dark money
Ohio Sec. of State LaRose won’t comment on election-denying financier of constitutional effort
Secretary of State Frank LaRose said it's important to make it a lot harder for voters to amend the Ohio Constitution because we need to keep powerful out-of-state special interests from meddling with the state's foundational document. But his office wouldn't respond when asked if the state's top elections official embraced or condemned the support of an Illinois billionaire who helped fund the Jan. 6, 2021 rally in Washington, D.C., and who has lavished millions on candidates who have falsely claimed that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election.
What can Ohio regulators do to prevent future utility corruption scandals?
This article is provided by Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism, in partnership with the nonprofit Energy News Network. Please join the free mailing lists for Eye on Ohio or the Energy News Network, as this helps provide more public service reporting. Regulators taking proactive steps could reduce the risk of […]
Anti-abortion group Protect Women Ohio is spending $5 million on new ad campaign
An anti-abortion group is spending $5 million on a new ad campaign as abortion supporters are trying to get signatures for a proposed amendment on the ballot that would put abortion rights in the Ohio Constitution. Protect Women Ohio, a dark money 501(c)(4) organization founded in February, was created to fight the abortion ballot campaign. […]
Panelists discuss dark money and utility corruption in Ohio
The upcoming trial of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder hung heavy over Wednesday’s meeting of the Columbus Metropolitan Club. The forum discussing dark money and utility corruption in Ohio brought together reporter Kathiann Kowalski, former Ohio utility commissioner Ashley Brown, and former U.S. Attorney David DeVillers. Jo Ingles from the Statehouse News Bureau moderated […]
Lack of sunshine in political money fuels corruption. Here’s proof
A historic nuclear bailout scandal in Ohio has already led to six indictments — including that of a House speaker — three guilty pleas and, unfortunately, one death. Still more indictments are possible next month when a federal grand jury is expected to again take up the matter. The whole sorry episode illustrates the desperate […]
Mysterious ‘pop-up PACs’ targeting races throughout country in final days of campaign
WASHINGTON — A super PAC financed tens of thousands of dollars worth of digital ads in late October soliciting allegations that North Carolina Senate hopeful Cal Cunningham engaged in extramarital affairs. But because of a loophole in campaign finance laws that were written in the era of typewriters, voters won’t know who paid for the […]
Power company says utility commission has no power to investigate role in bailout scandal
An Akron-based utility company that figures prominently in a massive nuclear bailout scandal is saying that state regulators don’t have the authority to investigate whether the company improperly financed the bailout effort. Over the past week, FirstEnergy Corp. has filed two documents with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio saying that the commission and the […]
Unaccountable dark money has corrupted Ohio politics. It’s time to require disclosure.
The ugly saga of alleged corruption, bribery, money laundering and racketeering on the part of Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four political operatives in Ohio lays bare a nasty truth in the Buckeye State: Unaccountable dark money has corrupted our politics, so now we must demand the legislature act to require disclosure. The mechanism […]