CHANGE Illinois! Says Agreement to Limit Campaign Contributions Puts Illinois on the Road to Reform

Remains Committed to Additional Reforms

The CHANGE Illinois! coalition has reached agreement with Governor Quinn, Senate President Cullerton and Speaker Madigan on legislation that would establish limits on campaign contributions by political parties, legislative leaders, individuals, corporations, unions, and PACs.

For the first time in the history of Illinois – one of only five states where unlimited campaign contributions are legal – there would be limitations on the amount of money contributed to political campaigns.

Other important elements of the agreement will create a framework for regulation of the finance system and enforcement of a new limits law. They include:
• Swift disclosure to the public of every contribution of $1,000 or more;

• Quarterly (now just twice a year) reports from committees detailing the source of every contribution of more than $150 and listing how funds were spent in the quarter;

• Audits of the finances of political committees selected at random by the State Board of Elections to check compliance with state laws; and

• Creation of a searchable database of penalties assessed by the State Board of Elections in response to violations of the campaign disclosure and limitation laws.

In addition, a bi-partisan task force, including public members, will be created to analyze the new limits, make recommendations for improvements, and examine the feasibility of creating a voluntary public campaign finance system for all state offices, including the judiciary.

“Setting limits on contributions to political campaigns, will be an important step in bringing meaningful reform to Illinois,” said George Ranney, a co-chair of CHANGE Illinois! and President and CEO of Chicago Metropolis 2020. “As important as this first step is, it is only that – one step in a long road to the reform of this state’s political culture. We have much more work to do and loopholes to be closed.”

“After scandals in Washington and in state capitols and city halls around the nation, the federal government and most other states passed laws limiting the role of campaign contributions during the past couple of decades,” said Cynthia Canary, Director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. “Finally, Illinois is about to signal to the rest of the nation that we’re ready to join them and impose limits on all contributions coming into the system.”

CHANGE Illinois! is a coalition of civic, business, labor, professional, non-profit and philanthropic organizations, which represents more than 2 million members advocating for Illinois to join the federal government and virtually every other state in the nation by enacting campaign finance limits.

The coalition led a public education campaign that generated support for strong campaign finance reform and resulted in Gov. Quinn’s veto of a badly flawed campaign finance bill passed earlier this year by the General Assembly. Members of the coalition promised to work with the Governor and legislative leaders to produce a bill with meaningful limits and effective enforcement tools.

Following that veto, the coalition worked with the Governor and legislative leaders to design a reform program that would be comparable to systems in use elsewhere in the nation.

Under terms of the agreement, individuals will not be able to contribute more than $5,000 to any candidate in an election cycle; businesses, labor unions and associations will have $10,000 limits on contributions to candidates; and political action committees will be limited to no more than $50,000 per candidate.

One major stumbling block in negotiations centered on the ability of political parties and caucus leaders to transfer unlimited amounts of money from their funds to political candidates. The final agreement does include limits on the amounts of money that can be transferred to candidates during primary elections. Party leaders will no longer be able to control local primary election campaigns by pouring unlimited amounts of money into the campaigns of favored candidates.

“There was no agreement reached on transfers from leaders to candidates during general election campaigns, but CHANGE Illinois! will continue to advocate for those limits in the future,” Ranney said.

“Because parties and legislative leaders have been able to contribute unlimited amounts of money in primary campaigns, few people have been willing to run for
office without the backing of party leaders,” said Anton Valukas, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and a member of CHANGE Illinois! coalition. “As long as they have the support of their leaders, many state legislators get a free ride to reelection. Setting limits in the primary will not remove all advantages of incumbency, but they should give more challengers a fighting chance and offer voters more choices.”

The agreement will create limits on transfers from party leaders to all candidates for all state and local offices in primary elections. Each limit will be an aggregate limit, meaning the total of any combination of party and leader committees in a primary cannot exceed the limit. The limits on transfers are $200,000 for statewide candidates, $125,000 to Senate candidates, $75,000 for House candidates, and a range of limits from $50,000 to $125,000 for candidates running for every other office – from local offices to seats on the Illinois Supreme Court.

"Placing limits on campaign contributions and their influence is an important first step in reminding our elected officials that the citizens and voters of Illinois have special interests too," said Bob Gallo, AARP Illinois Senior State Director. "This legislation promises to be a significant first step in addressing the lack of public confidence in the capability of our elected officials to address the issues concerning individuals and their families during these difficult economic times."

