLEASE VOTE YES!!!

This is not the first time this issue has been debated. During the last attempt to amend the bylaws, I wrote an op-ed explaining why broader participation and clear, accurate information matter in Caucus voting. That vote narrowly failed to reach the required two-thirds threshold. Residents deserve to understand both the substance of the proposal and who is attempting to influence their decision.

Healthy local democracy depends on open debate — but it also depends on transparency, accountability, and adherence to the law. Those principles should apply to everyone, especially organizations that claim transparency as their calling card.

Lake Forest voters can and should decide this issue for themselves. They just deserve to know who is trying to influence them — and whether they are doing so legally.

Joe Weiss is a Lake Forest resident and former elected official. He is also a co-host of The Lake Forest Podcast.