March 15, 2004

In This Issue
* Governor's New Political Committee
* Judicial Evaluations On-Line
* Fifth Judicial Supreme Court Totals
* Vote March 16
*2003-2004 Campaign Finance Data Now On-Line


Governor's New Political Committee
Associates of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, including former DNC chair David Wilhelm and Illinois AFL-CIO head Margaret Blackshere, have formed a new political committee, Move Illinois Forward. Move Illinois Forward began fundraising in March, and has reported raising $86,000 in just two weeks, and has disbursed $47,500 to Democratic legislative candidates. Check back to our website for updates on this new committee.

Judicial Evaluations On-Line
Hundreds of judicial candidates are on the ballot in this primary election; do you know who deserves your support? ICPR can help. We¹ve summarized bar group evaluations from across Illinois. Find the results here (for races outside of Cook County, click on the Illinois State Bar Association).

Fifth Judicial Supreme Court Totals
Illinois' only Supreme Court contest in 2004, in far southern Illinos, has just two candidates running in uncontested primaries. But to date, they've reported raising a combined quarter million dollars, with eight months to go to the general election. This past weekend alone, the Illinois Civil Justice League reported a $31,000 contribution to Republican Lloyd Karmeier. Democrat Gordon Maag shows $135,000 in receipts, and Karmeier reports $119,000. The race is expected to be spirited. For more information on judicial elections, click here.

Vote March 16
Polls are open from 6:30 am until 7:30 at night. For more help finding your polling place, the State Board of Elections has a directory of local election authorities; click here for more information.


2003-2004 Campaign Finance Data Now On-Line
The Sunshine Database contains campaign receipt and expenditure information, through the end of 2003. Find summaries of each candidate's finances, profiles of top donors, on-line data for candidates who filed disclosure reports on paper, and more. This year, ICPR is also including information on federal candidates, including candidates for both parties' U.S. Senate nominations. Click here.

Our website, ilcampaign.org, offers a wealth of information and analysis of campaign finance data. In the coming weeks, we will be adding data on all who filed to run in 2004 for the legislature and the appellate and supreme court.

ICPR Spotcheck is a publication of The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, a non-partisan public interest group that educates, conducts research, and advocates reforms to promote public participation in government, address the role of money in politics, and encourage integrity, accountability, and transparency in government.

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