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George Gollin fined $5,000 for violating Illinois Ethics Act
George Gollin has been found in violation of the Illinois State Employees and Officials Ethics Act and fined $5,000. George Gollin "knowingly and intentionally used his state-provided email account to engage in prohibited political activity...." George Gollin admitted he knew he was misappropriating state resources when he sent "dozens" of campaign emails with his university email. The Executive Ethics Commission levied a $5,000 fine against George Gollin, the maximum allowed under the statute. The Commission also issued an injunction ordering George Gollin to comply with the state Ethics Act and UIUC guidelines concerning the use of university resources for political campaign activities.
This comes as no surprise to anyone familiar with George Gollin's well-documented legal history of alleged extortion, stalking, civil rights violations, defamation, computer hacking, and a myriad of other contemptible and bizarre behavior. George Gollin seems to think that the taxpayer supported university is his personal playground, and its resources are to be exploited for his personal amusement. About a decade too late, but better late than never.
We don't make 'em up. Read all about it here:
14EEC011_Gollin_06_25_15.pdf (Size: 375.12 KB / Downloads: 1,530)
Sleep with dogs, get fleas. Thanks to George Gollin and his half a million dollar campaign of self-aggrandizement, three of his unethical prof butt buddies now have been found in violation of the Ethics Act as well. When will the libtard buffoons in academia learn what we all knew: George Gollin = Cancer.
09.16.15_Greene_Dash_Blake_Released_Report.pdf (Size: 1.4 MB / Downloads: 1,393)
Quote:
UI professors found in violation of Ethics Act
By Maggie Sullivan | 09/28/15 12:15am
Nearly two years after physics professor George Gollin's unsuccessful campaign for democratic congressional candidate, three University professors became the subject of an ethics investigation by the Illinois Executive Commission.
Leon Dash, journalism professor, Nancy Blake, literature professor and Laura Greene, physics professor, were found in violation of the Ethics Act which led to the investigation.
"Any violation of the Ethics Act's prohibition on use of State property or time for political purposes is serious enough to warrant inquiry," said Daniel Hurtado, chief of staff and general counsel of the office of executive inspector general.
Dash said he was considered to be in violation of the act because of a one-sentence email reply to Gollin, sent to his University account, in which Gollin asked Dash to introduce him as a candidate at a local Democratic Party meeting.
"I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican," he said. "But I became wrapped up in an ethics violation after responding to a request from a colleague with whom I am friendly."
Dash said he realized in hindsight he was in violation of the Illinois ethics regulations because it was connected to partisan political activity and not a part of state or University activities.
In a public statement to the Office of the Executive Inspector General, Laura Greene said she did not intentionally violate the act, and therefore, the law does not apply to her situation.
"It is abundantly clear that an unintentional and inadvertent use of a State email account for a political purpose is not a misappropriation of State property," Greene stated.
Additionally, she said she felt the findings ignored both the facts and the law.
"I have been a long-time zealous advocate for the University of Illinois, as well as a tireless and ethical professor of physics," Greene said. A couple of email exchanges that inadvertently took place on my University email account and that were not even initiated by me simply do not justify the conclusions in the report."
Dash said he met with two investigators from the Springfield Ethic Commission office in May 2014.
"One of the investigators had called me to set a meeting date and indicated I was the subject of an ethics violation, but think as I might, I could not recall any ethics violation," Dash said. "When the two investigators met with me, they showed me my one-sentence reply to Professor Gollin."
Dash said he told the ethics investigators the error was an "inadvertent mistake" and he said he felt they were doing their job.
Hurtado said Dash, Greene and Blake could have avoided the ethics inquiry by paying closer attention to the Ethics Act, or consulting with their ethics officer.
Robin Kaler, University spokeswoman, said the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act and University policy do not allow the use of University resources for prohibited political activity, and the University takes violations of state law and University policy very seriously.
"The entire experience has definitely put a chill on any future political activity I might have engaged in," Dash said.
Nancy Blake could not be reached for comment.
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Quote:U of I Faculty Use Of Work Email For Politics Violated Law: Ethics Panel
September 18, 2015
Jim Meadows
Listen
(Duration: 0:56)
A state ethics panel says three faculty at the University of Illinois Urbana campus violated Illinois ethics laws when they used their campus email addresses to discuss political activity for a congressional candidate in 2013.
