From the St. Louis Post Dispatch

Tax breaks for donors lead to outcry

12/07/2003
By Kevin McDermott
Post-Dispatch Springfield Bureau

As the Illinois Legislature last spring was touting new ethics reform legislation, a more familiar process was quietly under way in the House and Senate: a change in state law to benefit a major campaign contributor.
The resulting law has loosened Illinois' rules for granting tax breaks to developers, which critics say could hurt local governments' financial stability in the long run.
It also has spotlighted the issue of donors who make unlimited contributions to legislators while benefiting from their legislation - a reality in Illinois politics that remained untouched by the sweeping ethics reforms put in place this year.
State records reviewed by the Post-Dispatch show that two Mattoon-area legislators received thousands of dollars in campaign donations from a land developer in May, as the two lawmakers were spearheading a change in state law that could mean millions in tax give-backs for the donor. Some of the legislative action on behalf of the donors came literally within days of the contributions.
Nothing in Illinois law prevents that situation. The reforms put into place this year curbed the influence of lobbyists and put limits on gifts and other perks for politicians. But they did nothing to address what some say is the single biggest potential for abuse in Illinois politics: the state's unrestricted system of campaign contributions.
"Campaign finance reform is going to be on the agenda until it's passed. This is a stellar example of why it's needed," said David Starrett of Independent Voters of Illinois. "It's the sort of thing the public looks at and says, 'Why isn't this legalized bribery? How is it any different?'"
Starrett and others for years have called for campaign contribution limits like the ones in federal campaigns and in most states.
"We see it time and time again. The big-money donors are the ones with the issues on the agenda," said Cynthia Canary of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.