A recent report from Better Government Association (BGA) alleges that Dorothy Brown, Cook County Circuit Court clerk, may have accepted bribes and found other methods of making extra money during her tenure as clerk.
In February, Brown charged a $175 registration price plus “optional” materials fees for a professional seminar called “Candidate 360 Training” which she portrayed as an opportunity for “giving back,” according to the report.
Billed as instructional material for potential candidates, the workshop went from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on a recent Saturday.
Brown has denied allegations that she took care of some colleagues under the table, according to BGA. Even though she was investigated by a federal grand jury for internal hiring and promoting, she was elected to her fifth term as court clerk in 2016.
Working in tandem with FOX 32, BGA revealed that in mid-2014 Brown may have maintained an association with 5LINX, a commission-based, multi-level marketing venture based in New York, allegedly soliciting her government employees to join it. 5LINX sells items ranging from security systems to nutritional products.
BGA and FOX 32 also reported that a church in Forest Park that Brown's daughter attended received a $250,000 grant from Governor Pat Quinn’s administration. Brown was also probed for accepting campaign donations from her employees.
Additionally, Brown was said to have distributed her event flyer among her Cook County government office employees, although BGA said it was not necessarily out of compliance with county law or state ethics regulations.
The promotional flyer’s release happened to coincide with allegations of bribery against Brown and an employee, according to BGA, citing federal prosecutors who had been scrutinizing the clerk’s activities.
One day prior to the “Candidate(s) 360” training, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Brown had obtained a $15,000 loan from an office employee allegedly in exchange for getting a job at a company owned by Brown and her husband, according to court documents. Brown’s attorney denied allegations of bribery.
In 2015, Brown’s employee Sivasubramani Rajaram was charged with lying to a federal grand jury about the activity and was sentenced three years of probation.
BGA sent a reporter to attend the first half of the Candidate 360 event.
Brown offered no insight into any recent alleged claims during the first half of the training, instead focusing on appearance and propriety when conducting a political campaign, according to BGA. She offered advice on apparel, community engagement and networking, looking one’s best at all times and utilizing local resources.
“Churches have become… integral in getting people elected,” Brown said during the training.
BGA reported that she coached participants on remaining alert to details, ensuring that administrative errors did not prevent them from achieving their goals. She illustrated her point with an anecdote about a printer publishing an incorrect address on petitions, a simple mistake that could potentially disqualify a candidate from an election.
“It’s a dirty game,” Brown said during the training. “It can either lift you up or tear you down.”
BGA found that at least two of the eight seminar participants were connected to Brown’s Cook County office. Sarah Brune, executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, told BGA that accepting money from employees for outside activities is a gray area and that it exposes Brown to criticism.
“You want to make sure protections are in place to make sure they don't feel pressure to be part of anything they don’t want to,” Brune told BGA.
Although Brown did not respond BGA requests for comment following the workshop, she advised aspiring politicians at the event to not go on camera if negative issues were likely to surface.
“You stick your press spokesperson out there for the negative things,” she said.
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