“This reform measure, while imperfect, is a long time overdue and an essential first step toward a cleaner, fairer, more representative election system,” said Dawn Clark Netsch, a former legislator, statewide officeholder, long-time advocate of limits and a member of CHANGE Illinois! coalition.

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One more step in campaign finance reform

By Bethany Jaeger
The Illinois General Assembly has been here before. Lawmakers are on the verge of making history by approving legislation aimed at limiting the amount of money flowing into political campaigns and reducing outside influence on the lawmaking process.

They approved a previous version of so-called campaign finance limits in House Bill 7, but in a rare event, the governor and all four legislative leaders agreed to veto the measure and start over.

The difference this time around is that reform advocates are on board. Unfortunately for Republicans, that leaves them without leverage in demanding stricter limits on the amount legislative leaders and statewide political parties can give to their chosen candidates.


Change Illinois, a broad coalition of 50 organizations of all stripes, believes Senate Bill 1466 represents “a significant step forward on the long road to reform,” said George Ranney, co-chair of Change Illinois and president and chief executive officer of Chicago Metropolis 2020.

Negotiations, particularly in the past week, have been “hard-fought, frank and full,” according to Cynthia Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform and Change Illinois negotiator. The group wanted more. “I don’t think it is any secret that we had hoped to apply [limits on legislative leaders] in both the general and in the primary,” she said. “However, that was not the result of our negotiations.” She later added: “We tried as hard as we possibly could. We have been through some very thorough, very loud, very long negotiations. We could not bring them to this point.”

Capping contributions from political parties and legislative leaders in primary elections would still represent meaningful reform, according to Canary, because that’s where the election cycle starts, where independent newcomers have a chance to enter the process. And candidates would have to report more frequently the amount of money raised and spent. That could allow the public to better “follow the money,” or detect quid pro quo if large campaign donations flowed to politicians just as they were about to act on major legislation. The State Board of Elections also would gain new power to track, audit and penalize campaign finance violations.

Canary said the reform group intends to continue in the next legislative session to try to push for further reforms that include limits on political parties and legislative leaders in general elections.

Republicans disagreed that limiting the amounts legislative leaders and political parties in the primaries would be enough.

“Nothing changes — nothing — when it comes to money, except one thing: Everybody that’s not a leader is limited,” said House Minority Leader Tom Cross. “The power, the money and control stays vested in four people,” he added, citing the top four legislative leaders of each political party.

The GOP Caucus cited numbers to suggest the limits on party leaders during primary elections are largely symbolic, given that parties tend to spend much less in primaries than they do in general elections. In the 2008 election cycle, for instance, the GOP said the State Republican Party gave $410,000 to candidates in the primary but $2.7 million in the general election. Democrats contributed $108,000 in the primary and $4.1 million in the general.

“Sadly, Change Illinois was either worn down or bought out, but their acceptance of the bill that gives even more power to the most powerful man in Illinois politics today is at the very least unfortunate,” Rep. Suzanne Bassi, a Palatine Republican, said during floor debate.

“There’s one person that can stop this now,” Cross said, citing Gov. Pat Quinn.

During the debate on SB 1466, the governor’s office said this in an e-mail: “We think it’s moving in a good direction.”

Approved by the House 66-49 late Thursday night, the bill is slated for Senate debate Friday, the last day of the legislature’s fall veto session. Lawmakers aren’t scheduled to return to Springfield until January.

If approved by the Senate and enacted by the governor, the new rules would:

• Require candidates to report contributions and expenditures four times a year, as opposed to the current twice a year. Donations of $1,000 or more would have to be reported within two business days throughout the entire year.
• Allow the Illinois State Board of Elections to conduct random audits, to investigate alleged violations of contribution limits or reporting requirements and to waive fees if the mistakes were found to be inadvertent.
• Form a task force to study the effectiveness of the implementation of the new law, as well as the public funding of political campaigns.

