Jim Oberweis is on his fourth run for office having finally won a primary election. One might think with all of that experience as a candidate, Oberweis might have figured out the campaign finance system.
Apparently not. It seems he didn't notify his opponent when he crossed the threshold of the millionaire's amendment. From the DCCC:
Jim Oberweis, the Republican Congressional candidate in IL-14, appears to have broken federal election law by triggering the Millionaires’ Amendment without notifying his opponent as required by law. This would not be the first time Oberweis broke the law or tried to deceive voters.
"Jim Oberweis has a disturbing pattern of violating federal election law and deceiving voters" said Jennifer Crider, Communications Director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "This time, it looks like Jim Oberweis personally and deliberately failed to follow the law, pouring money into this race that he made investing in Chinese companies that threaten American jobs. Jim Oberweis acts like the rules and law don’t apply to him – Illinois voters deserve better."
According to his most recent FEC filing, Oberweis put in $640,000 of his own money.
* $300,000.00 on February 7, 2008
* $340,000.00 on February 11, 2008
The Millionaires’ Amendment is a part of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law. McCain-Feingold increases contribution limits for candidates facing opponents who put substantial sums of their personal funds into their own campaigns. An individual who puts in more than $350,000 into their House race risks triggering the Millionaires’ Amendment. Once the millionaire candidate trips this threshold, the candidate must notify his opponents and the FEC by filing a FEC Form 10 within 24 hours. The opponent can have access to higher limits depending on his or her own spending and fundraising.
No filings at the FEC
And, of course, he has a crack campaign team so how could Bill Pascoe miss this minor detail?