Cash follows Weller out the door

By Jim Tankersley and Andrew Zajac

Updated 7:00 p.m.

When Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.) announced his retirement last month, a spokesman said he made the decision to step down in “early summer.” But Weller's campaign continued to actively collect donations through July, August and September, new filings show.

Weller's spokesman, Andy Fuller, now says he erred -- and that Weller did not decide until August that he would not seek an eighth term. Fuller said Weller held no fundraising events in August, and that any money the campaign received from that point on were simply trickling in from prior fundraisers.

He also said many of Weller's individual donors have already had their contributions returned, and that "the Congressman is reviewing options for what to do with the remainder" of his campaign fund, which is about $300,000. The latest filing lists $1,000 in returned contributions as of Sept. 30.

Weller's announcement last month came on the heels of a series of Tribune stories that raised questions about his investments in Nicaraguan real estate and the completeness of his mandatory congressional ethics forms. After the announcement, Fuller said the stories had nothing to do with the decision - and that Weller had decided to quit in early summer.

Today, Fuller said Weller really decided to quit at the start of the House August recess.
"I was just wrong," he said of his earlier statement about an early summer Weller decision to quit. "The decision not to run was made at the start of the August recess."

Weller’s cash flow did trail off during the quarter. He raised $90,000 from July through September, down from $260,000 in the second quarter.

But campaign finance reports filed yesterday show Weller was still collecting checks and paying for catering in Washington through late August. Batches of checks were dated July 27, Aug. 3 and Aug. 21, and a handful came in on Sept. 10. From early July through the end of August, Weller spent more than $5,000 for catering at the Capitol Hill Club, a GOP fundraiser favorite.

Fuller said the August expeditures were simply bills coming due for prior events.

A flyer obtained by the Tribune invites donors to celebrate a "surprise" 50th birthday party for Weller on Capitol Hill on July 11. It requests a $50 donation from individuals and $500 from political action committees.

The flyer includes an address for mailing checks, and it implores guests to "please help keep this one of Washington's best kept secrets."