For Immediate Release
March 2, 2004

Contact:
Cindi Canary (312) 335-1767
Kent Redfield: (217) 206-6574

RECORDS BROKEN IN LIMITLESS SYSTEM
GOVERNOR WITHOUT AN ELECTION CAMPAIGN COLLECTS ALL-TIME HIGH

More than $32 million was contributed to Illinois politicians and political parties in 2003 with much of it going to people who aren¹t even candidates in 2004.

Campaign finance information for 2003 is now available at ilcampaign.org -- the web site of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR). The updated web site is the most complete source of information about major contributors to officeholders and candidates, and the searchable Illinois Sunshine Database permits easy access to complete information about candidates¹ and political parties¹ receipts and expenditures.

The analysis from ICPR and the Sunshine Project also profiles the top 20 contributors in calendar year 2003. The list is led by the Illinois State Medical Society ($431,510) with the Illinois Hospital Association in second place ($323,693). Both groups also led the list in 2001, the previous annual report from a non-election year. The complete list is available at ilcampaign.org.

"Candidate committees and organizations from Cairo to Waukegan collected more than $32 million in 2003, with more than $20 million of it collected in just the last six months of the year," said Cindi Canary, Director of ICPR. "The $32 million eclipsed the 1999 record of $29 million for the first year of a four-year gubernatorial campaign cycle."

Governor Rod Blagojevich¹s campaign fund reported more than $5.4 million in contributions in 2003, far exceeding every other political committee in the state. All but $300,000 of those funds were obtained during the last half of the year, according to the analysis released today by ICPR and the Sunshine Project.

Canary said Blagojevich set a record for contributions collected by a newly elected Governor in the first year of his term. The Blagojevich campaign¹s $5.4 million in receipts easily surpassed the previous record of $2.7 million given in 1991 to former Gov. Jim Edgar¹s campaign.

Kent Redfield, Director of the Sunshine Project, said Blagojevich also was the top recipient of large contributions from private interests, those of $10,000 or more from corporations, unions, trade associations, professional associations, and individuals.

"During the 2003, 291 private contributors made 421 contributions of $10,000 or more to 30 state level candidates, parties and officeholders" Redfield said. "Those five-figure checks totaled $6.6 million, and Gov. Blagojevich claimed $3 million of it. More than 45 percent of the big money from special interests went straight into the Governor¹s campaign war chest."

"The record fund raising by Blagojevich may be the result of more aggressive solicitation in comparison to other new governors," Canary said. "Perhaps less obvious are the reasons that contributors were so willing to give money to the campaign organization of a first-year governor who won¹t be running a re-election campaign until 2006."

"But most obvious now is the need for strict limits on contributions to political candidates and parties in Illinois," she said. "Illinois has long had a reputation for having the best government that money can buy. The latest reports of political activity have done nothing to improve that image."

Unlike the federal government and 48 other states, Illinois does not impose any limitation on the amount of money that can be contributed. Illinois also does not prohibit contributions by labor unions and corporations. Even those regulated by Illinois state government or doing business with the state government can make unlimited political contributions.

The political organization of Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, was a distant second to Blagojevich in 2003. Jones collected $1.157 million for his own committee, and the Senate Democratic campaign fund received $893,000.

Total contributions in 2003 to other leaders included $1.132 million to House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, and $536,000 to the House Republican Organization. Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson, R-Greenville, received $816,000 for his committee, and the Republican State Senate Campaign Committee received $1.053 million.

The campaign fund of House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, D-Chicago, received $1.111 million. The state Democratic Party, which Madigan chairs, received $907,000. The state Republican Party reported receipts of $623,000 in the same time period.

The fund-raising reports also indicate that Illinois will see a spirited race for the Fifth District Supreme Court seat in southern Illinois. The two candidates, Republican Lloyd Karmeier and Democrat Gordon Maag, reported raising $80,375 and $117,760 respectively during 2003, even though neither have primary opponents.

Both the Sunshine Project (located at the University of Illinois at Springfield) and the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform are non-profit, non-partisan projects that work to increase public awareness of how political campaigns are funded in Illinois. For additional information on campaign fund-raising in both the 2002 and 2004 election cycles, please visit www.ilcampaign.org.