Russians Hacked Illinois Board Of Elections: Rep. Quigley

CHICAGO, IL — Russian operatives hacked into the Illinois State Board of Elections database last year, according to an Illinois Congressman. Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley made the allegation after a meeting Monday with the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune, the paper reported. He told the outlet the hack was aimed at voter database files.

Quigley, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, represents Illinois' 5th District, which includes the North Side of Chicago and nearby suburbs.

As investigations into allegations of collusion between President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and Russian agents continue, Quigley told the Tribune he believes Russian operatives accessed the Illinois election database and are "on the doorstep to hacking into our voting systems." He also said the intelligence committee should consider classifying state election systems as a target and allocate resources to protect them.

The identification of 3,000 voters was viewed, and up to 80,000 more may have been viewed, board of elections General Counsel Ken Manzel told the Tribune, saying those 80,000 people have been notified by mail that their driver's license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number may have been seen. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Chicago — or your neighborhood. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

A "Cyber-Intrusion Record Search" page on the Illinois Board of Elections website lets voters search what information may have been accessed.

"The following search is designed for individuals who have been notified of their involvement with the cyber-intrusion, to learn what information was available on their voter registration record, at the time of the attack," the state board said. "Everyone identified as being involved has been sent a written notice. No signatures or voter history records were viewed for any voters."

Read more via the Chicago Tribune

Photo: AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast