ICPR AND REFORM LEADERS REACT TO BLAGOJEVICH INDICTMENT
Cross posted from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:
Cynthia Canary, Director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, issued the following statement:
“Rod Blagojevich was elected and then reelected governor based on the promise that he would reform and renew state government, but his government was more like an overloaded, malfunctioning sewage system. Now, it’s up to the elected leaders in Springfield to respond to the demands of the citizens of Illinois and clean up this mess. They should start by addressing the free flow of big campaign contributions from special interests. Limited campaign contributions and strong oversight of the campaign finance system would give the people of Illinois reason to believe their elected leaders are serious about changing the culture of corruption.”
Kent Redfield, Director of the Sunshine Project at the University of Illinois, issued the following statement:
“The political system in Illinois is broken and has been for decades. Removing Rod Blagojevich from office by impeachment and putting him on trial in a federal courtroom may teach him a lesson, but it will not reform Illinois. Major changes are required in the way Illinois polices lobbying and openness of government. But the first and most important change needed is to enact reasonable limits on the size of campaign contributions and strong enforcement of campaign finance laws.”
The CHANGE Illinois coalition released this statement:
Leaders of the CHANGE Illinois! coalition on Thursday said the federal criminal indictment of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich has done additional damage to the state’s reputation and urged state legislators to act quickly to enact limits on campaign contributions.
“Rod Blagojevich is just the latest in a very long list of officeholders who have disgusted and disappointed the voters of Illinois,” said Peter Bensinger, a co-chair of CHANGE Illinois! and a former Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. “This should be a wake-up call to state legislators in Springfield. Open your eyes to the need for real reform and vote to limit how much anyone can contribute to political campaigns.”
CHANGE Illinois! is a coalition of civic, business, professional, non-profit and philanthropic organizations aligned to bring government integrity to Illinois, and the coalition is calling for replacing the state’s unregulated campaign finance system with one modeled after the contribution limit system in place for federal elections and in almost all other states.
“How many more public officials have to go to prison before the people we send to Springfield get serious about campaign finance reform?” asked Deborah Harrington, a co-chair of CHANGE Illinois! and President of the Woods Fund of Chicago. “Illinoisans deserve fair and honest government, and voters must demand change in the way all elections are funded.”
CHANGE Illinois! has opened a toll-free hotline (1-800-719-3020) allowing voters to call their legislators and register their support for campaign contribution limits.
CHANGE Illinois! will hold a rally for reform outside the James R. Thompson Center, 100 W. Randolph St., Chicago, at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 9.
“The charges detailed in the Blagojevich indictment are repugnant, and the international headlines are going to cause corporations around the world to think twice about doing business here,” Bensinger said. “We need to restore the public’s faith in government and demonstrate to investors that reform will replace pay-to-play as the dominant force in Illinois politics.”
For additional information about CHANGE Illinois! and a list of member organizations, go to www.ChangeIL.org.
