Federal Court Rules on McCain-Feingold

Newsletter of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform
May 6, 2003

Federal Court Rules on McCain-Feingold
Late last week, a special three-judge panel issued its decision in the legal challenge to the federal McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. The 1,600+ page split decision gave encouragement to both the bill's proponents and detractors. Many parts of the law were upheld, including:

• the ban on federal officeholders and candidates raising soft money,
• the regulation of issue ads that do not expressly advocate election or defeat of a candidate, and
• requiring that sponsors of political ads identify themselves in the ad.

At the same time, the ruling blocked provisions:

• dealing with soft money raised by national or state parties,
• banning minors from giving to candidates, and
• requiring interest groups to disclose the source of their funds before running issue ads.

The case now moves to the U.S. Supreme Court. When that Court will take the case and, most importantly, when it will rule, are unclear. What is certain, however, is that the Supreme Court's ruling, whenever it comes, will finally clarify issues that have become increasingly muddled since the last major U.S. Supreme Court ruling on campaign finance, 1976's Buckley v Valeo ruling.

For more information, click here.

Illinois Sunshine Database Update
The Illinois Sunshine Database now includes campaign finance information, candidate profiles, and career patrons for the entire 2001-2002 election cycle. Click here to see it all!