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Pay to Play Laws Stay in Tact in IL
(IRN)-New federal legislation will allow Illinois to enforce its pay to play ban on highway contractors, and still get federal funds.

Illinois has a law barring companies that made campaign contributions from getting state contracts over $50,000, but that conflicted with the federal policy of going with the lowest bidder on highway jobs, regardless of political contributions.

Cindi Canary of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform says members of the Illinois congressional delegation fought for and got a waiver, without which Illinois would have had to amend its pay to play law to exempt road projects in order to accept federal funds.

With the waiver in place, Illinois will be able to exclude contractors under the 2008 pay to play law, without running afoul of federal contracting guidelines.

The State Ethics Law Protection Act was sponsored by U.S. Representatives Mike Quigley (D-Chicago), Debbie Halvorson (D-Crete) and Bill Foster (D-Geneva). Halvorson and Foster lost re-election bids last week.

(Illinois Radio Network)
11 09 10 by Newsroom
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