What high court's campaign cash ruling could mean here

SPRINGFIELD - Added campaign cash could be flowing into contested area congressional primaries in a matter of days, thanks to Thursday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Illinois political observers predicted.

"I would imagine, based on the ruling today, you may see some corporate play within a week and a half," said state Rep. Jim Durkin, a Westchester Republican, and a former candidate for U.S. Senate. "Clearly this is going to have a major impact on midterm elections next November. I can't even fathom how much money is going to go into these elections."

Former Illinois State Board of Elections Executive Director Ron Michaelson agreed the election price tag is about to soar, especially with an open U.S. Senate seat that will draw national attention.

"Corporations and now presumably unions are going to be able to spend unlimited amounts of money in support of a candidate. They're going to be able flood the airwaves and the radio waves with campaign ads," Michaelson said.

Less clear is whether Thursday's ruling will in anyway hinder the state's new limits on state campaign giving.

The court's ruling is predicted to similarly end corporate and union restrictions in 24 states. However, Illinois has no existing restrictions. Limits on such spending also were not part of a campaign finance overhaul that legislative Democrats and Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn approved last year.

Those laws, which begin with the 2012 campaign season, for the first time here limit how much individuals and businesses can give to candidates, but don't restrict how much a company or union can spend on its own to support candidates.

"We don't have that kind of prohibition here - it may have no effect," said David Morrison, deputy director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.

A spokeswoman for the Illinois Attorney General's office said the high court's ruling would need further analysis to determine what it might mean here.