And it s no wonder since 1993 the top 100 soft money donors have given over fifty million dollars. This figure is truly extraordinary both for the small number of contributors and the tremendous size of their cumulative contributions. Significantly, individual contributors are as dissatisfied with the current system as voters who do not contribute. Illinois voters do not approve of a system that allows corporations, unions and individuals to give contributions in unlimited amounts to the parties. While the parties are required to report where the money comes from, it is harder to track where the money is spent.
Illinois voters favor increased disclosure for political advertising.
Citizens don t know who is donating or spending this money or how much is being spent. 82 percent of Illinois voters believe that any outside group or individual engaged in electioneering ought to disclose these campaign expenditures immediately and fully. While only 43 percent of the voters surveyed supported increasing individual contribution limits to candidates, when that idea is proposed as part of a larger package of reforms, support jumps to 66 percent. The bottom line is, Illinois voters want reform. In September, Senators McCain and Feingold reintroduced their reform bill stripped of provisions regulating issue advocacy.