CHICAGO, IL — Americans for Prosperity–Illinois (AFP-IL) today announced it has filed an ethics complaint and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request calling for an investigation into Township High School District 214, Superintendent Dr. Scott Rowe, EO Sullivan Consulting, and associated parties over the alleged use of taxpayer resources to conduct referendum-related polling and voter surveying.
The complaint alleges that the District continued taxpayer-funded polling activity even after receiving a May 19, 2026, cease-and-desist letter warning that such conduct could violate Illinois law.
According to the complaint, District 214’s June 25, 2026, Board of Education meeting included a “Phase 3 Community Engagement Report” presentation from EO Sullivan Consulting detailing the results of a second public phone survey conducted May 6–13, 2026, with 605 completed responses. The presentation reportedly displayed voter support and opposition levels for three referendum funding options — ranging from $300 million to $458 million, with associated annual tax increases of $190 to $285 on a $396,500 home — along with the percentage of respondents preferring “No Additional Funding.”
AFP-IL Deputy State Director Brian Costin issued the following statement:
“Illinois taxpayers deserve transparency, accountability, and fair elections, especially when public dollars are being used to test the political viability of a tax-hike referendum. District 214 was put on written notice in May that taxpayer-funded referendum polling raises serious legal concerns — and yet the District went ahead and publicly presented the results of another phone survey testing voter support, opposition, and tax tolerance for a potential bond measure.
“Illinois law is clear: public resources may be used to give voters neutral, factual information. They may not be used to poll, survey, or strategize about passing a referendum. District 214’s own consultant reportedly recommended lowering the funding levels after earlier polling showed the top option wouldn’t work politically — that isn’t neutral facilities planning, that’s campaign strategy paid for with taxpayer money.
“AFP-IL calls on the Attorney General, the Cook County State’s Attorney, and District 214’s own ethics officials to investigate whether taxpayer-funded electioneering or official misconduct occurred, and to ensure strong safeguards are put in place to stop public officials from using government resources to tilt future elections.”
In addition to Costin, co-complainants include District 214 residents Laurie Cacault, Lauren Thomas, and Amy Osterman.
BACKGROUND:
The complaint raises concerns that public funds, staff time, and District resources may have been used to plan, conduct, analyze, and act upon polling and survey activity designed to measure and increase public support for a potential referendum, in possible violation of the Illinois Election Code (10 ILCS 5/9-25.1) and the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act (5 ILCS 430/5-15).
The complaint outlines eight potential counts, including prohibited political activity through public opinion polling, surveying voters to determine probable referendum outcomes, use of public funds to shape a referendum campaign, continued use of polling data after the cease-and-desist notice, misappropriation of public resources, and official misconduct.
The filing also includes a broad FOIA request seeking contracts, invoices, survey instruments, call scripts, crosstabs, communications with EO Sullivan Consulting, Board materials, and other records related to the District’s referendum-related community engagement efforts, along with a demand that all related records be preserved.
View the full complaint HERE.