The Illinois Executive Ethics Commission ruled that three tenured professors should not have used their email addresses at work for political activity --- in this case discussing campaign work for unsuccessful 13th District Democratic congressional candidate George Gollin, another faculty member previously cited for the same violation.
Physics Professor Laura Greene told investigators her email traffic is so heavy, she didn't consider her two emails a violation. In a later public statement, Greene argued that the use of her campus email account for campaign work was "inadvertent and not intentional", and therefore, not a violation of state law. "Unless the conduct is intentional, there can be no violation", she wrote. In addition, Greene says that the Executive Ethics Commission report found that she violated University of Illinois guidelines, which she notes, "do not have the force of law".
Journalism Professor Leon Dash said it only occurred to him later on reflection that he was violating ethics rules.
And Literature Professor Nancy Blake said in a statement that her mistake only violated university guidelines, not state law, and "ignore the realities of technology in the modern workplace, as well as the nature of the modern workplace itself".
But the Executive Ethics Commission says the state Ethics Act tolerates no exceptions. In its analysis, the Commission stated that "the Ethics Act does not allow State employees to engage in prohibited political activity even though the employee: is a tenured faculty or professors of a State university; did not think about what they were doing (or not doing); describes their conduct as an error which was 'minuscule'; used State resources that only represented a fraction of their email use; or did not think about using their personal email as opposed to their State email."
It found that all three professors violated the law, and while it's not turning the cases over to the Attorney General's office for prosecution it recommended that the university take whatever action it sees fit. That differs from the earlier citation against George Gollin, who was fined $5,000.
When asked for comment about the citations against Greene, Dash and Black, an administration spokesperson at the University of Illinois Urbana campus said they don't comment on specific personnel matters. But Robin Kaler says use of university resources for what's considered "prohibited political activity" is a violation that the U of I takes seriously.
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George Gollin found guilty of violating ethics law.
Nice catch, Armando. As you say, not exactly a surprise but nice to see the facts confirmed by the appropriate authorities. Also nice to see UIUC finally taking a hard line against this sleazeball. But as we also know, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Gollin scumbaggery over the years. Too little too late, it would seem.
Quote:Ricardo Meza
Officer at Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C.
Illinois Politics, Ethics, and Emails
Aug 18, 2015
The rough and tumble of politics is quite well known and in Illinois, politics and ethics often collide. Far too many local and state politicians, including governors, have encountered ethical challenges. Recently, Illinois congressmen have been added to the list. For example, a now former Chicago-area congressman was recently released from prison for violating federal campaign laws and a now former central Illinois congressman is currently under federal investigation for alleged misuse of campaign funds. Despite this sordid history, many persons still seek the prestigious Office of United States Congress and while most candidates take appropriate steps to comply with federal campaign laws, some overlook (or forget about) state ethics laws.
As political campaigns ramp up, political emails will begin to land in our in boxes. Aspiring federal and state candidates view email as a convenient way to communicate directly with their constituents and community. And, while most candidates and campaign committees are aware of and follow federal ethics laws including the Hatch Act which prohibits the use of federal ".gov" accounts from being used for political purposes, some candidates or their consultants overlook state ethics laws and send political emails to or from a ".edu" account. However, in Illinois, ".edu" accounts belonging to full-time employees from one of the nine Illinois public universities are considered state accounts. In other words, some Illinois ".edu" accounts are the functional equivalent of state ".gov" accounts and cannot be used for political activities.
On June 25, 2015, the Illinois Executive Ethics Commission (EEC) issued a decision involving University of Illinois physics Professor George Gollin, who used his university ".edu" account while seeking the democratic nomination for Illinois' 13th Congressional District to:
- request and receive advice regarding his campaign;
- solicit contributions for his campaign; and
- coordinate campaign activity with campaign supporters and volunteers.
The EEC found that Professor Gollin violated the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act because he used state resources for political purposes. He was fined $5,000. See, https://www.illinois.gov/eec/Documents/0...Report.pdf.
The Gollin decision should serve as a reminder to federal and state candidates, campaign committees, as well as their political consultants, that they should take caution and become aware of prohibitions against the use of state resources for political purposes including certain public university ".edu" accounts. Otherwise, they may find themselves in violation of their state ethics laws and may be subjected to a substantial fine.
