From the Daily Herald (Editorial):

Public must push for campaign reform
Had enough?
11/06/06
We have. And we think Illinois voters have too. The question is: Has newly re-elected Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the General Assembly had enough of exorbitant campaign spending?

As an Associated Press story in Sunday’s Daily Herald reported, Blagojevich’s huge war chest of $23 million means he spent more than $10 per vote if he spent the entire amount. His failed GOP opponent, Judy Baar Topinka, spent about $5 per vote. Green Party candidate Rich Whitney, on the other hand, spent 9 cents per vote.

Campaign finance reform groups tell the AP that they are urging Blagojevich to wash off the mud of this recent election and fight for changes that will bring the system under control. Specifically, they want him to push for spending limits he proposed in 2005.

“We know that when the governor puts his mind to it, he can use his soapbox very, very effectively,” Cindi Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, told the AP.

At the time he made his proposal, both Republicans and Democrats were skeptical of the governor’s motives and timing. Where he normally trumpets his proposals with fanfare — with cameras flashing and videotape rolling — he issued a press release on his reforms and let others talk about it. It also came after months of disclosures of ethics probes aimed at his administration. The proposal, unveiled toward the end of the 2005 spring session, went nowhere.

But with the election over — if not the ethics probes — the governor could immediately chart a new course and prove he can change things up in Springfield by actively pursuing reform.

Among the proposed reforms:

• banning contributions from corporations and unions.

• limiting individual donors to giving $2,000 per candidate per election and $40,000 to all candidates, political action committees and parties per election.

• limiting political action committees’ contributions to $5,000 per candidate per election.

• limiting state political parties contributions to $5,000 per candidate, per election.

• increasing campaign finance reporting to four times a year from two.

Already, though, both major parties are reluctant to jump on board.

“I’m not sure (the Democrats) will be in much of a mood to change the system because it really favors them,” said state. Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Hinsdale Republican, in the AP story.

“What’s striking is that the same issues that seemed outrageous in the past election cycles have only gotten worse,” state Rep. John Fritchey, a Chicago Democrat, told the AP. “Until there’s a sufficient public outcry, it will be tough for us to find additional support for this in Springfield.”

It’s unfortunate that the legislature and governor seem to not want to approve changes on their own. We urge them to do so. But we also urge the public to insist the muck of this election be washed away with appropriate reforms.

Considering that a large chunk of the money went to negative commercials — with the slogans “What’s she thinking?” and “Had enough?” played over and over — the electorate needs to get deliver an emphatic yes, we’ve had enough!