Dixon's campaign declined to comment on the loan. "What you see in the report is a perfectly proper set of transactions that was fully reported," Rice said. A $332 interest charge related to the loan was reported as an in-kind donation from Janice Dixon to her sister's campaign.
The loan was made in early May and repaid in November. In March and April, the Dixon campaign spent about $34,000 - most of that on expenses for fundraising events and salaries. The campaign spent no money in May or June.
Janice Dixon's name has surfaced often in connection with the mayor. She was employed by City Hall when Sheila Dixon was council president. After ethics concerns were raised about council members hiring relatives, Dixon was forced to fire her sister in 2003.
Shortly afterward, Janice Dixon landed a job at Union Technologies - or Utech - a company that did electrical work. At a council committee hearing in early 2006, Sheila Dixon pressed lobbyists from Comcast, the city's cable franchise holder, to give more work to Utech. A series of articles in The Sun showed that Dixon voted three times on city contracts that benefited Utech.
The president of Utech, Mildred E. Boyer, was investigated by the state prosecutor's office as part of the wider City Hall probe that led to this month's indictments. In March, Boyer pleaded guilty to falsifying tax returns and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
CAMPAIGN SUMS
Fundraising by Baltimore officials in 2008:
* Mayor Sheila Dixon: raised $195,254; $166,000 in the bank
* City Comptroller Joan M. Pratt: raised $600; $152,000 in the bank
* City Council President Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake: raised: $109,000; $72,000 in the bank
* State's Attorney Patricia Jessamy: report not available because of technical problems
