{"id":2264913,"date":"2024-06-11T12:36:11","date_gmt":"2024-06-11T16:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/brandon-johnson-spent-30000-of-campaign-funds-on-personal-grooming-not-a-function-of-government-to-look-good\/"},"modified":"2024-06-11T12:38:42","modified_gmt":"2024-06-11T16:38:42","slug":"brandon-johnson-spent-30000-of-campaign-funds-on-personal-grooming-not-a-function-of-government-to-look-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/brandon-johnson-spent-30000-of-campaign-funds-on-personal-grooming-not-a-function-of-government-to-look-good\/","title":{"rendered":"Brandon Johnson used $30,000 in campaign funds for personal grooming, stating, &#8216;Looking good is not a government function."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbrandon-johnson-spent-30000-of-campaign-funds-on-personal-grooming-not-a-function-of-government-to-look-good%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2264913&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Mayor\u2063 Brandon Johnson of Chicago is facing\u2062 scrutiny \u2064over \u2063his campaign fund expenditures. A report by the Chicago Sun-Times highlighted that Johnson spent $30,000 on personal grooming, including hair and makeup, \u2062using funds from his Friends of Brandon Johnson campaign\u2063 fund. This spending has sparked debate among Chicagoans\u2064 and experts like election lawyer Burt Odelson, \u200dwho argued that such expenses don&#8217;t align with governmental \u200bfunctions. Concerns are now escalating about the appropriateness\u2062 of these expenditures.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Some of Mayor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/brandon-johnson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Brandon Johnson<\/a>\u2019s spending habits with campaign funds are beginning to raise eyebrows in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chicago\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Chicago<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>A report from the <a href=\"https:\/\/chicago.suntimes.com\/the-watchdogs\/2024\/06\/07\/brandon-johnson-hair-care-makeup-campaign-spending-palatine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><em>Chicago Sun-Times<\/em><\/a>  revealed Johnson spent $30,000 in one year on hair and makeup with money from the Friends of Brandon Johnson campaign fund. Now, some in Chicago are beginning to question the mayor\u2019s high spending on personal grooming.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would be hard-pressed to say grooming is part of your governmental function,\u201d election lawyer Burt Odelson told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcchicago.com\/news\/local\/chicago-politics\/johnson-campaign-reportedly-used-30k-in-campaign-funds-on-hair-makeup-expenses\/3460252\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>NBC Chicago<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s not a function of government to look good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Illinois state law does not specifically mention personal grooming, such as hair and makeup costs, as valid campaign expenditures, which is causing disagreement over whether it is legal. Some say because it is not explicitly prohibited, Johnson was allowed to use the funds for that purpose. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re making an appearance as mayor of Chicago and you hire a makeup and hair artist for the event, that would most likely be a legitimate use,\u201d Illinois State Board of Elections spokesman Matt Dietrich said. \u201cBut if you\u2019re using them for a strictly social event, there might be a stronger grounds for a complaint. You also can\u2019t pay more than fair market value for goods and services.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Johnson\u2019s office said using campaign funds for this purpose is \u201ccommonplace\u201d among politicians. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe mayor does not spend taxpayer dollars in preparation for the many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/journalists-mourn-as-cnn-exec-who-fueled-trumps-rise-announces-plans-to-leave-network\/\" title=\"Journalists Mourn as CNN Exec Who Fueled Trump\u2019s Rise Announces Plans to Leave Network\">public appearances<\/a> and events he attends every day,\u201d a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-loeffler-fires-back-after-ossoff-accuses-her-of-campaigning-with-kkk-member\/\" title=\"Sen. Loeffler Fires Back After Ossoff Accuses Her of Campaigning with KKK Member\">campaign spokesman<\/a> for Johnson said. \u201cHair and makeup services are commonplace among <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-bid-for-immunity-rejected-in-e-jean-carroll-case-making-supreme-court-last-option\/\" title=\"Trump's immunity bid denied in E. Jean Carroll case, Supreme Court remains final recourse\">high-ranking public officials<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to the report, Johnson expensed more than $32,000 from January 2023 to March 2024. His makeup artist was paid $28,000, and the hair salon was paid $4,000. In comparison, former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot expensed $8,000 for similar services. <\/p>\n<p>Johnson\u2019s former opponent, Paul Vallas, who lost to Johnson last year, did not expense any costs related to personal grooming beyond non-detailed \u201cservices.\u201d Vallas, who is bald, said on the matter, \u201cI\u2019d like to take credit for being frugal, but nature took care of that.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Still, Johnson\u2019s office said the expenses were necessary due to his high-profile role as mayor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s mayor 24-7,\u201d said Bill Neidhardt, the mayor\u2019s campaign spokesman. \u201cAppearances matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson&#8217;s use of campaign funds for personal grooming is sparking controversy. A Chicago Sun-Times report disclosed that Johnson spent $30,000 from his campaign fund on hair and makeup in one year, leading to growing scrutiny over his spending practices<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2910,"featured_media":2264914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/brandon-johnson-1024x592.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2264913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/brandon-johnson-1024x592.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2264913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2910"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2264913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2264913\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2264914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2264913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2264913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2264913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}