Per election cycle limits
Individuals can give up to:

• $5,000 to any candidate
• $10,000 to any political party or legislative caucus committee
• $10,000 to any political action committee

Businesses, unions and associations can give up to:

• $10,000 to any candidate
• $20,000 to any political party or legislative caucus committee
• $20,000 to any political action committee

Candidates can give up to:

• $50,000 to any candidate
• $50,000 to any political action committee
• Unlimited contributions to any political party or legislative caucus committee, except a $50,000 limit to a committee participating in primary elections

Political party and legislative caucus committees during primary elections:
The aggregate amount between state, county, township and city political committees cannot exceed:

• $200,000 to statewide candidates
• $125,000 to any state Senate candidate
• $75,000 to any state House candidate
• Between $50,000 - $125,000 to candidates for local and judicial offices
• $20,000 to political action committees
• Unlimited contributions to candidates during general elections

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Back to borrowing

By Bethany Jaeger
Gov. Pat Quinn could propose borrowing roughly $1 billion for the third time since May to keep the state operating through the winter. Tax revenues have slowed, while spending pressures have not. Those pressures include unpaid bills, employee health insurance and financial aid grants for low-income college students.

While short-term borrowing is relatively normal to help the state get through the slow revenue season, the state already borrowed $1 billion in May and an additional $1.25 billion in August. That money, as well as any new short-term borrowing, needs to be repaid by the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 2010.

That’s on top of a $3.7 billion backlog of unpaid bills, according to the state comptroller’s office.


The legislative Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability recently projected that state tax revenues could come in $900 million less than anticipated.

Although Quinn has had to cut more than $2 billion in spending this fiscal year, he and the legislature recently restored $200 million to fund second semester grants of the Monetary Award Program for low-income college students. But they did not identify a way to pay for the additional spending.

After meeting with legislative leaders behind closed doors in the Capitol Tuesday afternoon, Quinn said he could propose borrowing $900 million to ease the cash-flow problem. “We have to have that just to have liquidity for the months of November and December, January and February,” he said. “That’s historically been a time when state government’s finances — the cash that’s in the till — is the lowest.”

Of the $900 million, some $250 million would potentially be dedicated to pay Medicaid bills and to ensure Illinois continues to qualify for an enhanced federal Medicaid reimbursement rate offered through the federal stimulus program.

The state treasurer and comptroller have to sign off on short-term borrowing plans. It does not need legislative approval. According to Carol Knowles, Comptroller Dan Hynes’ spokeswoman, the comptroller’s office has not received a borrowing proposal from the governor's office.

Hynes, who is running against Quinn in the Democratic primary for governor next February, said in his latest quarterly report that the state carried over a record $3.8 billion in overdue bills from the previous fiscal year at the same time tax revenues took a nosedive. He described the fiscal situation as “grim, and getting worse.”

Democrats have proposed various versions of an income tax increase in the past few months, but they have failed to win approval without Republican support. Fewer votes, a simple majority, would be needed once the legislature convenes its spring session in January.

After meeting with other legislative leaders and the governor, Senate President John Cullerton said: “Nobody wants to vote for tax increases. All you can do is borrow.”

House Speaker Michael Madigan also said there’s close to “no other choice” and that it would push the underlying problem down the road. “This has been done year after year after year,” he said of the short-term borrowing, but he added, “This is a higher amount of money.”

House Minority Leader Tom Cross said the problem has evolved for a number of years. "There’s a real strain on our budget that I’m not sure is going to be able to be met next year,” he said. His spokeswoman, Sara Wojcicki, said Cross also sought clarification about the governor’s priorities. “All this borrowing is something that needs to be carefully scrutinized,” she said. “We want to know how exactly it’s going to be spent, what bills are going to be paid down, why, in that order.”

Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno added, “I do think there’s a good faith effort to manage, but the overall message here is we still need to look at the spending side of things. And it seems to be more focused on the borrowing.”

The leaders’ meeting kicks off the last week of the legislature’s annual fall veto session. While they and the governor previously vowed to work together to propose new campaign finance reforms during this veto session, they said they did not discuss campaign finance during the closed-door meeting. Democratic leaders met separately with reform advocates, again, behind closed doors.

Wojcicki said Republicans have been kept out of the loop since the end of September. “It seems sort of like an oxymoron: Landmark reform and closed-door meetings without us.”

We’ll keep you posted on new versions of campaign finance legislation throughout the week.

