Welcome to Common Cause Illinois
Illinois is facing two great crises—a culture of corruption in its politics, and a state budget crisis that is among the worst in the country. Together, these crises offer an opportunity for us to build a movement for good government.
Lobbying Reform
Illinois’s lobbyist disclosure law leaves the public in the dark when it comes to tracking lobbyists’ expenditures. Unlike many states, Illinois does not require lobbyists to report their salaries or the specific bills on which they have been working. As a result, Illinois lobbyists reported just $1.3 million in expenditures in 2009, while lobbyists in Pennsylvania, which has roughly the same population but a stronger disclosure law, reported $470 million in 2009. Requiring greater disclosure of lobbyists’ activities is especially important in the post-Citizens United era, when many of their clients are now free to make unlimited political expenditures.
The Challenge of Citizens United
In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out a century-old ban on political spending by corporations and unions to influence elections—a move that has alarmed people across the political spectrum. Common Cause is leading the effort to protect the integrity of our political process by working for better disclosure of any new political spending, and by working to limit the influence of campaign contributions on elections and public policy.
Fracking for Money
Natural gas interests have spent more than $747 million during a 10-year campaign to avoid government regulation of hydraulic “fracking,” a fast-growing and environmentally risky method of tapping underground gas reserves.
A faction of the natural gas industry has directed more than $20 million to the campaigns of current members of Congress and put $726 million into lobbying aimed at shielding itself from oversight, according to the report, the third in a series of “Deep Drilling, Deep Pockets” reports.
Read our national report.
Redistricting Reform
Illinois’s system of partisan redistricting distorts the very concept of one person, one vote by letting elected officials choose voters they would like to have in their districts. Lines drawn to protect incumbents make it harder for voters to hold them accountable on election day and contribute to the low number of truly competitive elections. Common Cause supports the creation of a Citizens Redistricting Commission whose members would not be beholden to elected officials.