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"At Issue" December 2009 -- NTDO Primary endorsements
"At Issue" November 2009 -- Campaign Finance Reform results
"At Issue"  October 2009 -- Is Campaign Finanace Reform possible?

"At Issue" December  2009. The general  membership of the NTDO met in December 2009 to hear presentations from Democratic Party candidates for certain key offices. Because of the number of candidates competing, time contraints limited the number of offices that could be considered at the meeting.

NTDO membership endorses Quinn, Hoffman, Seals, Keenan-Devlin, Preckwinkle and Brandt

On Sunday, December 6 the general membership of the New Trier Dems gathered at the Winnetka Community House to hear presentatations from Democratic Party candidates for Illinois Governor, the U.S. Senate, the 10th Congressional District seat, the Illinois 18th Legislative District seat, Cook County Board President and 10th Congressional District Committeeman. The candidates were seeking the endorsement of the NTDO. A super-majority of 60% was required for endorsement. In two contests, the 10th Congressional District seat and the 18th Legislative District seat, a 60% endorsement was not reached on the first ballot. A runoff vote between candidates Dan Seals and Julie Hamos and candidates Patrick Keenan-Devlin and Eamon Kelly resulted in Seals and Keenan-Devlin then receiving enough votes for an endorsement. Among all the speakers, the candidates receiving the highest percentage of votes was Preckwinkle with 83.9% and Hoffman with 79.4%.

Democratic Primary candidates endorsed by the NTDO:

Pat Quinn:  Governor
David Hoffman:  U. S. Senator
Dan Seals: 10th Congressional District
Patrick Keenan-Devlin:  18th Legislative District
Toni Preckwinkle:  Cook County Board President
Bill Brandt:  State Central Committeeman

Unfortunately, the time required to hear the candidates vying for these important offices (22 speakers plus comments from the floor) made it impossible to include more races in the endorsement meeting. However, a motion was made and approved by the membership to endorse a number of unopposed Democratic candidates whose names will be on the February Primary ballot:

Unopposed Democratic candidates endorsed by the NTDO for the general election:

Janice D. Schakowsky, 9th U.S. Congressional District

Lisa Madigan, State of Illinois, Attorney General
Jesse White, State of Illinois Secretary of State

Daniel K. Biss, 17th State Representative District
Karen May, 58th State Representative District

David D. Orr, Cook County Clerk
Maria Pappas, Cook County Treasurer

Jennifer Bishop Jenkins, County Board Commissioner 14th District

Dean Maragos, New Trier Township Committeeman
Lauren Beth Gash, State Central Committeewoman


"At Issue"  November 2009. And Illinois campaign finance reform bill was passed by the Legislature on October 30, 2009 and signed by Governor Quinn in December. This article was written shortly before the signing.

At Issue:

The Public's Demand for Campaign Finance Reform Has Finally Achieved Some Results.

The Illinois Legislature has now passed a Campaign Finance Reform bill -- SB 1466 -- that has the endorsement of the state’s major campaign reform organizations. One year ago, few people would have predicted this was possible. The new bill includes reforms in many areas recommended by a number of reformers, including our own NTDO Reform Committee.

Although specifics in the bill are not identical to what our organization and others urged, the areas of control over campaign financing have been radically improved, and in some cases now exist where there were previously no controls at all.

There are now limits on campaign contributions to all candidates (not just legislative and statewide) from individuals, organizations and party leadership in primary election campaigns. These limits continue for individuals and organizations in general elections. This is a major step in the reform of our state’s campaign finance laws. It should be remembered that until now Illinois had no limits at all on contributions at any time from any source.

In addition, contribution limits will be tied to election cycles (not the calendar year) and in-kind donations will now count toward those limits. Candidates and incumbents will be limited to one fundraising committee. Transparency of contributions will now increase. Contributions of $1000 or more must now be reported electronically within 5 days. More detailed quarterly (rather than semi-annual) reports of contributions and expenditures from campaign committees will now be required.  The authority of an election oversight agency will be strengthened with random audits conducted by the State Board of Elections to ensure compliance with the laws and with enhanced penalties enforced for violations. A complaint database of SBE actions/fines will be created.  Also, a reform commission will continue to review the status of Illinois’ campaign finance reform efforts including further review of the possibilities for public campaign funding.

The absence of certain contribution limits remains controversial.
The one area where contribution limits do not apply is for the party leadership of both parties in general elections. The Chicago Tribune and other conservative commentators have implied that this contribution exemption for party leaders will surely lead to an abuse of power held over the candidates being supported. But there is a flaw in this argument: A primary election is the time when a candidate favored by party leaders can often gain an advantage over his or her same-party opponents. When there are no contribution limits in a primary, a party leader’s financial support may gain him or her tremendous influence over the party’s eventual nominee. But now a limit has been place on leadership in these elections. A candidate with campaigning and fund-raising skills has the possibility of competing on a more equal playing field, independent from party leaders.

In general elections there will still be no limits on party leader contributions to candidates. But it is highly unlikely that any party leader would deny their candidate funding at the expense of losing a seat in the Legislature. In a general election, the sole focus of a party leader’s funding power is to defeat the opposing party’s candidate. And this is what the Tribune and Illinois Republicans want to diminish -- the political power of the incumbent Democratic Party, strategically using its funds to continue winning elections in closely contested districts. As a political organization opposed to the Right Wing’s agenda, the New Trier Democrats are certainly not opposed to this outcome.

With the new legislation now being put in place, the ethics of Illinois’ campaign financing have been greatly improved. This is not to say that opportunities for corruption have been erased in our state. There are still many areas that need to be further addressed, such as overly long campaign periods and constant fund-raising demands on incumbents. And yes, the amount of power that party leaders wield in both parties should always be under scrutiny. If we see power being used for personal gain or cronyism, we must speak out against it, quickly and firmly.

Nearly one year ago, the public’s outcry inspired the creation of our own NTDO Reform Committee and spurred reform organizations, commissions and reform minded legislators into action. After several false starts, the Legislature has finally passed a reform bill that has substantial regulations promising positive change. Now it’s up to us, the voters of Illinois, to stay interested in how our state’s elections are conducted, and to seek ever better ways to strengthen the democratic process.

"At Issue"  October 2009. The subsequent campaign finance reform bill passed by the Legislature on October 30, 2009 addressed a number of the reforms mentioned in this article. 

Is campaign reform possible in Illinois?

Five things Illinois lawmakers  must include in any real campaign finance reform law.

In August, when governor Quinn announcedhe was vetoing HB 7 -- the Illinois Legislature's summer-session attempt  at reform -- he said, "We can do better." The New Trier Democrats agree. At the start of the year, when Illinois' "pay to play" politics was becoming a national joke, the NTDO formed a Reform Committee to determine what reforms we should urge our legislators to enact.
     We met with reform commission leaders, hosted a town hall meeting chaired by the Hon. Abner Mikva, developed our position on reform, and traveled to Springfield to present the Governor and Legislative leaders with a petition for reform signed by 2000 Illinois citizens. We hoped to see meaningful reform laws written. HB 7 fell far short of the reforms Illinois needs. The NTDO believes that effective reforms must include these five features:

    * follow the federal guidelines for contribution limits
    * count in-kind donations toward those contribution limits
    * tie contribution limits to the election cycle rather than the calendar
    * limit a candidate or incumbent to one fundraising committee
    * support a strengthened oversight agency with sufficient authority and resources to enforce the law, conduct random audits and investigte and impose penalties for violations

Real campaign finance reform can be achieved if Illinois legislators and their leaders hear from enough voters. Your voice and your vote have the power to bring reform to our state. "We can do better."