Zordani: Finances and Behavior Raise Questions About Candidate

Author: Kathryn Kosloski

Democrat Jennifer Zordani seeks to represent the 47th District in Springfield, but the Clarendon Hills attorney’s finances detailed in campaign finance disclosures raise serious concerns about her ability to do so.

Zordani is challenging incumbent Deanne Mazzochi, a life sciences attorney from Elmhurst and former reform Chairman of the College of DuPage Board, in the Nov. 3 General Election to represent the 47th House District which includes parts of Elmhurst, Oak Brook, Oakbrook Terrace, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Westmont, Western Springs, Willowbrook, and Downers Grove.

Illinois is amid a fiscal crisis due to years of unbalanced budgets and failures to reform an overly generous and outdated public employee pension system. District residents have demanded fiscal accountability and control over budgets and spending. But Zordani’s personal finances and political obligations raise red flags about her ability to independently advocate for residents in the suburban district and willingness to reverse the state’s financial situation.

Zordani has run for office once before, when she ran for Congress in the Democratic primary, garnering 4% of the vote. In that race’s federal campaign finance reports, she disclosed revolving personal debt for two credit cards in the $30,000 to $100,000 range. At the same time, her reported personal annual salary was $40,000 from her law firm. In her 2019 Statement of Economic Interest filings with the State of Illinois, Zordani identified no other sources of income besides her law firm.

Assuming her law firm earnings have not significantly increased since her 2017 filing, a state representative job would represent a 50% pay increase for Zordani. Illinois legislators collect $69,464 in base salary for a part-time job. On top of that, some also can receive $10,000 committee chairmanship stipends, per diems, mileage reimbursements and other perks. Mazzochi is on record as having rejected any legislative pay increases (and voted against them), and has refused a public pension and health care benefits.

More recent campaign finance reports also show that Zordani’s bid for state representative is being largely funded by J.B. Pritzker, Mike Madigan and his supporters.

From just July through September, Zordani has collected nearly $400,000 in donations, including mail, polling, “persuasion calls” and other in-kind expenditures from the Madigan-controlled campaign committees the Democratic Party of Illinois (whose expenditures this cycle are almost exclusively for Illinois House races) and Democratic Majority Committee, which has paid for Zordani’s campaign manager. In the last week alone, Madigan’s committees added another $42,000 in contributions to Zordani.

Zordani has refused to call on Madigan to step down due to his being entangled in the ongoing Federal ComEd bribery probe. Zordani also has refused to publicly endorse Democrat Rep. Stephanie Kifowit in her bid as a Madigan alternative for House Speaker.

District residents are asking if Zordani can be genuinely independent if elected. Most suburban legislators take a pay cut to serve. Public service shouldn’t be a big pay day. Zordani’s public service resume is blank. She has no record of service on local school or village boards or even elected county positions.

Her lack of experience and lack of understanding and empathy for her constituents also is apparent by her insulting social media posts. After the President of Goya Foods donated food to people in need, Zordani subsequently commented on Facebook in July 2020 with: "Stock up on your Goya beans you Freedom caucus dolts."

Another gem. When Hinsdale experienced unrest this summer, she commented that village’s residents “are really out of touch…they live in fear and they’re probably not reachable. They are the people who will call our police when a black man is on their block." These are the people she claims she wants to represent?

With a public history of her personal finances in disarray, her political indebtedness to and direction from Madigan (who is entangled in a federal corruption probe) and her disparaging comments about her own constituents, this raises serious questions about her ability to do the job of representing the best interests of the 47th District. The math just doesn’t add up.