Group protests campaign finance decision
SPRINGFIELD — Suburban activists and lawmakers demonstrated against the controversial Citizens United campaign finance decision at the Illinois Capitol Wednesday.
The U.S. Supreme Court decision led to the creation of large campaign-donating organizations known as SuperPACs.
State Sen. Karen McConnaughay, a St. Charles Republican, spoke against the influence of special interest groups in front of a crowd of around 60 activists from around the state.
“That the rights to influence our political process by big business, by corporations and wealthy individuals, our forefathers never intended for that to trump the rights of us as individuals,” McConnaughay said.
The group is pushing for a state resolution opposing the decision, but it wouldn’t carry the weight of law.
The Citizens United issue was of particular importance to voters in Kane County, where the question of repealing the court’s decision was added to the ballot in 2012 after a group of citizens collected 14,386 signatures.
About 74 percent of local voters supported overturning the Supreme Court’s decision.