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(09-29-2015, 09:49 PM)Dickie Billericay Wrote:
George Gollin found guilty of violating ethics law.
Who ratted out George Gollin?
10. His domestic partner, Mutant Pork Mel, the UIUC Conflict of Interest Officer? Did it finally catch somebody breaking the rules at UIUC?!? Even though "Loots" is "Stool" spelled backwards, it still prefers that name to "Gollin." Who can blame it?
9. His Lesbian Cheerleader Daughter Chlamydia Loots Hyphen Gollin? Or as it so eloquently put it: "piss!
fuck you rock n roll family, you always let me down!"?
8. His out-of-the-closet nephew Lucas Gollin Hyphen Hoepfl? Thanks for letting the brony out of the bag, Uncle George!
7. Goose Sainz? Take another bow, Alfalfa!
6. John Klempner Bear? Only one self-proclaimed diploma mill expert allowed!
5. Gregg "World's Foremost Asian Hooker Expert" DesElms? But if one of the self-proclaimed diploma mill experts should happen to fall, all the others move up in rank, right?
4. Pedophile-pandering porn peddler Thomas Vernon "Chip" White? Used for 1,280 posts, then tossed like the Kleenex from yesterday's circle jerk??
3. Adjudicated civil rights violator Alan "Anal" Contreras? George never calls any more, how to regain that special passion?
2. Everyone whose life was permanently stained by associating with George Gollin's embarrassing congressional race (e.g., campaign manager Monica "Fishy" Biddix, Novarah Fatima "Astroturf" Kazmi, and Gollin's fellow unethical professors, Leon Dash, Nancy Blake and Laura Greene)?
And the (likely) winner is ....
1. The Illinois Democrat Party machine. They told George Gollin that lovely Ann Callas was going to be the Democrat nominee, but did George Gollin listen to them? Nooooooooo! He had to stalk her, lie about her politics, piss away half a million dollars on negative campaigning--and he still finished in third place!
Even Democrats have standards, however low they might be. Gollin was a wart that needed to be removed, and they surgically removed him. Next time--if Gollin is really stupid enough for there to be a next time--it won't be so tidy and just might be permanent.
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(10-01-2015, 05:38 PM)Don Dresden Wrote: Next time--if Gollin is really stupid enough for there to be a next time--it won't be so tidy and just might be permanent.
Next time? I realize we are talking about Illinois here, but isn't a guy convicted of ethics violations and fined the max pretty much finished as a pol?
That's another of Gollin's Walter Mitty dreams down the dumper, along with "diploma mill expert" and "book author."
Gollin turns 62 in May 2016. What are the odds of UIUC telling him he just "retired" right about then? Then his "college professor" fantasy and the free playpen all go down in flames as well.
I'm sure the only reason his wife Mel hasn't left him yet is that she hasn't noticed he is still alive. What with all the mutant pork she has to sell to the public for food and UIUC conflicts of interest she has to quash, she really doesn't have time for him anyway.
Eventually he has to realize he has pissed away not just half a million bucks, but his entire worthless life. My crystal ball shows a Janko-like one-car fatal "accident" on the horizon for Gollin. Keep those life insurance policies paid up!
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10-03-2015, 06:30 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-03-2015, 06:30 AM by Ben Johnson.)
George seems to be off the CHEA Board of Directors. I'm guessing that if he wasn't already, he soon would be.
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This is getting to be like the NFL, where a study showed 96% of former NFL players had brain damage (CTE). You would think the Physics Dork Union would want to investigate why so many physics professors behave as if they had brain damage. When Gollin kicks it (which should be soon) they should drill a few holes in that bald dome to see if they can find the source of his major malfunction.
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(10-02-2015, 09:11 AM)Martin Eisenstadt Wrote: I'm sure the only reason his wife Mel hasn't left him yet is that she hasn't noticed he is still alive.
Gollum: Hey Mel, wanna vacation in France?
Mel: France? Fuck yeah!
Gollum: Great, I'll make reservations.
Mel: Oh, you mean with you?
Gollum: Um, yes.
Mel: I'll get back to you on that.
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Too unethical for Illinois? That's like being too stoned to stay at Keith Richards' house.