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Campaign finance limits one step closer

By Jamey Dunn, with Bethany Jaeger contributing

A bill intended to reform campaign finance in Illinois that passed through the Senate yesterday is expected to come up for a vote in the House today.

It appears to be a compromised version that could get enough votes to pass both chambers. However, Gov. Pat Quinn’s support of the bill went against the recommendations of the Illinois Reform Commission, which he created.




None of the major reform groups in the state support the bill. Cynthia Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, described HB 7 as “phony reform” filled with loopholes.

Canary’s organization partnered with a large coalition called Change Illinois to advocate for reforms that mirror the federal system of campaign contribution limits: $2,400 limit on individuals, $5,000 limit on political committees, business and unions and a $30,000 limit on legislative leadership. The Illinois Reform Commission recommended the same limits.

Quinn said that enacting contribution caps for the first time in the state would be a historic change, even if they were more lenient than recommended by his commission. “This is a new world for Illinois,” he said shortly after he and House Speaker Michael Madigan testified in favor of the bill before a House committee this morning.

Madigan said that federal limits were too low and forced candidates to spend too much time trying to find multiple donors to contribute small amounts of money. He also said that they benefit incumbents who have an established list of donors that they could ask for cash.

Some aspects of the bill that Madigan outlined before the committee include:

• Limited in-kind donations of advertisements, yard signs and people to knock on doors from businesses and labor unions supporting candidates.
• Unlimited in-kind contributions for legislative leadership or statewide political parties.
• Fines for violations of election rules would be increased. The Illinois State Board of Elections would be able to audit candidates and committees only if they missed two consecutive reporting deadlines.

Most of the new provisions would not take effect until January 2011, after the next general election. Madigan said that it was designed to keep the next election fair because candidates that started fundraising under the old rules would have an advantage over those who started under the new ones.

The Illinois Democratic Party also would be prohibited from offering support to a candidate in the primary immediately after the bill became law. Yesterday, Senate President John Cullerton said the Democratic Party voluntarily would abide by the new provisions before the law were enacted.

Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno said she would like to see the same restriction applied to the Republican Party, but it was not included in the bill because Republicans were cut out of negotiations.

The provision actually could help Quinn because it would keep Madigan, chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois, from using the party to support his daughter, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who is considering challenging Quinn in the Democratic primary for governor in 2010. When asked if he had compromised by accepting a less lenient cap on contributions in exchange for a ban on the Democratic Party's involvement in the primary, Quinn said, “Slate-making by the Democratic Party and using party resources in a primary has been a stock and trade for many decades.” He added: “I think this is a good step for reform and openness. It empowers everyday people who want to run for office. They don't have to run in machine politics. I think this is a very good reform.”

Speaker Madigan echoed supporters by calling it an imperfect bill but the result of compromise. “We don’t represent in this bill that there will be a complete shut down of money being spent for campaigns,” he said, “and we don’t represent that this bill is perfect. We don’t represent that it satisfies everybody. We do represent that it is a significant step forward for the state of Illinois.”

Rep. Ed Sullivan, a Mundelein Republican, responded, “Some of us have a disagreement on how big of a step it is.”

Shortly after HB 7 advanced through committee, House Republicans tried to push a measure, HB 24,which would mirror federal limits. It’s similar to recommendations from the Illinois Reform Commission. However, the GOP was unable to get the support needed to have the bill called on the floor for a vote.

“We will have an ethics bill presented in this House later today that fails the people of the state of Illinois miserably,” said House Minority Leader Tom Cross. Check back for updates on the bill.

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ICPR SAYS MUCH MORE WORK NEEDED ON CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION LIMITS LEGISLATION

HOUSE BILL 7 IS FULL OF LOOPHOLES

Cross-posted from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:


Over the objections of reform advocates throughout the state, the Illinois Senate on Thursday approved a bill (HOUSE BILL 7) to establish contribution limits but with so many loopholes that the legislation is "limits" in name only.

Cynthia Canary, Director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR), issued the following statement:


“The disappointing Senate action should not be rubberstamped by the House,” said Cynthia Canary, Director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR). “This phony reform should be blocked, and reform-minded legislators should insist on filling the loopholes created by the Senate.”

ICPR and the CHANGE Illinois! coalition have advocated real reform modeled after the federal system of campaign limits -- $2,400 limit on individual contributions, $5,000 limit on PAC, business and union contributions and a $30,000 limit on contribution from legislative leadership PACs to legislative candidates.

