Kirk’s campaign denied any wrongdoing in its dealings with his former girlfriend. Ex-wife hits Kirk with FEC complaint

The former wife of Illinois GOP Sen. Mark Kirk has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that Kirk’s campaign hid tens of thousands of dollars in payments to his ex-girlfriend.

Kimberly Vertolli, who was married to Kirk for eight years before they divorced in 2009, claims that Kirk’s 2010 Senate campaign funneled more than $143,000 to Dodie McCracken, his ex-girlfriend, and masked the payments by routing them through a company called the Patterson Group, an Illinois ad firm.


Kirk’s campaign denied any wrongdoing in its dealings with McCracken.

McCracken told reporters in 2010 that she was a “volunteer consultant” with his campaign and had no formal role in the race. However, the payments she received through the Patterson Group detail a greater role in that race for McCracken than has previously been disclosed.

McCracken and Kirk, who had been living together since last summer, broke up earlier this year, according to Kirk aides.

Kirk suffered a serious stroke in January that required multiple operations and a long rehabilitation period. It’s unclear when Kirk will return to the Senate.

“While Sen. Kirk and Ms. Vertolli divorced amicably three years ago and she actively supported Mr. Kirk’s 2010 Senate campaign, Ms. Vertolli has since filed a groundless complaint consisting of bitter personal attacks and is attempting to involve a federal agency in a divorce settled 36 months ago,” said Eric Elk, Kirk’s campaign manager, in a statement. “We are saddened that she decided to file this ill-advised complaint and abuse the FEC process to air personal grievances.”

Vertolli’s FEC complaint, filed late last year, was first reported by the Chicago Tribune.

Vertolli herself was paid $40,000 by Kirk’s campaign during the 2010 race. Prior to being hired by the campaign, Vertolli had publicly complained about his relationship with McCracken, a former press aide in Kirk’s House office from 2001-03. Vertolli called McCracken a “Svengali figure” in the senator’s life, and Vertolli blamed McCracken for the break-up of her marriage to Kirk.

“Because Mark could either stay married to me, or she could find another place,” Vertolli told Chicago Magazine in August 2010 about the problems caused by Kirk’s relationship with McCracken. “But there wasn’t enough room for the two of us to stay in Mark’s life.”

Disclosure records on file with the FEC show the Kirk campaign refunded $5,400 in donations from Vertolli at about the same time as she filed her complaint against him. Some of the Vertolli donations go back to Kirk’s days as a House member.

The Kirk campaign has shelled out more than $30,000 in fees to the law firm Patton Boggs. The Kirk campaign had more than $506,000 in cash on hand as of March 30, funds that can be used to pay for legal representation.

Along with Vertolli and McCracken, Kirk also has his mother, Judy Kirk, on his campaign payroll, according to disclosure records.