AG Candidate Grasso: Harold 'Has Not Even Tried A Single Case'

SPRINGFIELD, IL — DuPage County Board Member and former Burr Ridge mayor Gary Grasso released the first broadcast ad in the race for the Republican Party nomination for attorney general. Unveiled Wednesday and titled "Conservative Choice," the ad attacks front-runner Erika Harold for being inexperienced and too far to the left.

The 30-second spot says Harold "has not even tried a single case" since her 2007 graduation from law school. It says Grasso offers Republicans a choice between the "unproven, untested, liberal Miss Erika Harold."

Grasso, the ad says, is the "clear, conservative choice." It says it has been the lead counsel on hundreds of law cases, is "proud to be pro-life" and "opposes Illinois' sanctuary state law."

Grasso, who has been a litigation attorney for 39 years and said voters "deserve to know the differences" between the GOP candidates.

“Illinois needs a strong, experienced Attorney General to investigate and go after the clout and corruption that infects our entire state. The status quo is unacceptable," Grasso said. "I believe I have the right experience at the right time for Illinois."

Harold, a Harvard Law School grad, is licensed to practice law in Illinois. She is currently an attorney with Meyer Capel in Champaign County. She previously practiced law in Chicago in the general litigation groups at Sidley Austin LLP and Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella, according to online biographies.

Grasso's campaign said Harold was listed as a "former" attorney in 2014, has no executive experience and has two failed attempts at elected office.

Erika Harold's campaign has not responded to a request for a response to the claim. Although, in her answer to a candidate questionnaire from the Chicago Tribune, she explained how the goal of her legal practice has been to avoid trial:

My practice primarily has focused on complex commercial litigation where, given the size, nature and objectives of such cases, the goal is to successfully resolve them prior to trial and help the client avoid the expense and unpredictability associated with trial. As such, I have been able to achieve resolutions of the cases I have managed prior to trial, whether it was through obtaining judgments on the pleadings, negotiating settlement agreements, or representing clients in mediations.

Grasso challenged Harold to a series of debates last month but did not received a response, his campaign said.

A Grasso campaign spokesperson described it as "fairly hypocritical" that Harold was calling for primary debates when she took on incumbent 13th District Congressman Rodney Davis in the 2014 Republican Primary.

“Elections are not coronations,” Harold in a statement at the time. “They are the constitutionally protected right of voters to compare candidates’ ideas and qualifications. Unfortunately, party leaders have sought to deprive voters of this right.”

According to state electoral board filings, Grasso's campaign has just over $100,000 cash on hand compared to more than $200,000 for Harold.

By comparison, the Democratic establishment-backed front-runner Kwame Raoul, has more than $1.6 million on hand and has spent handsomely on broadcast advertisements.

Despite Grasso's claims to be the more experienced candidate, his campaign has been reprimanded multiple times with the Illinois State Board of Elections for taking donations above the legal limits, describing them as "first time mistakes," according to a WCIA-TV report.

When made aware some contributions had come from an overseas account, Grasso returned the money, his campaign said.

Other donations highlighted in the report included a pair of brothers in the road construction business who when to prison for defrauding the Illinois Department of Transportation, an "inadvertent" filing from a restaurant whose owners were named in an FBI mob investigation and an apparent Caymen Islands trust company.

"C'mon, man. That was just an accusation," Grasso told the station.

A spokesperson for Grasso's campaign noted it is the most popular restaurant in Burr Ridge and is "frequented by many judges, leading citizens, and used for public fundraisers for charities and political organizations."

The incident referenced in the WCIA report "was investigated and no action was warranted by law enforcement against the restaurant or restaurant owner," the spokesperson said.

» Listen to the new Gary Grasso radio ad

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