SOME OF THE PROBLEMS WITH HOUSE BILL 7

NO LIMIT ON IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS: Not only are the dollar amounts of the limits high but there are no limits on "in-kind" contributions from one candidate's committee to another. That means legislative leaders could use campaign funds to hire staff, pay for commercials and send direct mail on behalf of candidates. None of those would be covered by a contribution limit. It has the potential to exempt millions of dollars from the limits.

ANNUAL (CALENDAR YEAR) vs. ELECTION CYCLE LIMITS: Because the federal system uses election cycles of primary and general elections, officeholders and challengers are treated the same. But the Senate bill would set limits -- $5,000 for an individual and $10,000 for a PAC, business or union -- on a calendar year basis. That protects incumbents. For example, using the federal system, a governor and challenger could each get no more than two maximum contributions in a four-year period. But under the calendar year system, sitting governors could collect the maximum level in each of the governor's four years in office. Because challengers usually don't gear up for campaigning and fundraising until about two years before the election, a challenger could collect the limit from a contributor only twice before the general election. That's a potential 2-to-1 advantage for an incumbent.

TRANSFERS FROM LEADERS' (AND OTHERS') COMMITTEES: Any candidate for any office in Illinois could transfer up to $90,000 in cash to another candidate's committee. There are so many potential transfers of funds from committee to committee that it would be easy for legislative leaders to maneuver millions of dollars to targeted candidates. The end result would be the same as exists today.

ENFORCEMENT: Enforcement of campaign finance laws would remain extremely weak in Illinois. We had recommended the State Board of Elections be directed to make random audits of campaign committees to determine whether they were disclosing the contributions and expenditures required by law. The Senate bill would only give the State Board of Elections the ability to order an audit when a committee failed to file a quarterly report two times in a calendar year.

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Recall returns, other reforms coming

By Bethany Jaeger and Jamey Dunn
The legislature continues to advance measures that would try to prevent the alleged wrongdoing by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich from going on long enough for a federal indictment to intervene.


Rep. Jack Franks, a Woodstock Democrat and longtime Blagojevich critic, revived his effort to change the state Constitution so voters could “recall” elected officials. The effort failed last year. This time, however, he’s calling for a constitutional amendment that would only focus on allowing voters to recall the governor, not other statewide officeholders or legislators.

Franks called it a first step and said that recall should only be used in extreme situations, describing recall authority as a “nuclear option” to remove corrupt or inept officials. He pointed to 18 other states that have some version of a recall provision, but it’s only been used twice in recent history, the most recent in California in 2003.

The bill is scheduled for a committee hearing tomorrow morning. We’ll have more then.

Sen. Susan Garrett, a Lake Forest Democrat, also is sponsoring a measure to increase transparency in the way the governor appoints people to boards and commissions. While Gov. Pat Quinn’s office already published a Web site listing all appointments, Garrett’s bill, SB 1602, would aim to increase transparency, prevent conflicts of interest and “ensure the process isn’t dominated by political insiders.” She referred to several Blagojevich appointments involved in the ongoing federal investigation of using public office for private gain.

Both Franks and Garrett said the legislature continues to advance reform measures not addressed by Quinn’s Illinois Reform Commission. Franks said the panel did good work, “but by no means is it all inclusive or the only reasonable voice.”

The commission did not make a specific recommendation, for instance, about whether to let voters recall elected officials. Commissioner Patrick Collins previously said the group only gave recommendations that received unanimous support, and recall was not unanimous but deserved additional consideration.

One area the commission did make specific recommendations was campaign finance. While last week’s attempt to debate so-called contribution limits soured, another attempt could be made as soon as tomorrow. Sen. Don Harmon, an Oak Park Democrat, went as far to say he expects some form of contribution caps to pass both chambers tomorrow. The process is expected to start with a Senate committee hearing in the afternoon.

Harmon has been negotiating a compromise with lawmakers and the Illinois Reform Commission. He said there is “if not broad agreement, at least broad acceptance” of $5,000 contribution limits for individual donors. That’s a more lenient limit than the $2,400 cap recommended by the commission. But the bigger sticking point, according to Harmon, is whether to limit the amount statewide political parties can donate to their candidates.

