Rude Music Inc v. Newt 2012, Inc. et al

Filing 39

REPLY by American Conservative Union to response in opposition to motion 34 to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction (Attachments: # 1 Declaration Supplemental (Keller))(Kirby, Thomas)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
RUDE MUSIC, INC.

)
)
)
)
)

v.

NEWT 2012, INC., et al.

Case No.1: 12-cv-00640-(MFK)

SUPPLEMENTAL DECLARATION OF GREGG KELLER

I, Gregg Keller, declare as follows:
1.

I am the National Executive Director of American Conservative Union ("ACU").

I am of lawful age and, in the course of performing my responsibilities, I have gained knowledge
of the facts set forth in this declaration. ACU's lawyers have asked me to provide information to
supplement an earlier declaration I made in connection with a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against
ACU. This is not a general response to the lawsuit. If called as a witness, I could and would
testify competently under oath to the following facts :
2.

Under ACU ' s articles of corporation, ACU's voting membership is comprised of

U.S. citizens who voluntarily support the objectives and purposes of ACU, apply to join, and pay
annual dues. Voting members annually elect two (2) at-large members to ACU 's 33-member
board of directors. ACU's non-voting membership is comprised of U.S. citizens who voluntarily
support the objectives and purposes of ACU and apply to join. The number of members in total
and from various states fluctuates. From 2009 through 2011, about II % of ACU members had
Illinois addresses.
3.

ACU 's website, www.conservative.org, invites guests to financially support

ACU. Based on addresses provided by donors, Illinois residents have made online donations to
ACU, which accounts for a small portion of ACU's total online donations as documented in the
chart below. ACU's online store was not launched until 2012.

I

Year

Number & Percentage Total Number of
of Dlinois Residents
Individuals
Who Made Online
Who Made Online
Donations
Donations

Amount & Percentage
of llIinois Residents'
Online Donations

Total Amount of
Online Donations

2009

67 (2%)

3,054

$1,840 (2%)

$114,638

2010

74 (6%)

1,172

$1,680 (2%)

$74,619

2011

78 (8%)

923

$2,125 (4%)

$55,741

4.

The Federal Election Commission filings discussed in the Plaintiffs response and

cited to as the Plaintiffs Exhibit 5 disclose the financial activity of ACU' s federal political
action committee ("PAC"). ACU' s PAC is a separate legal entity from ACU. ACU's PAC is an
unincorporated association, has its own employer identification number from the Internal
Revenue Service, maintains its own bank account, and has its own governing committee.
5.

Last year, ACU conceived of the idea to hold regional Conservative Political

Action Conferences ("CPACs") similar to the annual national CPAC held in Washington, DC.
ACU' s first regional CPAC was held in Orlando, Florida on September 23, 2011. Based on its
success, ACU decided to hold another regional CPAC in the midwest during the summer of
2012. However, when the Plaintiff filed its complaint, ACU was just beginning to plan for a
Chicago CPAC to be held on June 8, 2012. No contract in connection with the Chicago CPAC
had been signed. ACU publicly announced the Chicago CPAC on March 15,2012. ACU did
not launch the Chicago CP AC portion of its website or begin offering online registration for the
Chicago CPAC until March 15,2012. Except for the upcoming Chicago CPAC on June 8, 2012,
ACU has not held any events in lIIinois.
6.

In February 2012, ACU spent $1 ,560 to broadcast radio advertisements

supporting Representative Bobby Schilling. ACU broadcast similar advertisements in many
other states. The total cost of the nationwide advertising campaign was $183 ,063; the amount
spent in lIIinois compared to overall cost was negligible.

2

7.

ACU plans to rate members of the Illinois legislature and various other state

legislatures as part of its legislative rating educational program, but it has not yet done so. The
legislative rating program will gather Illinois legislators ' voting records and compile statistics.
These activities will primarily be conducted in Washington, DC, although in the future a small
portion will take place in Illinois.
8.

ACU has collected and posted information about the Association of Community

Organizations for Reform Now's ("ACORN") Chicago Chapter, using sources that did not
involve trips to Illinois, communications with ACORN agents, or other contacts with Illinois.
Pursuant to Section 1746 of Title 28 of the United States Code, I declare under penalty of
peIjury under the laws of the United States that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed on March ~ ,2012.

Gregg Keller

3