Moving forward, who shall lead us?
A week ago, the Legislature sent Gov. Pat Quinn a campaign-finance reform bill that has many important improvements and one major flaw.
The bill limits everyone and every group contributing to candidates in Illinois, except the legislative leaders and political parties' donations in the general election. That major missing piece only increases the leaders' power when it already is far too great.
Still, Democrat Quinn should sign this bill. It does limit all of the money coming into the system, including the money the legislative leaders and political parties can collect. There is a limit on what leaders and parties can donate in the primary season, which is a start and should encourage more competition in the many contests decided in the primary. Significantly, the bill on Quinn's desk also requires faster public notice on donations of $1,000 or more, auditing of campaign committees, more frequent disclosure reports and the creation of a database of fines and actions taken by the state elections board.
Yes, we're disappointed the reform group Change Illinois! believed it had to settle without general election limits for the leaders and parties. In the closed-door negotiations and in talking to rank-and-file members, reformers believed they faced a choice of taking this or nothing at all.
We are far more disappointed in the continuing lack of leadership on fixing government from Quinn, who made a name for himself as a man all about repairing Illinois government.
Once he vetoed the first attempt at campaign finance reform in August, Quinn went mute. None of his Sunday news conferences, no public or private attempt to work on legislators. Remember that reform commission he created in January and then left hanging? We do too.
Gov. Quinn, it's time to make amends. Sign this bill into law. And then begin work, publicly and privately, to build support among rank-and-file legislators to pass a bill next year that would limit contributions from leaders and political parties in the general election.
Some Republicans suggest Quinn use his veto power to add the limits, but it is far too likely the Senate or House would let it die. That might give the GOP campaign fodder, but it is not progress.
Quinn is not the only one with work to do. It's time all those who claim to be leaders in Illinois start demonstrating true leadership and courage. Suburban Democrats still need to start showing they are pushing for leader limits, for fair hearings on all bills with basic support, for a redistricting process that isn't hijacked by the political majority. They must reach out to Republicans and start forming coalitions that truly can pressure Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton. Who will take a chance, throw caution to the wind and lead? We can't wait to see. And we bet they will be embraced warmly by voters.
<div style="float:left;margin:6px 9px 6px 0px;"> <img src="/graphics/corruptionlogo.jpg" width="300" height="160" border="0"></a></p> </div> <div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Contacts</h2> <ul class="moreWeb"> <li><a href="/story/?id=329206">Contact information for suburban Democrats</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=292269">How to contact your lawmakers</a></li> </ul> <h2>Editorials</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=331049">We need some examples of courage<span class="date">[10/23/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=329213">Contact suburban Democrats now <span class="date">[10/16/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=327535">Demand tightening of money spigot <span class="date">[10/09/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=327227">Our challenge: Don't wait for a law <span class="date">[10/08/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=317156">Don't waste redo on campaign finance reform <span class="date">[08/28/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=293839">Good ideas, limits help democracy <span class="date">[05/15/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=292278">Fed up with graft? You're obligated to weigh in <span class="date">[05/11/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=290368">It's time to call for the change Illinois needs <span class="date">[05/01/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=288715">A better way to watch our tax money <span class="date">[04/24/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=287658">Rank projects before spending our tax money <span class="date">[04/20/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=287077">Limiting contributions a good start <span class="date">[04/17/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>