But a statement from House Speaker Michael Madigan today made it seem as though that issue may be close to a resolution among Democrats.

A public TV program called Illinois Lawmakers reported that Madigan said he and Senate President John Cullerton have come to an agreement on capping the amount of money political parties can transfer to candidates’ campaign committees. Both leaders have withheld their support of the idea in the past.

“We are moving in the right direction.” Madigan said. “There should be caps on contributions. There should be caps on transfers between committees.”

FOIA rewrite advances
One area where lawmakers did strike a compromise with competing versions is strengthening the Freedom of Information Act and the Open Meetings Act.

The Illinois Press Association and the Illinois Attorney General expressed disappointment with a watered down version last week, but both enthusiastically supported the version that won House approval today. “This bill did not have everything we wanted, but we were very happy with this bill,” said David Porter, spokesman for the Illinois Press Association.

Senate Bill 189 would increase the standard for public bodies to proving a requested document is exempt from the law. It also would shorten the time public bodies would have to respond to requests from seven business days to five.

One major change is that a certified “public access counselor” would have authority to review and determine whether documents should have been released under the FOIA, and he or she would be able to subpoena documents. The counselor could go as far as issuing binding opinions to resolve disputes and sue to enforce those opinions.

We’ll have much more in the next few days.

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Real, Meaningful Contribution Limits

Cross posted from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:

Newspapers around the state have reviewed the Senate Democrats' campaign reform proposals, and found nothing to like. Setting caps that are as much as 6 times what the federal limits are and allowing unfettered transfers from parties and caucuses is not reform. But don't take it from us. The Daily Herald calls their ideas "practically meaningless." The Sun-Times calls it a "ruse." The Peoria Journal Star says it's "a deal breaker." And the Moline Dispatch and Rock Island Argus say "a better proposal is HB 24/SB 1768." Read for youself:

The Daily Herald (May 22, 2009) -- "The anti-corruption groups support donation limits per election cycle of $2,400 from individuals. That means that in a four-year Senate term, someone could give a Senate candidate a total of $4,800 for the primary and general elections. But the Senate plan just unveiled would allow for $10,000 donations every calendar year, or a total of $40,000 to a candidate in a four-year term. Even more alarming, Harmon's plan, so far, has no limit whatsoever on the contributions legislative leaders can make to candidates. That key lack of a limit on leadership contributions makes the Senate plan to cap campaign contributions practically meaningless."

The Peoria Journal Star (May 22, 2009) -- "But ultimately any progress here is undone with no ceilings being imposed on the largesse of legislative leaders, and might be a step backward. If you believe as we do that the speaker of the House and the Senate president have too much muscle now, this arguably would give them more, making rank-and-file members even more dependent on them while tying up the wallets of others. It's tantamount to no reform at all; as such, a deal-breaker."

The Moline Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus (May 21, 2009) -- "To discourage corruption and loosen the four tops" stranglehold, we urge leadership to call for and lawmakers to demand new limits on government corruption with a 'yes' vote on HB24 and SB1768."

The Chicago Sun-Times (May 22, 2009) -- "Madigan, Cullerton, et al, have decided they might be willing to enact campaign contribution limits on individuals, businesses and unions -- but limits that are so high and generous they would be virtually meaningless. And, of course, Madigan, Cullerton, et al, show absolutely no willingness to limit their own ability to shower money on their fellow politicians."

ICPR agrees with these newspapers. Limits must be meaningful and comprehensive. Setting limits that are too high will do nothing to prevent officials from laundering payoffs through their campaign funds -- or from looking like that's what they are doing. Allowing unlimited transfers from parties and caucuses turns them into washing machines for contributors who have maxed out their donations to particular officials. Grousing and grumbling aside, it works at the federal level. It's time Illinois joined the modern world.

If you agree, speak up! Contact your elected representative by calling 1-800-719-3020. Send them an e-mail by going here. Scheduled adjournment is barely a week away. Now is the time to be heard.

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Haven't crossed the finish line, yet

By Bethany Jaeger

Gov. Pat Quinn confirmed that he could wait to sign a major capital construction package that recently passed both chambers until the General Assembly sends him an operating budget and ethics reforms.

"I don't plan to sign anything until we finish our work," Quinn said at a Statehouse news conference this morning, later adding, "I don't want to stop until we reach the finish line."



