Illinois Democrats have an interesting proposal to “level the playing field” with independent expenditure committees. A Federal Court recently applied the SpeechNow.org logic to allow independent expenditure committees to speak out in Illinois statewide and legislative campaigns. This has caused a reaction in the Illinois General Assembly.
House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, advanced legislation that would remove contribution limits once an outside group spends $100,000 on behalf of one candidate for the Legislature or local government. Lifting the restrictions would give an opponent a chance to “level the playing field,” she said. The trigger to lift the limits in a campaign for a statewide office would be $250,000.
“If there are super PAC, independent PAC expenditures for a particular candidate, then campaign contribution limits would not apply to any candidate in the race,” Currie said. She compared her proposal to state law that removes limits when a candidate dips heavily into personal and family funds.
One and a half cheers for Rep. Currie for an innovative way to allow more campaign speech. (She’d get three cheers if she proposed taking the limits off completely.)
This is an excellent example of how campaign freedom, in this case from a court ruling, might lead to more freedom from a legislative response. Perhaps congressional Democrats will lead the way for a similar proposal for federal races. Let’s hope so.
