This lawmaker spent big PAC money on wine tours, resort stays | McClatchy Washington Bureau

The leadership political action committee affiliated with Rep. John Shimkus of Illinois has splurged on Napa Valley wine tours, Miami Beach luxury hotels and Washington Nationals baseball tickets worth tens of thousands of dollars over the past four years, federal campaign disclosures show.

The nine-term Republican represents a coal-producing region of southern Illinois and frequently speaks in defense of fossil fuels as a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. But earlier this year, his John S Fund PAC put down a deposit for a fundraising event at a California spa hotel that’s powered by solar panels.

PACs are lightly regulated entities that members of Congress typically use as fundraising tools for their party, but not for their own campaigns.

Shimkus, a former schoolteacher who makes $174,000 a year as a congressman, isn’t unusual: Most senior lawmakers with PACs spend at least some of the money on perks their salaries don’t cover, in addition to contributions to national and state party committees and candidates.

“It’s a nice little piggybank to have,” said Viveca Novak, editorial and communications director at the Center for Responsive Politics, a group that tracks Washington influence. “There are so few restrictions on how you can use it.”

Federal Election Commission documents show the Shimkus PAC has spent upward of $100,000 since 2011 on fundraising events in California and Florida.

It also paid more than $100,000 to a Washington fundraising consultant, the Gula Graham Group, whose clients include other Republicans in Congress.

The John S Fund, whose address is a post office box in Edwardsville, Ill., paid more than $53,000 in the 2012 and 2014 election cycles to Solage Calistoga, a spa resort in Calistoga, Calif.

The disclosures don’t specify exactly what accommodations were booked or who attended the event. But the Napa resorts offer some plush options.

The hotel’s Silverado Suite includes a fireplace, a steam shower with a pebble floor, an enclosed patio with an outdoor hot tub and a pair of cruiser bikes for $985 a night.

The spa features “healing geothermal pools” and “mineral-rich mud therapy in a restful setting.”

The Napa trips included a private bus tour of five or six wineries over two days. The federal disclosures show the wine tours cost about $15,000, and wine and catering, another $15,000.

But more recent disclosures show the John S Fund is getting an upgrade for the next fundraiser. In January, the PAC put down a $4,000 deposit on the Bardessono Hotel, another spa resort a few miles down the road in Yountville, Calif.

The spa’s Tufa Suite offers an indoor-outdoor living space, with an outdoor shower and steamroom and an in-room spa treatment area. There’s also a double-sided gas fireplace dividing the living and bedroom areas.

All for just $1,200 a night.

The Bardessono promotes itself as green. The hotel is heated and cooled with a geothermal system, and powered by 940 rooftop solar panels.

Shimkus, one of Congress’ most outspoken defenders of coal, often criticizes the Obama administration for its emphasis on renewable energy.

Steve Tomaszewski, a spokesman for Shimkus’ campaign, said the upcoming Napa fundraising trip is the fourth paid for by the congressman’s PAC.

The PAC also paid for a fundraising event in Miami Beach, he said. According to federal disclosures, it spent nearly $16,000 at the five-star Ritz-Carlton South Beach, just a few steps away from the beach in one direction and the posh Lincoln Road Mall in the other.

Shimkus attended all of the Napa events and the Miami event, Tomaszewski said.

The PAC also purchased nearly $4,000 in Washington Nationals baseball tickets. Those were used for fundraising purposes as well, Tomaszewski said.

To be sure, the John S Fund donates to other members at least as much as it spends on fundraising activities. In 2014, it doled out $231,000 in campaign contributions, while it spent $221,000 on fundraising activity, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The fund, like many others, also contributes to the national and state parties, and state and local candidates.

The PAC has distributed $110,000 to Republicans this year for their campaigns, according to the center.

The PAC supports less senior Republican lawmakers from Illinois. This year, it has donated $10,000 each to the campaigns of Reps. Mike Bost, Rodney Davis, Bob Dold and Darin LaHood.

Bost, who was first elected in 2014, doesn’t have a PAC. Leadership PACs are his largest source of campaign cash for 2016, totaling $173,000.

Davis, who was first elected in 2012, has a PAC, but it’s not very active. Other leadership PACs are his second largest source of campaign money for 2016, totaling $105,000.

Shimkus’ PAC, while not the most prolific among the 535 members of Congress in 2016, currently ranks between those of Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., the chairman of the House Transportation Committee, and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.

However, the size of PAC contributions isn’t always an indicator of electoral survival. In 2014, the PAC of former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., donated $1.8 million to Republican candidates. He was defeated in a primary and left Congress.

That year, the PAC of former House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, spent $1.4 million on Republican candidates. But Boehner resigned last year amid ongoing disputes with his most conservative members.

Also in 2014, former Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., contributed more than $500,000 through his GOP Generation Y Fund. In 2015, Schock resigned amid questions about tens of thousands of dollars in government reimbursements for mileage on his personal vehicle that didn’t match the car’s odometer.