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Capitol Fax

Rich Miller's commentary on State Government

Editorial writers, crusading columnists and reformers say it all the time: Illinois is one of only a small handful of states which does not regulate campaign contributions.

That's technically true, but you might be surprised at how little some other states actually regulate those contributions.

Gov. Pat Quinn's independent reform commission has recommended that Illinois adopt the same basic contribution limits for individuals and political action committees as the federal government. But if contribution limits are supposed to get the influence of money out of politics, they've failed miserably in Washington, DC, where money has become an obsession and that obsession rules all.

According to a March analysis by the National Conference of State Legislatures, some states have few campaign contribution restrictions at all. Still others have much more stringent caps than proposed by the governor's reform commission.

For instance, neighboring Iowa has no limit on individual contributions to candidates and doesn't cap state party contributions, political action committee contributions or labor union contributions to candidates. However, Iowa does prohibit direct contributions by corporations. Here is a rundown of some other states...

* Texas, Pennsylvania and North Dakota prohibit direct corporate and union contributions to candidates, but have zero limits on any other contributions.

* Indiana restricts contributions by corporations and unions to $5,000 per year for statewide candidates and $2,000 per year for all other candidates. Individual, political action committee and state party contributions are not limited, however. Mississippi and Alabama have similar restrictions.

* Ohio limits individual and PAC contributions to a somewhat odd $11,395.56 per candidate, per election, while capping state party contributions to $642,709.58 for statewide candidates, $128,200.05 for state Senate candidates and $63,815.14 for state House candidates. Corporate and labor union contributions are prohibited.

* According to the NCSL report, a total of 13 states have no caps whatsoever on individual contributions. Even more have no limits on state party contributions, although some states, like Kentucky, require that candidates other than gubernatorial candidates accept no more than half of their money from the state parties. Kansas is one of a small number of states which severely restricts state party contributions during primaries, but imposes no limit on general election spending.

* California's contribution limits are much higher than the proposed federal-style limits here in Illinois, perhaps reflecting its large numbers of big media markets and the fact that limits are indexed to inflation. California caps individual, union and corporate contributions at $25,900 for gubernatorial candidates, $6,500 for other statewide candidates and $3,900 for legislative candidates. PAC contributions are roughly double those limits. But last month, the California's Fair Political Practices Commission reported that candidates have still managed to raise almost $1.1 billion since the caps took effect in January of 2001. That total did not include independent expenditures, which would be a lot more money.

* Florida, another large state with multiple TV markets, has a $500 across-the-board limit on campaign contributions from all sources. But recent local reporting has shown how easy it is for special interests to get around those caps via "electioneering communications organizations." One example was an alleged scheme by Anheuser Busch to bankroll favored candidates via a police union fund.

* The state of New York uses a mathematical formula to limit individual, PAC and union gubernatorial campaign contributions. The formula is based on the number of party members. New York also has a $100,000 limit on family member contributions to legislative candidates. State party contributions to candidates are prohibited in primaries, and unlimited in general elections. Corporations are limited to $5,000 per year in aggregate.

* Michigan prohibits all corporate and union campaign contributions and has very low caps for all other contributions. Statewide candidate contributions are limited to $3,400 for individuals and many PACs per election cycle. Senate candidate contributions are capped at $1,000 and House contributions are limited to just $500. "Independent" campaign committees have much higher caps.

As you can plainly see, the range of limits is far broader than we are ever told. This issue is not as black and white as it's usually portrayed. I actually favor contribution caps, but they should either be extremely low with lots of safeguards (unlike Florida) to really stamp out the money, or high enough that every check doesn't become an obsession. Illinois Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno has proposed a $10,000 cap on individuals and PACs. That seems reasonable to me.

Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and thecapitolfaxblog.com.

Capitol Report

By Jim Sacia, State Representative, 89th District

The family of Army Specialist Norman Cain III, who was killed in combat March 15th in Eastern Afghanistan, traveled to Springfield this week to join the House of Representatives in paying tribute to our fallen hero. Tribute was also paid to Army Sergeants Christopher Abeyta of Midlothian and Robert Weinger of Round Lake Beach who were killed by the same roadside bomb on that fateful day. Accompanying Norman's widow Brigette was his extended family: his parents, Norman Jr. and Tina Kasten, Deb Klages, Sue Schofield, Lisa, Mark, Zachery and Breeana Otto, Courtney, Michael and Andrew Bower, JoAnn and Dennis Cain and Christine Blair.

The tributes for fallen servicemen and women are deeply moving, but still seem so insignificant when you see the hurt in the families' eyes. I have no doubt that they will get on with their lives, but it was an honor to share in their tribute to these outstanding soldiers who gave to their country their last full measure.

On May 7th, the police memorial was held on the capitol lawn, as it is each year. Governor Quinn and Secretary of State Jesse White spoke, as tribute was paid to the five police officers from Illinois who were killed this past year in the line of duty. Since Illinois was first incorporated as a state, over 900 officers have given their lives in service to their communities. Each year I am more impressed with the number of police agencies across the state who participate in uniform at the tribute. Officers from law enforcement agencies throughout our 89th House District always join their brother and sister officers to pay tribute to those fallen. Officers participating number in the many hundreds, and at a time when we are all struggling with significant budget issues, it's touching to see so many take the time to pay tribute to those who serve and protect.

Earlier in the week, more than 2,000 Illinois Education Association (IEA) members came to Springfield to lobby against Governor Quinn's budget proposals that attack the teachers' pension system. The Governor addressed them and quite frankly I think it's fair to say, he got the message. He agreed to remove, even as a suggestion, the most onerous parts of his proposal.

The struggle over the budget continues, however; and one cannot lose sight of the fact that over the past six years, state spending in Illinois has grown by $6 billion. Many continue to advocate for a tax increase, but I still cannot embrace that idea. The runaway spending has got to stop, and until we get our fiscal house in order I cannot get on board.

That old saying of "never watch sausage or laws being made" makes more sense than ever as we struggle with the give and take of creating a budget.

As always, you can reach me, Sally or Barb at 815/232-0774 or e-mail us at jimsacia@aeroinc.net. You can also visit my website at www.jimsacia.com. It's always a pleasure to hear from you.

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