Campaign reform falls short

The reform proposal from DuPage County Board member Debra Olson appears to be well thought-out, but it is woefully insufficient in critical areas.

Our concern is the proposal's failure to include provisions to level the playing field for all candidates. It puts campaign limits on everyone except self-funding candidates like herself. She's fortunate enough to be able to fund her campaign with $80,000 out of her pocket. How can those with more modest bank accounts be expected to compete? The average middle-class candidates with great ideas, who are, by the way, the major stakeholders in DuPage County, are at a disadvantage.

It also failed to address the issue of campaign spending caps. For true reform to take place, we need to regulate how much a candidate can spend on any one campaign. Latest indications that the county board race might require upward of $500,000 are simply outrageous. The Democratic Party suggests a cap of $50,000 on a county board race and $100,000 on the county chair race.

It's also interesting to note that Olson's proposal surfaced just before the primary. I'm not sure why she, or any other Republican for that matter, never found it important enough to submit this previously. Democratic candidates raised the issue of pay-to-play and campaign finance reform in DuPage County four years ago - and it was completely ignored by the Republicans.

Although it isn't perfect, the Democrats in Springfield passed legislation that starts the process of reform. The Republican legislators made no attempt to bring their own version to the floor in either house. I'm sure everyone out there can do that political math.

Bob Peickert

Chairman, DuPage Democratic Party