How to Give Small Donors a Megaphone in Elections
Via The Chicago Sun-Times
The five candidates running for Chicago mayor don’t agree on much, but they do see eye-to-eye on this: Our political system should give more weight to average voters.
Four of the candidates support a citywide advisory referendum on the Feb. 24 ballot that calls for boosting the impact of small political donations by matching them with public dollars, and the fifth, Willie Wilson, says he’s “80 percent” in favor. Also backing the referendum are Chicago Treasurer Kurt Summers, Cook County Clerk David Orr, and many aldermanic candidates.
Such systems already are in place in varied forms in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tallahassee, Fla., Albuquerque, N.M., Boulder, Colo., and Tuscon, Ariz. In fact, more than 20 states have some form of public financing within their borders, according to Common Cause Illinois. Chicago voters should support the idea, too, understanding, of course, that the devil is in the details.
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