Chicago Tribune: Governor vows to rock system

[Tweed]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0503080292mar08,1,5722053.story?coll=chi-newslocal-hed

"On pace to be the most prolific political fundraiser in Illinois history, Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Monday pledged to rein in the excesses of campaign finance with soon-to-be-introduced reforms that would "rock the system in Springfield."

The governor, who has raised millions of dollars from businesses with state contracts, said his proposal would include restrictions on how much campaign cash officeholders can receive from firms that make money off the state. But he offered few specifics.

Blagojevich has pushed broad ethics reforms and has repeatedly stressed his desire to change the political culture of state government, but he has been slower to publicly push for campaign finance reforms than many other prominent officials.

The governor's announcement follows Mayor Richard Daley's decision last month to stop accepting contributions from companies that do city business. State Comptroller Dan Hynes has enlisted Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan, Secretary of State Jesse White and Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka in a voluntary plan to draft executive orders barring contributions to them from big state contractors. He has also proposed the approach be set into law."

[mr_hat]

1. For which we can but salute him.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

2. I like Governor Blagojovich!

[Cuban_Liberal]

8. So do I.

:)

[roguevalley]

3. this reads confusingly. he's raised his zillions but he will put an end

to it now for others?

[Pab Sungenis]

5. Unilateral Disarmament is a bad thing.

You need to fight the Publicans on a level playing field.

Try to change the game for the better for everyone. But until and unless you can, then all bets are off.

[Radical Activist]

6. Kind of smart

He already raised money from state contractors and now he can make it harder for his competitors.

This is big talk from Blago, but I'm not expecting much. He has a habit of making big statements and doing nothing to follow up. He campaigned in 2002 with promises of cleaning up Illinois Government and I can't tell that he's made any progress with that since he got elected. The last minor campaign finance laws that were passed were due to the efforts of Paul Simon, not any Governor. If he was ever going to do anything serious I think he would have by now.

[Tweed]

7. Yeah, hell of a way to make sure you win

Who would challenge him to a primary? How could any Republican match his fundraising totals?

[PROGRESSIVE1]

9. The GOP plays dirtier than this. Blago cannot be compared...

to the horrible GOP! GO BLAGO GO!

[CubsFan1982]

4. Let's hope Blago follows through. n/t