State Supreme Court justice Lloyd Karmeier is at the center of a class action lawsuit filed against State Farm alleging the insurance giant his the amount of campaign contributions they made to his 2004 election. more ›

The team charged with the inauguration of Mayor-elect Emanuel, re-elected City Treasurer Stephanie Neely and City Clerk-elect Susana Mendoza is in place. That team includes former White House social secretary Desiree Rogers; Teamsters Local 25 president •John T. Coli; Harris Associates chief investment officer •David Herro; Antonio J. Gracias, founder and CEO of Valor Equity Partners LP; Chatham Business Association executive director •Melinda Kelly; Groupon co-founder and venture capitalist •Eric Lefkofsky; and investor Tim Mullen. more ›

House Democrats will face an uphill battle attempting to fight the Citizen’s United decision this term. With the DISCLOSE Act shot down last year and a supportive Republican majority that benefited greatly from third party campaign ads, limiting the scope of Citizen’s United in any meaningful way would be more than difficult. Mother Jones reports that Democrats could take on a new tactic - challenging the tax exempt status of outside funding groups. more ›

Nearly 200 new laws take effect this week in Illinois. This laundry list of legislature covers everything from campaign finance to monkey ownership. Here’s a quick look at a handful: more ›

Illinois is where campaign contributions go Beyond Thunderdome.* There are absolutely no limits when it comes to statewide races, and as it stands right now, it's essentially "any check, any time, anywhere." We've seen how well that's worked out under Governor Blagojevich. If Illinois has ever been ready for campaign finance reform, it's now - so will it happen? more ›

Todd Stroger might be "doing a damn good job" running the county, but he didn't do such a good job managing his own campaign for County Board President. According to state election officials, Stroger violated campaign fundraising reporting rules in 2006, resulting in $27,000 in fines. That includes $25,581 for failing to file timely reports on contributions of more than $500 that it received in the final weeks before the 2006 general election, and an additional $1,175 for failing to file its organization papers with the elections board in a timely fashion. more ›