ICPR Spotcheck for June 9, 2011
In this Issue:
*Units of Government Spent $7.4M to Lobby State Government, ICPR Finds
*Tell Gov. Quinn to reject a plan to roll back the state's open records law!
*Democrats stick together on remap; Quinn signs measure expected to guarantee Democratic majorities in both chambers
*Blago is on Trial, and the Paul Simon Fellows are There
*Young Leaders Public Interest Seminar Series
*Giving is Easy!
*Units of Government Spent $7.4M to Lobby State Government, ICPR Finds
In the fourth annual report on lobbying by units of government, ICPR found 140 towns, transit districts, counties, and other public agencies had hired contract lobbyists to influence state government in the last fiscal year. Total spending grew from $6.6M in FY09 to $7.4M in FY10. For the third year in a row, the CTA lead the list; the RTA and the three service boards combined for more than $1M in spending on contract lobbyists. And yet, the findings of this report reflect just a tiny portion of what all interest groups spent to lobby state government, as private entities face minimal disclosure requirements. For the complete list of which units of government hired contracts lobbyists, who they hired, and how much they paid, click here.
*Tell Gov. Quinn to reject a plan to roll back the state's open records law!
In the frenzied final days of the legislative session in May, lawmakers passed a rollback to the state's open records law, the Freedom of Information Act. The legislation would allow public bodies to take as much time as they wanted in providing requested public records to individuals who had filed multiple FOIAs. The proposal also would allow public bodies, for the first time ever, to charge fees for completing requests if the individual seeking them wished to use those records for commercial purposes. Instead of passing legislation to limit residents' timely access to records, we should be moving toward a more open, transparent government which places records online. Contact Gov. Quinn and ask him to reject this bill.
*Democrats stick together on remap; Quinn signs measure expected to guarantee Democratic majorities in both chambers
Democrats in the General Assembly muscled through plans redrawing the borders of state House, Senate and Congressional districts in late May, with little opportunity for residents to review and comment on the drafts prior to passage. Disappointingly, Gov. Quinn signed the state redistricting plan late last week, without soliciting feedback from the public and without providing any explanation of how the map met his request for a "fair and competitive" plan. He has yet to take action on the Congressional map, which has garnered national press coverage for its partisanship.
*Blago is on Trial, and the Paul Simon Fellows are There
Two of ICPR's three 2011 Paul Simon Fellows have started, and they both attended Rod Blagojevich's trial at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse. Over several days, they heard testimony from Jesse Jackson, Rahm Emanuel, and Blago himself, among others. Read there reports on our Blago Retrial page.
*Young Leaders Public Interest Seminar Series
ICPR is proud to present a summer seminar series for college and graduate school interns at Chicago-area non-profits. The 2011 Young Leaders Public Interest Seminar Series will feature the following panels:
Philanthropy: Wednesday, June 29
Law & Public Interest: Wednesday, July 6
Mid-Series Session: Looking outside your internship: Wednesday, July 13
Government & Campaigns: Wednesday, July 20
Media & Journalism: Wednesday, July 27
A nominal fee of $20 per student is requested to help cover costs. To register your organization's summer interns, contact Nelly Viramontes at nelly@ilcampaign.org or download the registration form here.
*Giving is Easy!
You've already read about the great work ICPR is doing to protect and improve the Freedom of Information Act and the Redistricting Process in Illinois. You already know we passed the first-ever campaign contribution limits in Illinois. There's no question that ICPR is on the job to make government work for you, but we need your help.
Your contribution of $25, $50, $100 or more will make a huge impact on what we are able to achieve.
Every dollar you donate makes it possible for our staff to make trips to Springfield to meet with legislators, buy postage and letterhead for appeals to our elected officials, expand the reach of our message, maintain our web Site, www.ilcampaign.org, which offers visitors numerous tools to learn more good government and so much more!
Giving is easy! You can make your tax deductible contribution online through our website at www.ilcampaign.org/donate. To further advance our success, we encourage you to check with your employer to see if they will make a gift to match your contribution, or sign up for a monthly contribution.
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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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