On March 2, an editorial called for substantial reform in the way congressional campaigns are financed. The Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization (IVI-IPO) heartily concurs with your recommendations. The destructive influence of political action committees on our campaigns and, far more important, on the decisions and approaches to urgent national problems by our lawmakers, is beyond question.
At the same time, IVI-IPO and Common Cause are calling for partial public financing of Chicago`s municipal elections. Our proposed ordinance would provide partial public matching refunds for city-wide and aldermanic races. It would also impose stringent expenditure limits and vastly curtail the role of special interests.
The IVI-IPO/CC proposal does not call for any additional tax revenues. We propose that it be financed by a 50 percent cut in the current budget for the City Council committees.
Finally, the proposal provides that the City Clerk would publish and mail short statements from all candidates to the voters in which each candidate would describe their qualifications and proposals. This provision would ensure that every candidate, regardless of funds, would be able to present their credentials and ideas to the voters at least once during the campaign.
