Chicago Sun-Times Endorses Ballot Question on Campaign Finance Reform

Sun-Times and Common Cause Illinois Encourage Voters to Pull Plug on Special Interests and Super PACs

The Chicago Sun-Times took a strong stand today against the corrupt influence of wealthy campaign donors and special interest lobbyists by endorsing Common Cause Illinois’ advisory referendum on tomorrow’s city ballot. By encouraging voters to vote “YES” for a campaign finance system using small donations and a limited amount of public funds, the Sun-Times editorial board sent a clear message: it’s time that Chicago elections represented Chicagoans, not the fat wallets of the super rich and special interests.

“Common Cause Illinois thanks the Sun-Times for its leadership on a problem not just plaguing Chicago, but the entire nation, dramatically more so since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision,” says Common Cause Illinois Executive Director Rey Lopez Calderon. “When less than 0.5% of eligible American voters provide the bulk of individual campaign contributions, we need the press to elevate the voices of voters almost entirely shut out of our increasingly perverted democratic election system.”

“Fair Elections Illinois, a project of Common Cause, was launched a few months ago and its first action was to get this referendum on the ballot. With all five mayoral candidates, several aldermen, and over a dozen endorsing organizations, the campaign is now positioned for a voter mandate to create a small donor campaign finance system in Chicago,” says Brian Gladstein, Director of Programs and Strategy for Common Cause Illinois.

Common Cause Illinois is extremely grateful that the Sun-Times is standing up for voters by endorsing Tuesday’s small contributions campaign finance ballot question.

Read the full article here.