Illinois General Assembly

Rep. Jil Tracy along with the House Republicans propose True Campaign Finance Reform
HB 5008 will impose campaign limits on legislative leaders in general election

For Immediate Release
January 26, 2010
Contact Rep. Jil Tracy
(217) 223-0833

In keeping their pledge to Illinois residents to continue to push true campaign finance reform, Illinois House Republican Leader Rep. Tom Cross and his members support a bill that would impose campaign contribution limits on legislative leaders and political parties in the general election.

"The current law puts contribution limits on everyone EXCEPT the four legislative leaders and political parties in the general election. That is not fair-we must apply the rules to everyone," said Cross. "We could not support the bill that passed last year because it only imposed these limits in primary elections. This new bill closes the gaping loophole that was created by that law."

"This is the type of campaign finance reform that will really be beneficial to the entire political system here in Illinois," said Rep. Jil Tracy. "This is the type of reform that we were elected to install and I am hopeful that it will be enacted this year," said Rep. Tracy.

Senate Republicans are also in favor of this improvement to the current law.

"Along with the House Republicans, we stood strong against the flawed legislation that the democrats passed and the Governor signed because it regulated everyone but ourselves and political parties," said Illinois Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno. "If we don't pass this new bill, the current law will only make us in leadership positions stronger,"

House Bill 5008 will extend the varied campaign contribution limitations that were created in Senate Bill 1466 (P.A. 96-832) to the general election. The current limitations on legislative leaders and political parties will only apply during the primary elections starting in 2011.

"This should be a no-brainer if we want to curb the influence the leaders in Illinois," said Cross. "The majority of money is spent in general elections. According to our analysis in the 2008 election cycle-the Democratic Party of Illinois spent 40 times more in the general election compared to what it spent in the primary."

"Everyone who voted to pass the bill to impose these limits in primary elections should have no problem voting to impose the exact same limits in general elections," added Radogno.

True Campaign Finance Reform Chart

Primary vs. General Chart