The major infrastructure program, which won House approval last night, has not yet been sent to the governor's desk. And it still has $1.5 billion left to earmark for projects.

The operating budget has not yet been negotiated. However, the House has approved basic portions of the budget that must be funded regardless of whether lawmakers approve a state income tax increase. The spending would include money to keep the lights on, as well as funding for education and Medicaid, which have to meet federal requirements to capture economic stimulus funds. The Senate is expected to take up those basic portions of the budget soon, but some lawmakers fear that such a temporary spending plan would take pressure off to approve a full-year budget by the end of the month.

Quinn said, "I don't think that would be the best way to go."

Meanwhile, the effort to advance government reforms recommended by the governor's Illinois Reform Commission appear stalled. While committees were scheduled for this afternoon to hear testimony from commission Chairman Patrick Collins, Senate Republicans say that some of the legislation never got assigned to be heard in committee.

According to GOP Spokeswoman Patty Schuh, Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno is now sponsoring a measure to establish campaign contribution limits that mirror the commission's recommendations ($2,400 for individuals and $5,000 for corporations). Schuh said it was not assigned to committee for debate this afternoon. Senate Bill 350 also includes a provision that would set a $10,000 limit for donations from a candidate's political party organization.

"Collins is in the building," Schuh said. He and other commissioners "came here today at the request of the Senate president to go over their report."

Rikeesha Phelon, spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton, said committees are scheduled to hear at least a pair of House Speaker Michael Madigan's reform measures that were approved yesterday.

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CHANGE Illinois! Tells General Assembly Not To Play Games

Says Campaign Contribution Limits Must Cover Legislative Leaders

Cross posted from ICPR's Blog, The Race is On:

The CHANGE Illinois! coalition on Wednesday called on legislators to enact meaningful limits on campaign contributions from everyone, including political action committees controlled by the four legislative leaders.

“Illinois’ wide open campaign finance system allows large contributors to drown out the voices of everyday Illinoisans and is part of the reason Illinois has a much deserved reputation for corruption in government,” said Peter Bensinger, former Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and a co-chair of the CHANGE Illinois! coalition. “With one former governor in federal prison and another facing an array of deplorable charges, voters are fed up and weary of the foot-dragging in the General Assembly.

“We call on legislators to enact meaningful reform,” he continued. “Limits must be set on how much money the four legislative leaders can collect and pass on to candidates of their choice. These war chests subvert the will of individual voters. Without limits on transfers, Illinois won't have real reform.”

The top priority of members of CHANGE Illinois! is the establishment of campaign contribution limits similar to the federal system with a $2,400 limit on contributions by individuals, $5,000 limit on contributions by political action committees, and a maximum $30,000 limit on transfers from legislative leadership committees to legislative candidates. The CHANGE Illinois! proposal is nearly identical to the proposal advocated by the Illinois Reform Commission, an independent group created by Gov. Pat Quinn and chaired by Patrick Collins, a former federal prosecutor.

At a press conference Wednesday, Collins and other IRC members joined with CHANGE Illinois! in an urgent call for General Assembly approval of meaningful campaign contribution limits, and leaders of CHANGE Illinois! commended Collins and the IRC for its efforts on behalf of reform.

“With less than two weeks left in the spring legislative session, there has been some talk about limiting campaign contributions, but there hasn’t been any action,” said Deborah Harrington, President of the Woods Fund of Chicago and a co-chair of the CHANGE Illinois! coalition. “There have been discussions in committee rooms and hallways, but it is not clear whether legislators will even take a vote on this important reform.”

“Illinois is in the spotlight, and the world is watching to see whether we will change the rules that have contributed to the corruption that has embarrassed this state,” said George Ranney, President and CEO of Chicago Metropolis 2020 and a co-chair of the CHANGE Illinois! coalition. “Comprehensive limits on contributions, combined with more frequent public reporting of contributions and strengthened oversight of campaign finance laws, would put Illinois on the road to real reform.”

Launched in late February, CHANGE Illinois! is a coalition of civic, business, labor, professional, inter-faith, non-profit and philanthropic organizations aligned to bring government integrity to Illinois.

A list of members and additional information is available at www.ChangeIL.org.

To comment, please visit ICPR's blog.

