* Bethany Jaeger at Illinois Issues breaks down the new campaign finance reform bill…
* 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
The legislation itself can be accessed by clicking here.
* The Tribune editorial board rails against the compromise…
Putting its best face forward, the coalition of government watchdogs that signed off on Phony Campaign Finance Fix 2.0 said the deal struck Thursday with Democratic legislators “puts Illinois on the road to reform.” […]
The watchdogs can lay claim to the state’s first-ever caps on campaign contributions, but they swallowed a bitter compromise: The bill would limit how much individuals, corporations, unions and political action committees can contribute to a campaign. But contributions from party leaders would be capped only in primary elections.
That imbalance does more harm than good. It doesn’t curb the influence of money; it gives even greater influence to party leaders, who already tell your elected officials how to drive.
As does the Sun-Times...
The governor, House Speaker Mike Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton need to carry the ball a little farther.
Or call it quits and go home.
And face the wrath of the voters.
* John Patterson of the Daily Herald has the justification from Cindi Canary, whose group is part of the Change Illinois coalition…
“At the end of the day I don’t think it was ever about getting a perfect bill,” Canary told reporters at the Capitol.
Reformers feared if they continued a hard-line approach nothing would happen and they’d get blamed for killing off the numerous agreed-upon reforms.
“There was a sense that they wanted to gain the improvements - and make sure they left the building with something,” Canary said of why members of the Change Illinois! group compromised.
He also has strong reaction from GOP state Rep. Suzie Bassi…
“Change Illinois! was either worn down or bought out,” she said on the House floor
* More back and forth…
“This will create omnipotent leaders, caucus leaders and party bosses in the state of Illinois,” said Rep. Michael Tryon, R-Crystal Lake. “I think that’s what Illinoisans are trying to get away from.”
The legislation also creates stricter reporting requirements for campaign contributions and expenditures. Disclosure reports would have to be filed four times a year, and contributions of $1,000 or more would have to be quickly reported to the State Board of Elections.
Kent Redfield, a campaign finance expert and retired University of Illinois Springfield professor, said the new disclosure rules might be the toughest in the country.
More…
House Republican leader Tom Cross of Oswego contended the campaign finance proposal fell short of scaling back the power of legislative leaders and political parties because the bill also should impose limits in the general election.
“This is the only way to enact change, this is the only way to reduce the power, this is the only way to reduce the control,” Cross said, saying the “status quo remains the same.”
Madigan defended the decision to exempt legislative and party leaders from donation limits in general elections. Along with Supreme Court rulings that make it difficult to limit funding, Madigan said, the general election is an all-out battle between political parties.
“My view is a political party exists to support its candidates in the general election,” Madigan said.
* And in case you missed these last night, here are some videos. First up, Speaker Madigan…
* Cindi Canary…