Is This Real Reform?

"Landmark legislation" or "A good start?" That's the big question after the Senate approved the first ever campaign contribution limits for Illinois. Supporters touted the measure as an historic step toward reducing the influence of money on elections. Gov. Pat Quinn said the proposal is not perfect, but nonetheless said it is "landmark legislation."

But his own hand-picked Illinois Reform Commission and other good government groups said the legislation is flawed and full of holes. Although they said it was "a good start," they said lawmakers should have taken more time to tighten up the limits.

Their request to amend the legislation before voting on it fell on deaf ears. Senate Democrats approved the measure, the only exception in their party being Mike Jacobs of East Moline. "Political contributions, whether they"re $10,001 or $9,999, are a mode of free speech and they are just as worthy of protection as nude dancing or lawsuits, my friend," he said. "I don"t believe the amount of money a person gives should exclude them from personally and publicly expressing their free opinions."

Quinn said he plans to sign the legislation, even though the Reform Commission he formed opposes the measures. "I think there are a lot of different ideas and I respect everyone's idea. But in a democracy, when all is said and done we have to come up with a reform package that commands majorities in both houses, can come to the governor to be signed into law," Quinn said.

All but one Senate Republican voted against the measure, echoing concerns about loopholes. They also complained they were left out of negotiations on the proposal and asked to vote on it within hours after getting it. Some critics went so far as to say the limits would make the situation worse when it comes to big spending on legislative races.

But supporters said the proposal was the best they could get right now. Under the proposal sponsored by Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), candidates would face the following limits on donations to their campaign committees:

--$5,000 per year from individuals,
--$10,000 per year from corporations, labor unions and other political groups
--$90,000 per year in transfers from multi-candidate campaign committees run by state parties or party caucuses, such as those run by the legislative leaders.

Multi-candidate committees would have more leeway in raising money. Their limits include:
--$10,000 per year from individuals,
--$20,000 per year from corporations, labor unions and other political groups
--$90,000 per year in transfers from other campaign committees.

Patrick Collins, a former federal prosecutor who chaired the Illinois Reform Commission, said lawmakers should have gone back to the drawing board. "What is the rush? Let's get it right. This bill can be better," Collins said. The Reform Commission favored lower caps identical to the federal level $2,400 for individual donations and $5,000 for donations from unions and corporations. They also wanted candidates to be able to get donations less frequently -- every election cycle rather than every year.

The legislation would also call for more frequent disclosure of donations; though not the year-round real-time disclosure sought by the Reform Commission. Instead, candidates must report donations four-times a year, up from twice a year. The only real-time reporting requirement would be in May, when the spring legislative session is wrapping up and budget negotiations are at their peak.

The two biggest complaints from critics were that legislators would be able to create a new type of committee and that the limits did not include any type of caps on so-called "in-kind" contributions. The legislation allows legislators to form "constituent services committees," a separate fund that would be used to help pay for maintaining district offices and providing assistance to people in their districts. But critics said money from those funds could be used to pay for events for constituents that would be no different from campaign events.

As for "in-kind" contributions, while a party could donate only $90,000 in cash to any given candidate, they could provide an unlimited amount of campaign mailers, yard signs, TV or radio ads and manpower to get out the vote.

Supporters said they would be willing to amend the legislation later, but that seems unlikely to happen anytime soon. Lawmakers have resisted contribution limits for decades. It wasn't until Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested for trying to sell President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat for campaign contributions that legislators took that step.

David Hoffman, inspector general for the City of Chicago and a member of the Illinois Reform Commission, said the Blagojevich scandal was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for major reform. "What's going on right now -- this moment in terms of the pressure, in terms of the attention, in terms of the anger -- is unlikely to be repeated. I mean, the fact that the governor had been impeached and indicted ... and that got national attention in part because of who the president elect was. ... Those circumstances are really unlikely to be repeated."