Springfield Armory & Rock River Arms Made Campaign Contributions to Anti-Gun Rights Politicians
The gun community continues to react to news of a deal made by Springfield Armory and Rock River Arms to carve out an exemption from a state licensing scheme (SB-1657). Both Springfield and Rock River Arms have issued statements denying any knowledge of the deal negotiated on their behalf by the lobbyist for the Illinois Firearms Manufacturing Association (IFMA). An organization funded by Springfield Armory and Rock River Arms.
We can now reveal that Springfield and Rock River have, through IFMA, donated tens of thousands of dollars to Illinois anti-gun politicians over the last several years.
2012
In 2012, IFMA wrote a check for $10,000 to Illinois Senate President John Cullerton‘s campaign fund. The NRA-PVF F-rated Cullerton has stood in the way of pro-gun rights legislation in Illinois for years. He refuses to allow pro-gun rights bills to receive a committee hearing, much less an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor.
The above is from page 8 of the IFMA 2012 IRS Form 990. A search of the Illinois State Board of Elections’ comprehensive list of IFMA political donations reveals no record of that check. Violations of the Illinois Election code are punishable by criminal and civil penalties.
IFMA also donated $1,000 to the Illinois Senate Democratic Victory Fund. That expenditure failed to appear on IFMA’s Federal Form 990 for the year.
IFMA’s $50,000 payment to J Alexander Hunt, Inc. — listed in the 2012 Form 990 — also caught our eye. IFMA’s lobbyist Jay Keller does business under the name J Alexander Hunt, Inc. The company shares a post office box address with IFMA.
Searching for J Alexander Hunt’s political donations at IllinoisSunshine.org reveals that J Alexander Hunt also donated $10,000 to Citizens for John Cullerton. Which means IFMA and J Alexander Hunt combined contributed $20,000 to the Cullerton campaign’s war chest.
The money from Rock River Arms and Springfield Armory channeled through IFMA, however, failed to convince Cullerton to moderate his antipathy to gun rights. Not long after receiving the cash, Cullerton appeared at a gun control event.