AGREEMENT REACHED IN ONE ELECTION DISPUTE BUT BUSINESS LOBBIES MAINTAIN SHROUD OF SECRECY

Some of the mystery surrounding more than $1 million in spending in the nation’s most expensive contest for a state supreme court seat has been solved, but a coalition of business lobbies still refuses to reveal its funding sources to the public.

The Justice For All Foundation (JFA), a non-profit organization funded by trial lawyers, has voluntarily disclosed the sources of $561,000 in funds later spent in the 2004 5th District Illinois Supreme Court election.

The JFA made the disclosure as part of an agreement settling a complaint filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections by the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR) and Kent Redfield, Director of the Sunshine Project. The State Board of Elections accepted the settlement agreement between the two sides, and the disclosure documents are available at www.ilcampaign.org.

“For three decades, state law has mandated the disclosure of large campaign contributions, and we appreciate the JFA’s cooperation in ending this dispute,” Redfield said. “Whatever integrity is left in the state’s campaign finance system hinges on public disclosure of contributors to campaigns, and attempts to hide that information is damaging to the electoral process.”

ICPR and Redfield have not been able to reach a similar settlement with the Illinois Coalition for Jobs, Growth and Prosperity, a business-backed non-profit. The complaint charges that the Coalition solicited political contributions through its web site; transferred $505,000 to a similarly named political action committee in 2004; and was active in the campaigns of at least six candidates for the Illinois House.

The Coalition’s founding members include the Illinois Business Roundtable, the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce, the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, the Illinois Civil Justice League and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.

The business groups formed the Coalition two months prior to the 2004 primary election, and the Coalition PAC registered with the State Board of Elections as a political committee on the day of the 2004 primary.

“These two organizations apparently believed they found a loophole in the state elections law and want to hide the real identify of campaign contributors by first running the contributions through a non-profit organization, which would later show up as the ‘public’ contributor of funds to the political action committee,” said Cynthia Canary, Director ICPR.

“This kind of mischief is at best a dirty campaign tactic and at worst is a blatant violation of state election laws,” Canary said. “In either case, some of the state’s most influential business lobbies believe they have something to hide from the public and are willing to go to great lengths to keep their secret.”

The JFA and the Coalition were actively involved in the 2004 Supreme Court election between Lloyd Karmeier, the Republican candidate who won, and Gordon Maag, the defeated Democrat. Total spending in those campaigns exceeded $9 million, doubling the previous national record for total spending in an election for a state supreme court seat.

ICPR and Redfield have argued that the actions of JFA and the Coalition required them to register as a political committee under many provisions of the election law, which would have required the identity of contributors to be made public.

Earlier this year, the General Assembly approved legislation that explicitly stated that non-profit organizations, like JFA and the Coalition, cannot evade registration and disclosure requirements. The elections omnibus bill was signed into law by the governor in August.

The change further clarifies that any non-profit organization must register and file disclosure reports if it accepts contributions, makes contributions or makes expenditures that exceed an aggregate of $5,000 during any 12-month period on behalf of a candidate or question of public policy, for electioneering communications or for the purpose of influencing legislative, executive or administrative action.

The Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law assisted in the preparation of the complaints. Complete text of the complaints against the JFA and the Coalition, the settlement with JFA, and other related litigation documents can be found at www.ilcampaign.org.

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