The recent controversy surrounding Senator Roland Burris was a sideshow in the long-running production of “Campaign Finance, Illinois-Style, whereby profiteering players consistently escape any consequences.
I want to clarify a few things about Senator Burris. First, his Senate voting record fairly serves the people of Illinois and the United States Constitution. To his credit, Burris has voted to protect Americans from the most egregious credit card practices that our predatory, too-big-to-fail banks imposed on ordinary American citizens trying to stay afloat in an era of declining wages. Second, in all my dealings with Senator Burris over the years, he has always been congenial, accommodating, and, by the way, never asked for a single dime in compensation, let alone a campaign donation.
That is why I am troubled by the controversy that surrounded him. It was the controversy itself, not Senator Burris, that represented another hive erupting on the afflicted body of state government. The source of the affliction? Certainly not Senator Burris! When the media tried its best to indict and convict Senator Burris, Springfield’s major players heaved a collective sigh of relief, because the spotlight shifted away from the larger problem. Illinois’ Pay-to-Play mode of governing, enabled by the some of the loosest campaign finance laws in the nation, is the political bacterium thriving under the state capitol dome.
At the epicenter of Illinois’ rotting campaign finance system is House Speaker Michael Madigan. He’s had numerous opportunities to reform campaign financing, but his lust for power far outweighs any sense of duty to the people of Illinois. Case in point: when campaign “reform” legislation passed Madigan’s House last year, the new restrictions on donations to elected officials, notably exempted him and the state representatives and senators.
Yet where was the media outcry against this craven, so-called “reform?” There was hardly a peep! But when a perceived transgression occurred involving someone outside the inner circle of Springfield pols, the media sunk its claws into Sen. Burris as easy prey.
We would be far better served if the media would show and sustain the same level of reporting of campaign fund-raising and spending by our legislative leaders in Springfield. The media could begin with closer scrutiny of Speaker Michael Madigan: According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, Madigan has collected more than $24 MILLION in campaign contributions since 1990.
$24 million buys a lot of influence and legislation. But what has the $24 Million Man done for the people of Illinois? He has given us chronic underfunding for 75 percent of our schools because he refuses to enact reforms that would fairly fund our public schools. He has left us with an Illinois budget in shambles because he refuses to create a fairer tax system based on one’s ability to pay or to prudently cut the budget. Shamefully, he had no problem holding families of autistic children hostage when he used politics to delay a bill in 2008 that would have helped autistic children get much-needed therapy.
So iron-fisted is Madigan’s control that one of our own state representatives had no qualms about voting against helping autistic children, saying it wasn’t politically right: Now tell that to a family with an autistic preschooler. And these representatives don’t have to worry about any repercussions because the $24 Million Madigan leaves us with no real choice as to whom will represent us in Springfield; he does the choosing for you with his campaign bankroll.
We could have averted recurring political scandals by enacting real campaign reform and public financing of campaigns, as many progressive states are doing. But Speaker Madigan is more intent on keeping things just the way they are; it is the people of Illinois who shoulder the collateral damage of a rotted system.
And when it comes to reforming Illinois’s campaign finance system, Madigan showed not only contempt for the people of Illinois, but for the hard-working members of the Illinois Reform Commission. The commission worked tirelessly, crisscrossing the state for public input before making its recommendation to reform Illinois politics. One of the commission’s members, the Rev. Scott Willis, who lost six children in a fiery vehicle accident, worked hard to reform the campaign finance system that was the root cause of his children’s deaths.
House Speaker Madigan’s response to the commission was to sponsor and push through H.B. 7, a fraud of a bill so riddled with loopholes and fatal flaws that Cindi Canary, Illinois Campaign for Political Reform director, called it a “phony reform.”
In the interim, a prosecutor has determined that Sen. Burris did not commit perjury. In Burris’ short time as senator, his voting record clearly shows his intent is to serve the people. Meanwhile, our $24 Million House Speaker has only one aim: to continue his iron-fisted rule of our state.You decide which one’s serving you better.
Tags: campaign financing, corruption, Mike Madigan
