AFP-IL Calls on AG Kwame Raoul to Intervene on Taxpayer-Funded Polling in District 214

Jan 13, 2026 by AFP

SPRINGFIELD, IL — Americans for Prosperity–Illinois (AFP-IL) is calling for immediate action after District 214 used taxpayer dollars to conduct political-style polling designed to test messaging and measure voter sentiment ahead of a potential property tax increase referendum. AFP-IL has formally requested a ruling from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office to determine whether the district’s activities constitute prohibited political activity under the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act.

Under the Ethics Act (5 ILCS 430/5-5 and 5 ILCS 430/5-15), government bodies and public employees are expressly forbidden from using public resources for political purposes — including activities connected to promoting or opposing a referendum question, surveying potential voters, or conducting public-opinion polling tied to an election outcome.

Brian Costin, Deputy State Director of Americans for Prosperity–Illinois, issued the following statement:

“In Illinois, taxpayers already carry the heaviest load in the nation. For a government body to use its own money to craft political campaigns for higher taxes is an unforgivable attack on the people it’s sworn to represent.”

Costin emphasized that this incident is not merely a local concern but part of a growing pattern statewide: government entities using public funds to influence voters into supporting tax increases.

“The Attorney General needs to step in now and give clear, unequivocal guidance to every local government in Illinois that taxpayer-funded referendum polling is illegal under the Ethics Act. Without decisive action, we will continue to see public bodies exploit loopholes to run political operations on the public’s dime.”

AFP-IL urges Attorney General Raoul to issue a formal opinion clarifying that referendum-related polling, message testing, and voter surveying using taxpayer resources violate state ethics law — and to notify local governments across Illinois of these restrictions.