By The Beachwood Illinois Reform Commission Affairs Desk
Editor’s Note: This is the third part of a multi-part series excerpting the final report from the Illinois Reform Commission. We don’t necessarily endorse all parts of the report, but offer it up as a starting point to generate support for bringing real structural change to Illinois’ sordid political culture.
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PROCUREMENT
I. Introduction
The state’s current procurement system has failed to stop pay-to-play abuse and has resulted in widespread manipulation of the system in awarding state contracts. Clouted and favored companies have benefited from large contracts through corrupt processes, to the detriment of companies without the right connections. Consequently, the reduced competition raises the cost of goods and services; and a system where connected companies do best means tax dollars are leveraged for political advantage.

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Posted on May 5, 2009

By The Illinois Reform Commission
Editor’s Note: This is the second part of a multi-part series excerpting the final report from the Illinois Reform Commission. We don’t necessarily endorse all parts of the report, but offer it up as a starting point to generate support for bringing real structural change to Illinois’ sordid political culture.
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CAMPAIGN FINANCE
I. Introduction
For decades, Illinois has been rocked by one public corruption scandal after the next – each seeming to take the state to a new low. “Pay-to-play” has become a term of art in Illinois politics as interested parties make large campaign contributions expecting a return on their “investments.” These problems are not new, nor are they limited to Illinois. The difference is that the federal government and nearly every other state in the country have adopted a more comprehensive system of campaign finance regulation than Illinois. Instead, Illinois has chosen to rely solely on a disclosure-based system requiring candidates to identify campaign contributions on a semi-annual basis. In fact, excepting the newly adopted pay-to play bans, Illinois is one of four states without any campaign contribution limits and one of less than half the states without some form of public financing.

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Posted on May 4, 2009