(Image is from CapitolFax.com)
“…The
abrupt resignation of state Rep. Ron
Sandack -- an outspoken member of the legislature who was Gov. Bruce Rauner’s reliable attack
dog on the House floor -- was stirring all kinds of talk late Sunday. As
Republican floor leader, Sandack was the governor’s point person in the House,
arguing strenuously for the governor’s office (and generally against Democratic
Speaker Mike Madigan) on
individual bills.
“Sandack
resigned on Sunday following what he described as a
series of cyberattacks on his Twitter and Facebook accounts, which involved the
creation of new accounts under the guise of his own persona.
“‘I have
always recognized there is no greater privilege than
being a father and husband. My duties in Springfield [have] meant missing a lot
of events in the lives of my children. I am no longer willing to miss important
family events.’ Story and Sandack’s
full statement here: http://politi.co/2a6DXRn
“In a text
to Politico Illinois last night,
Sandack said his resignation was effective Monday and that the cybersecurity
issues gave him pause over his legislative life: ‘my family welfare is
paramount.’ He did not respond when asked whether that meant he feared for his
family’s safety. Sandack would not talk by phone.
“SO … why
are so many people having trouble believing him? Here’s
a few reasons we want to hear more (anything?) from Republican leaders today: 1. Something seems off with the equation.
(High-profile statehouse Republican) + (close to most powerful Republicans in
state) + (social media accounts hacked into) = immediately resigns?
“2. Crickets.
The governor, Illinois House Republicans, others in leadership, said a big nada
on Sunday at the news of the loss of a top lieutenant. No statements released
by leaders. No response from a governor’s spokeswoman when asked for reaction
late Sunday. No answer from several Republican party and legislative leaders
(with the exception of House Republican forwarding a copy of Sandack’s
statement.) That won’t hold today though.
“3.
Timing. Sandack took down his own social media accounts last week, which prompted
all kinds of speculation. He said on Sunday the cyber hacking/harassment
started around July 4. He resigned days after taking down his accounts. Days
earlier, the Illinois House Victory
Fund had spent $10,300 in
printing costs for his campaign. http://bit.ly/2aEYZIF
“4. Sandack has long
been an outspoken, incredibly accessible guy -- except on the day he
resigned. Instead, his announcement was carefully crafted. It was first made
available in a relatively safe venue -- the Capitol Fax newsletter. The writeup
(which is password protected or we’d include a link) describes Sandack working
to take down two fake accounts on Twitter and 10 on Facebook, which purported
to behave as Sandack accounts. In the midst of this, Sandack says he
experiences a moment of clarity, realizing he doesn’t want to miss any more of
his kids’ events.
“What was
missing from the CapFax piece was any
description as to what actually happened on these fake accounts. Had they
actually posted content pretending to be Sandack? Were they threatening?
Embarrassing? The piece said Sandack
filed a police report.
“Beside
Sandack, the other person quoted in the
CapFax writeup was a recent Rauner appointee, John Bambenek, who talked about how unusual and dangerous
it was to have such an open attack against a public official. He also talked
about the difficulty of prosecuting computer crimes. (Incidentally, on Sunday,
Bambanek on Twitter said this about a higher-profile cyber incident: http://bit.ly/29YXwMn)...
“Sandack
leaves with nearly $130,000 in his campaign account, according to the most recent
election filing. He was up for reelection in November… Gov. Rauner is in Chicago today, and will no doubt be asked to
weigh in on this one.”
Natasha
Korecki (nkorecki@politico.com;
@natashakorecki) and Angelica LaVito (alavito@politico.com; @angelicalavito)
From SANDACK’s bombshell resignation… from Politico by Natasha Korecki and Angelica LaVito
Statement from Former Illinois State Representative Ron Sandack, Sept. 16, 2016:
ReplyDelete"Now that the Downers Grove Police investigation has concluded I wanted to address the nature of the complaint I filed.
"This past July, I was the target of an international crime ring focusing on high profile individuals luring them to engage in inappropriate online conversations with the intent of extortion.
"I took their bait and fell for it hook, line and sinker. Subsequently, counterfeit social media accounts were created jeopardizing my online identity.
"Nonetheless, I was a victim. Poor decisions on my part enabled me to be a victim and, as a responsible citizen, I reported it and have been working with the police throughout their investigation.
"I want it to be clear that no aspect of my involvement in this incident was related to my position as a State Representative nor was the computer state property.
"I’m human. I made a mistake for which I am remorseful and ashamed; especially because I have hurt my family, and there is no greater self-inflicted wound than that."
"...The more detailed police report, which still has some redactions, shows Sandack first received a Facebook friend request with a woman on July 7. On July 12, the two exchanged messages. He then received a Skype call from the woman as he worked in his St. Charles office, noting that she didn’t look like the picture featured on Skype or Facebook.
ReplyDelete"On July 13, he received a message which demanded money. He agreed to send money via Western Union to the Philippines, the report said.
"On the next day, the same person requested that more money be sent to the Philippines. Sandack ignored those requests and learned there were two fictitious Facebook pages that had been created without his authorization.
"He then sent more money, as more fake pages started to pop up. After his second time sending money, they demanded more via Skype, the report said.
"'Mr. Sandack responded briefly and then ignored any further message and came to our police department to document the incident,' the report said..." (Chicago Sun-Times, Sept. 16, 2016).