How Much Does That Legislator Cost? New Limits Could Say "Less"

By Karl Klockars in News on May 28, 2009 6:45PM

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?

Oak Park Democrat Don Harmon has a plan, and presented it yesterday: $5k for per individual donation, and cap contributions from organizations or corporations at $10k per calendar year. The AP quotes Cynthia Canary of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform as calling it the "centerpiece" of reform plans, but the Springfield Journal-Register doesn't paint quite the same rosy picture.

“I think we can do better than this,” added Cindi Canary...“We’ve been in a real crisis in this state, and we need serious measures to start turning things around.”

This isn't going to be good enough for some. The SJ-R also spoke with Sen. Dale Righter (R-Mattoon) who said it isn't The Reform We've Been Waiting For: “Based on the information that I’ve been given, this is the Senate Democrat version of reform that’s really not reform at all...In order for contribution caps to work, everyone has to be capped, including transfers from political committees — particularly transfers from the (legislative) leaders’ political committees.”

Gov. Pat Quinn's ethics council recommends a $2,400 cap on individual contributions and a $5,000 cap on other types of contributions.

So what happens if/when, in spite of all the cash-for-everything scandal allegations we've seen in the Blagojevich administration, the IL legislature shit-cans the effort? At that point, is it safe to assume that everyone who voted against the effort is bought and paid for - or would like to be? Politicians hate to shut off the spigot of cash, and this is about as gentle of a kink in the hose as one could imagine.

The best part of the bill as it stands: It requires lobbyists to complete an "ethics exam." Here's a Chicagoist sample question.

1) You have $50,000 to use to lobby for your cause du jour. Do you:
A) Contribute the max to five different legislators
B) Place all of it in an unmarked envelope and "lose it"
C) Use it to buy envelopes and postage for a grass-roots letter campaign

The famous quote from Paddy Bauler is that "Chicago ain't ready for reform," which seems self-evident to this day. But...is Illinois?

*Calling the state the "Wild Wild West" is old news.