IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
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Belleville News Democrat | Bost used $91,000 in taxpayer-funded postage in 2017 — tops among Illinois reps
By Joseph Bustos
April 24, 2018
http://www.bnd.com/news/local/article208932954.html
A congressman from the metro-east used more taxpayer-funded postage last year than any other congressman from Illinois.
U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, who represents southwestern Illinois including St. Clair County and part of Madison County, led all of Illinois congressmen last year with the use of “franked” mail, a privilege that allows congressmen to send an unlimited amount of mail to constituents for free.
In 2017, Bost sent $91,631 worth of franked mail to constituents in the 12th Congressional District, according to congressional reports. The number does not include the cost of printing for the mailers, only postage.
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Bost’s spending amount could be connected to the upcoming midterm elections.
“A lot of these mailings are usually very friendly mailings that make the elected official look good,” said Andrew Theising, a Southern Illinois University Edwardsville political science professor. “It would make sense (that) elected officials facing a competitive election would be more likely to get the word out about accomplishments and send a lot of mail just so the constituents at home are reminded that, ‘Hey, I’m your representative in Washington, I’m doing my job.’”
The 12th district race between Democrat Brendan Kelly and Bost, which also includes Green Party Candidate Randy Auxier, has been dubbed a tossup by Cook Political Report. Kelly, the St. Clair County state’s attorney, has been listed as part of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Red to Blue program.
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“It’s amazing though people are saying ‘you’re using franking but you’re not doing town hall meetings,'” Bost said. “Who sets the standard on what the communication with my people is? I will gladly go before my constituents and say, ‘Yes, I am communicating with you.’ One of the best responses I get quite often from the franked mailing is the opportunity to reach out to people to get their input and get a survey from them so we could get the information we need. I’m not going to apologize for communicating with my district.”
Kelly has been among those to criticize Bost for his use of franked mail and for not having town halls.
Kelly said communications from representatives used to be in letters about issues or congratulating people on accomplishments.
“Turning that traditional form of communication into something that is really transparently and obviously a campaign literature is not what this is supposed to be about,” Kelly said. “A nice, friendly letter from your congressman is very different in both cost and intent than a 5-page glossy piece of literature that shows up in your mailbox around election time.”
Kelly’s campaign has criticized Bost for using the same printer for franking as he does for his campaign work, to which Bost said there are only a certain amount of printers available.
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