Illinois Campaign for Political Reform

Syndicate content Get this feed!

As Cicero president seeks third term, town employees wear two hats

February 21, 2013
WBEZ

By: Chip Mitchell

Ahead of next Tuesday’s primary, what matters to some public servants is not their job duties but Larry Dominick’s reelection.Once upon a time, it was hard to get a government job in the Chicago area without going through a precinct captain or another party boss. Over the years, federal court orders and corruption prosecutions have helped draw a sharper line between public service and politics. But the message hasn’t gotten everywhere. With an election looming in Cicero, many employees of that western suburb are wearing two hats.

Read More...



Related Links:

Was Jackson Jr.'s alleged spending spree a victimless crime?

February 20, 2013
Chicago Tribune

Eric Zorn

OK, all mockery, pearl-clutching and indignation aside, who, really, was hurt if, as federal prosecutors allege, former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. used campaign funds to buy decorations for his own personal Planet Hollywood along with assorted other luxury items?

The public treasury?

I'll give you that.

Read More...



Related Links:

2nd district candidate Toi Hutchinson`s paid campaign staff includes mom

February 14, 2013
Fox 32 Chicago

By Dane Placko, FOX 32 News Investigative Reporter - bio | email

FOX 32 has learned that one of the candidates running to replace Jackson has been paying thousands of dollars in campaign cash to her mother.

Democratic State Senator Toi Hutchinson didn't hire some kid as her campaign scheduler; she hired her mother, Janice Heno. State Board of Election records show between January of 2010 and December of 2012, Hutchinson paid her mother more than $57,000 out of her campaign fund for "contractual services."

Read More...



Related Links:

Quinn’s ethics proposal raises questions

February 7, 2013
State Journal Register

By SOPHIA TAREEN
The Associated Press

The idea seems simple enough: Ban Illinois lawmakers from voting or taking action on anything that might benefit them personally, all in the name of honest government.

Read More...



Related Links:

Former Ill. Gov. Ryan to be released from prison

January 30, 2013
Associated Press

By Michael Tarm
Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) -- George Ryan on Wednesday will become the latest former Illinois governor to go through a prison door. This time, he's headed out.

Ryan is being released from a federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind., after serving five-plus years for corruption. He's expected to spend the first few weeks at a halfway house in Chicago and then return to his home in Kankakee, about 60 miles to the south.

Read More...



Related Links:

Watchdog group wants to rein in super PACs operating in Illinois

January 11, 2013
Bloomington Pantagraph

By Kurt Erickson

Big outside money spent on losing candidates in Illinois

SPRINGFIELD — This chart shows the amount of money spent by “independent expenditure” committees, in-cluding so-called “super PACs,” on behalf… Read more

SPRINGFIELD — Hoping to lift the shroud of secrecy on where millions of dollars in campaign money are coming from, a campaign watchdog group Thursday outlined a series of potential remedies to the law that allows super PACs to operate in Illinois.

Read More...



Related Links:

Report: Candidates, parties dwarfed SuperPACs’ legislative spending

January 10, 2013
Daily Herald

By Doug T. Graham

SPRINGFIELD — SuperPACs contributed money in key statewide suburban races in the 2012 elections. However, their money paled in comparison to that spent by the candidates themselves or political parties, according to a new report.

An Illinois Campaign for Political Reform report showed that of the more than $29 million raised in statewide legislative races, just $1.7 million was spent by SuperPACs.

Read More...



Related Links: