2016 Candidates See the Need for Campaign Finance Reform

2016 Presidential Candidates have started to hit the campaign trail in full force, and have taken the opportunity to share their opinions on a variety of issues. Recently, campaign finance reform has been a popular topic for these Presidential hopefuls.

Rex Huppke noted yesterday in an Op-Ed in the Chicago Tribune that two 2016 candidates have strongly stated their support for campaign finance reform. Hillary Clinton recently explained at a campaign event that the U.S. needs to “fix our dysfunctional political system and get unaccountable money out of it once and for all – even if it takes a constitutional amendment.” This “unaccountable money” comes in many forms from a variety of sources. Weak disclosure laws and loopholes in the tax code have allowed Super PACs, corporations, and other donors to fly under the radar.

Republican candidate Chris Christie said at a campaign event this weekend, “There has to be an absolute rule that 24 hours later you will reveal contributions on the Internet, [making them] publicly available.”

He explains the importance of a transparent reporting system for campaign contributions. Christie believes this information should be so easily available that “members of the public can scroll down on their computer” to see a list of donors for their candidate.

The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform is hosting a forum to discuss these issues on Wednesday, April 29th at Columbia College from 11am to 12:15pm. Experts will discuss the loopholes that exist in federal and state campaign finance laws and suggest solutions to a variety of these issues. Paul Ryan from the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, D.C. will be joining us as a panelist for the event. Click the link below to learn more.

Click Here to Register for the Event. *Note* Food is not permitted in the event space.