In 2009, just months after Governor Rod Blagojevich was impeached, the General Assembly rewrote the state’s campaign finance laws in order to end what was widely known as the “wild west” era of unregulated political contributions, when money was thrown around like confetti.
Ironically, the latest donation has left Quinn—Rauner’s opponent—lambasting the return of the wild west financing that the law was supposed to eradicate.
But the rules essentially say that there are no rules when a candidate gives at least $250,000 to his or her own campaign. In that event, according to the law, “all candidates for that office shall be permitted to accept contributions in excess of any contribution limit imposed.”
This was not what lawmakers had in mind. “I don’t think anyone anticipated a $2.5 million campaign contribution,” says state senator Don Harmon, the chief sponsor of the legislation.
At the moment, none of the prospective mayoral candidates has done so—and there’s no reason for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to take the first step. He’s raised more than $4.5 million from other donors since last July.
There’s a small chance these rules will be changed once the governor’s race is over. As part of the 2009 law, the state created a task force whose 11 members are supposed to get together in the next year to review the consequences of how the reform law worked.
