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ICPR Applauds Illinois House for Passage of Legislation Combatting 'Pay To Play' State Contracts
SPRINGFIELD, Ill., April 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Legislation
aimed at limiting the influence of big campaign contributors passed the
Illinois House Thursday with the strong support of legislators from both
political parties.
"So many big campaign contributors receive big state government
contracts that the public no longer buys the explanation that it is just a
coincidence," said Cynthia Canary, Director of the Illinois Campaign for
Political Reform (ICPR). "The public is convinced that political
connections often are more important than qualifications or price."
House Bill 1 would prohibit business owners with more than $25,000 in
state contracts from making campaign contributions to officeholders
awarding the contracts. It also would require contract bidders to disclose
past campaign contributions to the constitutional officer responsible for
awarding the contracts and would prohibit state officers, employees and
their spouses from profiting from state bond deals.
"There are reasons that phrases like 'follow the money' and 'pay to
play' have such currency," Canary said. "The public has followed the money,
and too often the giver of campaign cash is the recipient of government
dollars. The perception that you have to pay to play is detrimental to
public confidence in government and discourages honest business owners from
even considering bidding on state contracts."
HB 1 is part of a package of ethics reforms advocated by Comptroller
Dan Hynes, Treasurer Alexi Giannoulis and a coalition of reform
organizations. In addition to ICPR, the supporters include Citizen Action
Illinois, the Better Government Association, the Citizen Advocacy Center,
Common Cause Illinois, Illinois PIRG, the League of Women Voters of
Illinois and Protestants for the Common Good.
HB 1 was sent to the Senate by a vote of 116 to 0. State Rep. John
Fritchey, D-Chicago, is the sponsor HB 1. The chief co-sponsors are
Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, and State Reps. Jack Franks,
D-Woodstock; Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook; and Elizabeth Coulson,
R-Glenview.
Two other bills in the ethics reform package are House Bill 8, which
strengthens state laws regulating lobbying of state government, and Senate
Bill 222, which provides for voluntary public funding of appellate and
supreme court election campaigns. Both await floor votes.
Additional information about these bills can be found at
CONTACT: David Morrison of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform,
+1-312-335-1767.
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