Campaign Finance Reform: “The Nation is Watching”

When the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform was founded 18 years ago, one of its motivating principles was to prevent big money from influencing our local elections. Now, nearly two decades later, success for many grassroots candidates across the state still feels out of reach, and voters are overwhelmed by the power of special interest groups.

A small donor matching system in Illinois is the next step in alleviating these problems. Paul Ryan, Senior Counsel at the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, D.C., points out the importance of making small donor matching a reality, saying “As fundraising and spending skyrocket in elections from coast to coast, Chicago voters have set an example for the nation by calling for small donor public campaign financing. Now it’s time for Illinois to act on this voter mandate. The nation is watching.”

At ICPR, we have focused our efforts on reducing the impact of special interests and Super PACs in campaigns. After holding a forum with mayoral and aldermanic candidates to raise awareness for the small donor matching advisory referendum on last week’s Chicago ballot, we were thrilled to see it pass by 79 percent. We supported the referendum for its ability to level the playing field in state and local elections, and we are continuing to work with Fair Elections Illinois to make sure elections in our state cannot be bought.

To learn more about small donor democracy, click here.