Illinois Democrats Propose Matching Political Contributions From Small Donors

SPRINGFIELD, IL – A law that would limit political donations to $500 per candidate from each contributor as well as provide matching funds to small political donations at a cost of an estimated $1 per year for every resident of Illinois was proposed Thursday by Democratic Senator Daniel Biss.

“Life is getting harder for more and more Americans every day because people who are already doing well have all the power in government – powerful people who are shamefully out of touch with the people they represent," said Biss as he announced Senate Bill 1424, dubbed the Small Donor Democracy Matching System for Fair Elections Act.

The law would set up system for matching small donations for every state election in Illinois, including governor, attorney general, comptroller, treasurer, secretary of state, state senators and state representatives.

“We’re only going to fix this problem if we weaken the connection between money and political power and make it easier for small donors’ voices to be heard," Biss explained. His office said the proposal would open up opportunities for more diverse candidates for office and give voters more options at the ballot box.

The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform supports the proposal and estimated the total cost of the changes to be $1 per year per resident. A senior adviser to the group called the proposal a "long-overdue reform, which would ensure that the voices of local donors are amplified."

Common Cause Illinois also endorsed the bill, pointing out nine different statehouse races involved more than $2 million in contributions, with over $12 million in political donations raised for the comptroller's race alone.

“The voices of ordinary citizens in this state are being drowned out right now by the unlimited spending of wealthy political donors,” said the group's political director Jay Young said.

As proposed, SB1424 would do the following:

• Contributions between $25 and $150 from local donors would be matched 6:1 by public funds.
• Limits would be set on the amount of public funds available to each candidate.
• Candidates would not be able to accept contributions of more than $500 from a single donor.

Messages seeking comment from Illinois Senate Republicans were not returned.