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Campaign Finance Legislation On The Way
Governor Pat Quinn says he will act this week on campaign finance legislation.

The bill, H.B. 7, is being sold as a reform, but reformers everywhere say it's a sham, with contribution limits so high as to be inconsequential.

The governor has until Friday to sign it, veto it or amend it and send it back to the Legislature, and he says he will not miss that deadline. "It's definitely on my radar screen," he said.

In the meantime, he says he's still listening to arguments. "I think it's important to be a listener to people all over the state on the issue of campaigns and how they're financed, because the problems that existed for previous governors, two of them, a lot of that had to do with campaign money," he said.

The bill establishes contribution limits of $5,000 from individuals, $10,000 from corporations, unions and associations, and $90,000 from transfers between political committees per year. Reformers wanted the state to enact the federal limits of $2,400 from individuals, $5,000 from corporations, unions or political action committees, and $30,000 from legislative leaders' PACs, per election cycle. H.B. 7 also places no limit on in-kind contributions, such as paying for advertisements for candidates, recruiting campaign workers and sending out mailers.

Lawmakers have said they voted for this bill, even though they know it's a charade, because they didn't want to be characterized as being "against reform."

Illinois law currently has no limits on campaign contributions.

(Illinois Radio Network)
08 24 09 by Newsroom
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