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Forty days and 40 nights

That cliché of the day indicates the number of days state legislators have to negotiate major spending and revenue proposals before they’re scheduled to adjourn their spring session May 31. With ethics reforms, health care negotiations and construction projects in the mix today, alone, lawmakers have a ton of work to do in the next five and a half weeks.




Government reforms
By Bethany Jaeger
Today marked the first time that Gov. Pat Quinn’s Illinois Reform Commission directly interacted with the joint legislative committee on government reform, both of which are working separately on some of the very same topics.

Today, however, the commission was asked to narrow its testimony to state procurement and contracting practices. The focus conveniently skipped over one of the commission’s most controversial proposals: limiting campaign contributions. So-called contribution limits topped the commission’s first set of recommendations late last month.

It’s hard to avoid the link between campaign contributions and state procurement decisions, said Commissioner David Hoffman, inspector general for the City of Chicago, particularly when repeated investigations reveal that public funds flow through contracts to the same companies that shovel large amounts of money into candidates' political campaigns. “You’ve got to get to both sides of the equation, the pay side and the play side,” he said.

But the commission abided by the committee’s request and focused on ideas for state procurement reforms. The commission’s recommendations are intended to improve transparency and insulate the process from political influence, preventing such alleged scandals as requiring state contractors to go through political fundraiser Bill Cellini. Commissioner Patrick Collins, a former assistant U.S. attorney, said Cellini was not a state employee, but prosecutors allege that he exercised significant influence over which firms received state business.

“We are entering a critical period in the next 40 days,” Collins said. “The state will learn much about itself. This is a gut-check time. … The nation is watching.”

The Illinois Reform Commission suggests creating a new department to house all state procurement officers, making them independent from the state agencies and from the governor’s office. A new procurement monitor also would oversee and review contracts.

The state already has a Procurement Policy Board to oversee contracts; yet, Hoffman said because members are appointed by the governor and the legislative leaders, they’re powerless to resist political pressure. Hoffman said the goal is not to change the procurement rules but to change whom the procurement officials report to.

Legislators and some state officials aren’t fully on board with the commission’s idea to consolidate procurement officers into a new department because needs are so different when hiring companies for road construction, power supply or higher education material.

Auditor General Bill Holland added that consolidation efforts under Blagojevich resulted in members of the governor’s inner circle playing key roles in selecting the companies that received state contracts. In one instance, a state contract was granted to an agency that did not yet exist. (See Holland’s 2005 audit for background.)

The commission plans to release its second set of recommendations next week, marking 100 days since the panel started holding public hearings throughout the state.

Senate President John Cullerton said the committee will consider all of the commission’s recommendations, but he also intends to speak with Quinn to find out what he wants to pursue. House Speaker Michael Madigan indicated the legislative committee and the governor’s commission would work closely together to draft legislation.

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Tax Hikers Have Hard Time

by Cal Skinner
"Ax your tax" seems to have been the sentiment of most tax hike referendum voters in McHenry County this election.

Voters in this recession were not kind to tax district officials' requests for referendums to raise taxes on April 7th.

The Nunda Township Open Space referendum went down to defeat. See

59% Say “No” to Nunda Township Open Space Referendum

While incomplete results of the $178 million bond referendum placed on the ballot by Elgin Community College was ahead last night when I wrote this story

Elgin Community College Bond Referendum Narrowly Passing

the missing precincts in Cook County must have been pretty negative. Elgin's Courier-News is reporting a victory margin of just 29 votes. You have to see what the Elgin paper did for the referendum's passage on Sunday. Click on the link.

This is an excellent example of how limiting campaign contributions of non-newspaper owners will have a negative effect.

How could a private individual get as much impact opposing a referendum as the Elgin Courier did in its front page support of it.

McHenry County voters in the ECC district, coterminous with District 300, voted against it 1,162 to 798.

Cary Grade School District's $17 million Working Cash Fund bond issue went down the tubes by a vote of 1,754 to 922. Almost two-thirds voted “No.”

The Marengo-Union Grade School District 165 tax rate hike tanked 62% to 38%.

The only referendum which the McHenry County Clerk's web site shows passing is that of the Spring Grove Fire Protection District. It has a 10 vote lead. The tally, without including absentee and early votes, is 769-759.

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