Senate President James “Pate” Philip said Monday that he has asked a campaign reform work group to draft a plan that would set primary election dates for as late as September on a trial basis.
But a spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) said any campaign reform package that included such a change could kill passage of campaign reform laws this legislative session.
Philip, a Wood Dale Republican, said he asked former Democratic U.S. Sen. Paul Simon to include the election date change in a reform package Simon is working on with a bipartisan group of lawmakers. The proposal would move primary elections from March, to as late as the second week in September, with general elections continuing to be held in November.
Philip said he would like to see the action taken as a one-time experiment during the presidential election in 2000. Lawmakers then would review the success of the move and decide whether to make it permanent.
Philip said he thinks the plan could cut campaign costs by reducing the time between primary and general elections.
The reform package being crafted by legislators and a think tank Simon leads at Southern Illinois University, could be unveiled as early as this week. It could include limits on the personal use of campaign funds as well as limits on gifts politicians can accept.
Officials working with the group say the proposal to move the primary date has been discussed during negotiations.
“Our sense was that it might be too controversial to gain approval in the legislature in this session,” said Mike Lawrence, a one-time press secretary to Republican Gov. Jim Edgar who now works with Simon.
The House has always opposed proposals to change the primary date “for a variety of reasons,” said Madigan spokesman Steve Brown. “Attaching a primary date change is something we think will weigh (the reform package) down” during the current session.
When that proposal now being drafted does become public, it likely will include restrictions on fundraising in Springfield, with exceptions for local lawmakers and their challengers; tighter rules for disclosing last-minute donations before elections; and requirements that a big donor’s employer and occupation be disclosed.
