JOHN O’CONNOR
The Associated Press
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Federal Election Commission has fined the campaign fund of a former Illinois congressman $43,475 for failing to refund excess contributions in a timely manner.
A letter from the FEC this month reports the fine against Republican Rodney Davis’ campaign committee, Rodney for Congress, and its treasurer, Thomas Charles Datwyler.
The violations occurred during the 2021-2022 election cycle. Federal campaign finance law prohibits contributions of more than $2,900 per cycle from an individual or single-candidate political committee and $5,000 per election from a multicandidate committee. Excess contributions must be refunded or re-designated within 60 days.
In a negotiated settlement with Davis’ committee and Datwyler, the FEC found that one contribution of $3,625 and general election contributions of $479,784 were not properly redistributed within 60 days, resulting in the fine. Davis was not eligible for the larger amount because he was not on the 2022 general election ballot.
A call to a telephone number associated with Davis went unanswered. A phone message was left for Datwyler.
The FEC noted that the committee disclosed refunds of excessive contributions on quarterly and year-end reports for 2022 and in January 2024 filed paperwork disclosing the refunds that were part of the negotiated settlement.
Davis, a 54-year-old Taylorville resident, served five terms in Congress. After the 2020 congressional redistricting controlled by Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly, Davis was pushed into a district with conservative Republican Mary Miller, who beat Davis in the 2022 GOP primary with more than 57% of the vote.
Davis’ committee told the FEC it would dissolve upon resolving the matter. The fine is payable by July 18.