Court records show two Springfield employees profited from controversial government program

Two longtime Springfield politicians — a retired Democratic legislator and a Republican lobbyist — received hundreds of thousands of dollars each under an Illinois government program, according to court records in a civil case.

Former Illinois Sen. James DeLeo, a Chicago Democrat, and prominent Republican lobbyist Nancy Kimme each received 1% of the profits from an influential company called Vendor Assistance Program LLC, but the lucrative deal was not publicly known until a week ago, court documents and other records show.

VAP is headed by attorney Brian Hynes, who has had more than a decade of success with a state program that lets a small group of companies buy government debt. Under the program, VAP and other companies put unpaid government contractors up for sale for most of what Springfield owes them, and VAP and other “qualified buyers” collect late payment penalties from the state.

For VAP, the business has proven to be incredibly successful, especially at a time when the state was deeply in debt to many suppliers. Disclosures the company is required to file with the state show that through July, VAP had collected nearly $396 million in late payment penalties from Illinois taxpayers over more than a decade.

A long list of political insiders have worked with VAP over the years, but the profit-sharing arrangements with DeLeo and Kimme only came to light last week in a civil lawsuit that alleged VAP created out-of-state shell entities to “avoid paying Illinois income taxes.”

The allegations were made in a lawsuit first filed in 2021 in Cook County Superior Court by Michael Forde, a Chicago lawyer who served as former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s personal attorney. Forde’s firm is seeking 30% of what it recovers in the lawsuit from VAP, with 70% going to the state.

VAP officials deny any wrongdoing and in response have filed a defamation lawsuit in federal court against Forde and one of his attorneys.

A Cook County judge in Forde’s case against VAP recently dismissed the lawsuit but gave him the opportunity to file an amended complaint.

A VAP spokesman said the company would prevail in court, that VAP was not required to include its contracts with DeLeo and Kimme in its public financial statements filed with the state, and that DeLeo and Kimme no longer work for VAP.

“The courts have given the plaintiffs ample opportunity to present their case, which has been rejected by the judge on multiple fronts,” he told VAP. “They continue to spread false allegations despite a court order and Illinois law that shows we have met all state requirements. We look forward to taking the next steps to repair the damage the plaintiffs have done to our reputation.”

In the amended lawsuit, Forde made new accusations that VAP failed to tell state officials about the deals the company had with DeLeo and Kimme.

“VAP granted profit-sharing rights to individuals that were never disclosed to the state,” the amended complaint said.

According to Forde’s lawsuit, VAP and its affiliated companies “paid DeLeo hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits” between 2018 and 2022. Kimme also allegedly received hundreds of thousands of dollars between 2020 and 2022, according to the lawsuit.

In a court document filed last week, Forde said VAP violated Illinois law by “failing to disclose to the state that certain former government officials and lobbyists had financial interests” in the company.

The Illinois Department of Central Management Services oversees the vendor payment program under which VAP operates, and the comptroller collects and publishes economic disclosure statements identifying individuals with direct or indirect financial interests in companies participating in the program.

A spokesperson for state Comptroller Susana Mendoza said she “passed the Lending Transparency Act to shine a light on those who profited from late payments under the CMS Provider Payment Program, but … has not commented on the merits of this lawsuit, to which she is not a party.”

A CMS spokesman declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation regarding VAP.

DeLeo has been a registered state lobbyist since 2011, served in the Illinois House of Representatives as a Democratic Party member from 1985 to 1993, and was a state senator from 1993 to 2010.

In the late 1980s, DeLeo was the first Illinois lawyer charged in the federal Operation Greylord investigation into widespread bribery in the Cook County judiciary. DeLeo ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge that kept him out of prison and allowed him to continue representing the Northwest Side in Springfield.

Kimme, another high-profile face in the state legislature, has demonstrated an ability to play both sides of the political spectrum in Springfield.

She was a former Republican state treasurer and comptroller to Judy Baar Topinka, chief of staff and later adviser to former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. In 2015, Kimme began her lobbying career.

Her name came up in last year’s federal trial of former Commonwealth Edison executives and lobbyists accused of bribing indicted former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat. Kimme appeared in a handwritten compendium of preferred lobbyists kept by Madigan aide Michael McClain, who called it a “magic lobbyist list.” Kimme has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

DeLeo and Kimme did not respond to requests for comment.

Forde and his lawyer declined to comment.

Hynes — who also once worked for Madigan and has close ties to disgraced former Chicago alderman Danny Solis — founded VAP with Solis’ sister, Patti Doyle Solis, a prominent figure in national Democratic circles.