ILLINOIS WAS one of the last states to adopt a Campaign Financing Act, approved September 3, 1974, and administered by the State Board of Elections, a new agency brought into being in 1973 in conformity with the election article of the 1970 Constitution. The heart of the act is its requirement for disclosing campaign contributions and expenditures when these total more than $1,000 during a 12-month period. It applies to candidacies for local as well as state offices and also to public policy questions, such as constitutional amendments.
The act itself is detailed, but the board has found it necessary to draft administrative rules to supplement the language of the law. The act gives this rule-making power to the board, and the draft rules have been prepared for the board by its Public Disclosure Project Committee.* The draft rules were made public in late September, but public hearings on the proposed rules have been put off until after the fall election. The board plans to hold hearings throughout the state, beginning in the middle of January.
The board has set the stage for this by a most unusual action: its committee has actually drafted two sets of rules, one a broad interpretation of the Campaign Financing Act broad in its application, that is and the other narrow. Unless the legislature intervenes and writes additional detail into the act itself, the board will be determining the scope of this reform by its choice of the alternative drafts. Conceivably, this could be of far-reaching effect particularly if Illinois in the future goes beyond the present law which only requires reporting of contributions and expenditures to a law which would seek to limit contributions and expenditures (although there are possibly constitutional barriers to enacting such limitations).
As an example of the choice that the two alternatives offer, consider proposed Rule 104, dealing with contributions. The definition of what is a contribution is important, the board's "Commentary" on the two drafts points out, because the amount of contributions determines whether a group is a "political committee" under the act and must report. The act itself includes as a contribution "the services of an employee donated by an employer . . . ." The "narrow" version, however, goes on to exclude services of an employee during released time which the employer is to make up at a later date or an employee who is engaging in political activity during vacation or other earned leave time. The exception is one which could be applied to governmental patronage employees who, during a campaign, may use leave time to work for a candidate or party. The "broad" version, by not making this exception, leaves the question open. The definition of expenditure in the narrow version follows in general the definition of contributions.
The most marked contrast between
the two versions appears in proposed
Rule 106, defining "anything of value,"
an expression used in the definitions of
contribution and expenditure in the act.
Under the broad version, "anything of
value" includes:
forgiveness of a debt;
political endorsements by news media,
professional, trade, labor, or other voluntary associations or corporations;
"any communication in written or
electronic form with respect to the history of
public positions taken by any candidate, or
group of candidates, concern any issue
..." except for paid advertising or news in
the news media;
any broadcasting time provided under
the "fairness" doctrine;
the value of the use of real estate or
personal property in excess of any rental or
other charge for use;
Finally, under this broad version,
anything of value not having an
ascertainable market value would be reported by describing what was contributed.
The narrow version of the same
proposed rule is written to exclude the
following:
services volunteered by individuals;
expenses in connection with an event in
an individual's home on behalf of a candidate, etc., provided these do not exceed
$150;
sale of food or beverages by a vendor
for a candidate, etc., at less than the usual
charge provided this does not exceed $150;
travel or living expenses not in excess of
$150 as a contribution incurred by a
volunteer worker;
news stories and endorsements by the
media unless the medium is controlled by a
candidate or party;
legal or accounting services voluntarily
given to comply with the campaign financing
law or rules;
activity to encourage individuals to
register or vote;
communications by a corporation or a
membership organization (this includes
unions) to its members or stockholders on
political matters provided the costs do not
exceed $ 1,000 per election (If over the $ 1,000
threshold, this must be reported as a political
committee.);
value of donated use of premises of an
"organization or corporation for a political
meeting if such use is made available to all
competing candidates, and the value of the
time of members or employees attending
such meetings.
Copies of the act and proposed rules may be obtained from the Board, 1020 S. Spring St., Springfield 62704, or 100 N. LaSalle St., Chicago 60602./ W.L.D.
* Franklin J. Lunding, Jr., is chairman of the board. Staff involved on the committee were Ronald D. Michaelson, Delmar Ward, Donald Schultz, Richard H. Anderson, John Black, Barbara Mason, Vincent James Tenuto, Tony Leone, Marie L. Norton, Gayle A. Kilavos, Susan Rivers and Virginia Howard. Consultants were Tom Scheuneman, Don O'Neill, James L. Peacock and Lee J. Schwartz.
26/ December 1976/ Illinois Issues