Mystery Mailer: No One Knows Who Sent Clavio Attack Ad

FRANKFORT, IL — After a political mailer opposing mayoral candidate John Clavio was sent to Frankfort residents, no group has stepped forward to take responsibility for the creation or mailing of the political ad.

The mailer lists the sender as "Concerned Citizens of Frankfort." As of March 22, no such committee can be found on the Illinois State Board of Elections committee search. The address listed on the mailer is 21200 S. La Grange Road, which is the address for the Frankfort UPS store.

Patch attempted to reach out to the UPS Store's public relations, but received no response.

The mailer discusses Clavio's law license suspension for 60 days in 2014, and quotes an article from the Chicago Tribune from March 17. Clavio spoke to Patch last week about the suspension, which stemmed from an invalid will signing in 2003.

According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, a political committee has to file a statement of organization once a $3,000 threshold is hit. After a statement of organization is filed, a committee must report all financial activity, the ISBE website states.

Through the United States Postal Service website, an estimation of the costs of a direct mail campaign put costs of a flat direct mailer sent to 1,001 to 5,000 households at $7,400. If the mailer was sent to 501-1,000 households, the estimated cost is $740, which is below the $3,000 filing limit for a political committee.

Clavio is running against Keith Ogle, who told Patch he has "not at any point engaged in negative campaigning" and had "nothing to do" with the mailer.

"We have been running a positive campaign and will continue to do so," Ogle said. "I am calling on my opponents to cease any and all negative campaign tactics and to pledge to stop their disingenuous whisper campaigns. I will remain focused on reaching out to voters and gaining their support for my vision for the future of Frankfort."

Mayor Jim Holland, who is not seeking reelection after 16 years as mayor, called the negative campaign mail "very disappointing."

"The people of Frankfort expect better, and they deserve better. This form of negative political campaigning is damaging," he told Patch. "It appears that the persons behind Concerned Citizens of Frankfort are attempting to keep their personal identities and funding sources secret. Illinois state law requires this sort of information to be made public after certain financial conditions are met."

Patch reached out to Clavio, who did not immediately respond on Monday afternoon.