Keith Richards Wrote:This might sound strange coming from me, but you have to leave. http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/12/phillips200712
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Here are some interesting statements from the Ethics Commission's Final Report, under the section "Stipulated Undisputed Material Facts":
"Gollin has annually completed UIUC's Ethics Training for University Employees [which includes] sections on the Ethics Act's prohibition on the misappropriation of state resources to conduct prohibited political activities."
Not just once, not twice, but every stinking year! Gollin started at UIUC in 1989, which means he may have sat through that training as many as 25 times! Did George Gollin not have 15 pals handy to explain it to him? Or did he just decide that it only applied to all the other guys and not to intellectual giants like him?
"Gollin spoke three times with UIUC Ethics Officer Donna McNeely regarding his run for political office. During the first call, Gollin informed McNeely that he intended to keep his UIUC and campaign activities separate, that he had a separate email account for campaign activities, and that he understood the Ethics Act's rules concerning prohibited political activities."
How is it that the mental colossus George Gollin talked to the ethics officer three times and still couldn't get it right? It's pretty simple: don't use your university email for campaign stuff! What part of that requires even one conversation with the university ethics officer, let alone three, especially after some 25 years of ethics training on the very same point?
Gollin and his bizarre activities continue to raise the question: If he is really the genius he would have us believe, how could he screw up something so simple? Of course the answers are that (a) he didn't screw it up, he intentionally violated the rules, and (b) consistent with the narcissistic sociopath he is, he arrogantly thought he was entitled to it, and that his "inferiors" couldn't or wouldn't do anything about it. Wrong again, scumbag.
"Gollin knowingly and intentionally used his state-provided e-mail account to engage in prohibited political activity by sending dozens of e-mails from or to his UIUC e-mail address for the benefit of his campaign for elected public office."
It's easy to see how somebody could have just hastily pushed the "send" button once before switching the little "From" box to his campaign email address. But Gollin did it "dozens" of times. He could have taken the two seconds to comply with the law each time, but it was just too much of a burden for Dr. Brainiac. This was no accident or anything close to it. He basically said "fuck you" to the university ethics officer every single time he pushed "send," time after time after time. Not just arrogance but utter contempt for the law, the university and the people who pay his salary.
"Gollin used the Gollin Campaign E-mails for the benefit of his campaign. By way of example and not limitation, Gollin used the Gollin Campaign E-mails to: (1) request and receive advice regarding his campaign; (2) solicit contributions for his campaign; and (3) coordinate campaign activity with campaign supporters and volunteers."
Advice, contributions, coordination--is there anything else you could use an email address for relative to a political campaign? Gollin essentially ran every significant aspect of his entire campaign (albeit incompetently) using his prohibited university email.
I can imagine the university ethics officer telling him, "Whatever you do, Gollin, you bald stupid prick, don't use your university email for anything to do with your political campaign. Especially, don't use it for advice, contributions, coordination, or any other god damn thing. Got it, numbnuts?" Gollin nods his hairless cranium solemnly in affirmation, then stumbles back to his office and immediately starts firing off campaign emails with his university email account, seeking advice, contributions and coordination. He's thinking, "Ha ha! I sure fooled that silly bitch! I just agreed with everything she said, but now I'll do whatever I feel like and what's she gonna do about it?" I guess now we know, eh Einstein?
"Gollin admits that he knew at the time he was sending the Gollin Campaign E-mails that the e-mails were sent or received in furtherance of his campaign for election to State office. Gollin likewise knew at the time he was sending the Gollin Campaign E-mails that the Ethics Act prohibited State employees such as himself from misappropriating state resources to engage in political activity."
He knew it was wrong and he said, "Fuck it, I'm gonna do it anyway!" Dozens of times. Despite three discussions with the university ethics officer and some 25 years of ethics training. Some three-year olds have trouble controlling their impulsive behavior, but they generally outgrow it by the time they reach 60. Not George Gollin.
Is George Gollin sniffing glue or is somebody putting lysergic acid in his pancakes? Whatever his motivation, the fact is that he's now publically and officially branded for the scumbag he always has been. We've been telling people this very thing for years and you still occasionally find one or two who weren't fully convinced. Even the gay truck driver called Gollin "a weirdo nobody likes," and it was equally apparent from the comments he made on the Stalker Gang board that Klempner thought Gollin was a dick as well. Let's hope that mental case George Gollin has finally convinced the rest of the world what a sick joke he really is.
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