Illinois Campaign for Political Reform Announces Recipients of Simon and Canary Awards
DLA Piper, LLP (US) and Terry Pastika of Citizen Advocacy Center to be Honored on November 10th
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 26, 2011
Contact: Brian Gladstein
312-335-1767
CHICAGO -- The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR) announced Wednesday that the 2011 Paul Simon Public Service Award will be presented to DLA Piper law firm and ICPR’s Inaugural Cynthia Canary Leadership Award will be presented to Terry Pastika, Executive Director of the Citizen Advocacy Center and a Community Lawyer.
The awards will be presented at an ICPR fundraising celebration on Thursday, Nov. 10, at the Zolla Lieberman Gallery, 325 W. Huron St., Chicago. The event will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., and the awards ceremony will begin at 6 p.m.
“The Paul Simon Public Service Award will be presented to DLA Piper in recognition of the law firm’s considerable and exceptional pro-bono support of ICPR’s efforts to defend Illinois’ campaign finance disclosure law,” said Brian Gladstein, ICPR Executive Director. “This state’s reputation for government corruption is shameful and well deserved, and requiring disclosure of the sources of campaign contributions is an important foundation of all efforts to combat political corruption. DLA Piper has been an important ally in the fight against those who prefer secrecy over sunshine.”
DLA Piper’s attorneys helped ICPR enter amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) briefs in a 2010 case filed in U.S. District Court in Northern Illinois by the Center for Individual Freedom, a Virginia-based non-profit active in judicial elections across the country and participated in challenges of state and federal disclosure laws.
“We have been proud to assist ICPR in defending the state’s disclosure laws, which the public relies on to help combat corruption and excessive and undue influence of money in Illinois politics,” said Stanley J. Adelman, senior counsel in the Chicago office of the international law firm. “The Paul Simon Public Service Award is a great honor and we appreciate the recognition of the DLA Piper’s commitment to the betterment of our communities.”
DLA Piper’s pro bono program is consistently ranked among the best by The American Lawyer, and in 2010, the firm donated nearly 156,000 hours valued at $75 million worldwide through its pro bono and corporate responsibility programs.
The Paul Simon Public Service Award was created in 2005 to honor the late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, who was a co-founder of ICPR who devoted much of his distinguished public service career to improving laws regulating government ethics and the financing of political campaigns.
The ICPR Board of Directors created the Cynthia Canary Leadership Award in recognition of the contributions Canary made while executive director from its founding in 1999 until she recently stepped down from the position.
Under Canary’s leadership, ICPR helped lead the recent successful efforts to enact the state’s first contribution limits law, as well as what became known as the “pay-to-play” ban on contractor contributions to officeholders awarding the contracts. ICPR also gained prominence for its researching and reporting of campaign contribution and expenditure trends; encouraging informed and issue-oriented debate in judicial elections; developing non-partisan, state-sponsored voter education guides; and improved transparency in redistricting, government information and campaign contributions.
“Like Cindi, Terry Pastika has been a trailblazer and a relentless and skilled advocate of open government,” Gladstein said. “Since joining the Citizen Advocacy Center as a community lawyer in 1999 and becoming executive director in 2001, Terry has earned a stellar reputation for her skill as a defender of the public’s right to information about how tax dollars are spent and as an advocate for more accessible governments. Her thoughtful analysis and suggestions were key contributions in negotiations that led to a vastly improved Illinois Freedom of Information Act in 2009, and she has helped defeat attempts to weaken the FOIA.”
“We all welcome accolades for our work, but to be chosen as the first recipient of an award named for Cindi Canary is special,” Pastika said. “I and many others engaged in reform work in Illinois, the Midwest and even nationally, have great admiration for her accomplishments. We have worked together for a long time, and she has been an inspirational mentor and now great colleague, and friend.”
For more information about the award presentation on November 10, visit the ICPR website (www.ilcampaign.org).
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About the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform
The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest organization conducting research and advocating reforms to promote public participation in government, address the role of money in politics and encourage integrity, accountability and transparency in government. The late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon and former Lt. Gov. Bob Kustra founded ICPR in 1997. For additional information, visit http://www.ilcampaign.org.
