Making the Money Honest
An ordinary citizen of modest means should be able to get elected to the Illinois State Senate. This is rarely the case, and may soon be a quaint relic of the past. Campaigning for state senate in some districts can cost more than a million dollars.
The largest contributors routinely give money to both sides in many different races throughout the state. Much of this money comes from corporations that are regulated by the state legislature, and candidates who get elected are allowed to keep whatever surplus funds they have left at the end of a campaign.
More than 10 years ago, a task force was formed at the University of Illinois in Springfield to look into the problem of campaign finance reform. In 1997, they delivered a report to former governor Jim Edgar called "Tainted Democracy: How Money Distorts the Election Process in
Illinois and What Must Be Done to Reform the Campaign Finance System".
The report that was delivered 10 years ago has not been widely circulated, and for that reason, I have had it reformatted for this site so it can be easily read by the people who are affected by the taint of money on Democracy in Illinois, to help you judge whether progress has been made.
I will provide updates on this issue as my research continues.
The first 12 pages start here
Bob Sheehan
Candidate for Illinois State Senate
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