STUDY IDENTIFIES MOST GENEROUS CONTRIBUTORS TO TOP STATE OFFICIALS AND CANDIDATES

September 4, 2002

CONTACT:
Cindi Canary, ICPR
312-335-1767
Kent Redfield, Sunshine Project
217-206-6572

STUDY IDENTIFIES MOST GENEROUS CONTRIBUTORS TO TOP STATE OFFICIALS AND CANDIDATES

2002 Political Contributions Now Available in Searchable Database

Big business, big labor, and big PACs lead the lists of all-time contributors to the campaigns of the leaders of the Illinois General Assembly and the candidates for governor and attorney general.

Lists of the top 20 patrons of the most powerful men and women in Illinois government, as well as their election challengers, were compiled by analyzing the most recent electronic files of campaign contribution records from the 2002 campaigns and by sifting through paper and microfiche files dating back 20 years at the State Board of Elections. The research was conducted by the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR) and the Sunshine Project.

It is all available on the web at www.ilcampaign.org. The web site also includes the searchable Illinois Sunshine Database, which has been updated with contribution and expenditure information from the first six months of 2002.

"For the first time, everyday citizens can learn about the major financial backers of the state's leading career politicians," said Cindi Canary, Director of ICPR. "This is a state without any limitations on who gives money or how much they give. As a consequence, campaign treasuries can be filled quickly by a few wealthy individuals and special interest lobbies writing six-figure checks."

"Some of the names on these lists are well known in political circles," said Kent Redfield, the Director of the Sunshine Project and a professor of political studies at the University of Illinois at Springfield. "Many are the labor unions and business lobbies with the best friends in state government. A few are relatively new to campaign circles but have family and friendship ties to some candidates. All are now major players in the most expensive game in town.

"Money and hard work are the most important elements of a winning campaign in Illinois, and a lot of the hard work revolves around raising money," said Redfield, who has studied Illinois campaigns for more than two decades. "The easiest part of any campaign in Illinois is complying with state finance laws. All you need is half-way decent bookkeeper.

"Yet despite all of its faults, the laws governing campaigns in Illinois have at least produced the best electronic reporting and disclosure system in the country," Redfield added. "This unparalleled access does give every citizen and journalist the ability to see who is bankrolling political campaigns, and every candidate knows that the identity of contributors and the size of their contributions may be known to voters."

Here is a sample of just some of the other information available at the updated web site (www.ilcampaign.org):

Visitors will find a campaign finance profile of every candidate for statewide office in the 2002 general election and candidates for the General Assembly. Profiles include recent finance information detailing how much was given my each candidate's largest contributors and how much was donated by categories that include business, labor, political party, small contributors and loans from the candidate.
Judicial candidates for the 4th District seat on the Illinois Supreme Court and all appellate court contests are profiled.
Each candidate profile includes vote totals for the 2002 primary election and links to search for more campaign finance information.
Where available, the profiles include links to candidate web home pages.
There is easy access to updated campaign finance information about the Democratic and Republican party organizations and the political action committees controlled by each of the four legislative caucus leaders.
Voters can learn how the candidates responded to questions about their positions on 18 key proposals to reform campaign finance and ethics in Illinois state government. ICPR sent the survey to the candidates for governor, all other statewide offices and the General Assembly.