2008 Election Information
Voters in Illinois will see over two hundred candidates for state
legislature on the ballot, plus over a dozen for statewide executive
office and over 150 for judicial office. Where do these candidates
stand? Who supports them? What sort of public official would they
make?
To help answer these questions, ICPR has gathered together resources
from a variety of sources into one place. We don’t claim to
have all the answers, but we hope this material will help voters
to make more informed decisions on Election Day.
2008 ICPR Candidate Questionnaire
ICPR asked all candidates who filed for legislative or statewide
executive office to answer a brief questionnaire. Candidates were
instructed to give yes or no answers. Some candidates gave longer
answers; we decided to post those longer answers in full for candidates
for governor, but other candidates will be listed without the detail.
For a copy of the questionnaire as it was sent to candidates, click
here.
To view the questionnaire of a particular candidate, click here.
To view the questionnaires of all candidates by office sought,
click here.
Who Signed the Code of Fair Campaign Practices?
The Code was created by the General Assembly and is administered
by the State Board of Elections. It is, in essence, a promise to
conduct a campaign that respects voters’ intelligence, not
hitting below the belt. ICPR believes that the Code sets a tone
for the election season, and so we asked all candidates to sign
on. Here’s
who did.
Who Supports the Candidates?
Campaign disclosure reports give a good indication of who supports
candidates for public office. The Sunshine Database offers an analysis
of the top donors for all candidates and gives a profile of their
overall financial base. Here’s
the candidate search page.
What About Judges?
There are over 150 candidates vying to fill over 50 seats on the
bench. While judges are elected by the voters, their job is to interpret
the laws, not make them; what judges can say is rightly limited
by their obligation to remain impartial. ICPR has assembled information
on judicial candidates from around the state to help voters better
understand what sort of judge the candidates might be. Click
here to view the Illinois Voter's Guide.
Con Con Considerations
This November, voters will decide whether or not Illinois should hold a Constitutional Convention. ICPR has not taken a position on the up or down, but we do have some thoughts on how.
Click here.
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