Tell your Alderman to support Fair Election Illinois

Our campaign finance system is broken and does not serve the interests of the American people. The result is that, all too often, lobbyists and large special interests determine who is elected and affecting public policy decisions, over the needs of the people of Illinois. That is why Common Cause Illinois has launched a new campaign, Fair Elections Illinois, advocating for the City of Chicago to establish a small donor match campaign finance system, similar to New York City’s system. An increase in small donors in electoral campaigns decreases the reliance on large special interests, enables a diverse pool of candidates, and increases political participation and the impact of small donors - especially in low-income communities. Under New York’s system, previously disenfranchised communities achieved long-sought reforms on paid sick leave and a domestic workers' bill of rights. During this first phase of Fair Elections Illinois, we successfully placed the following advisory question on the February 24 City ballot:

"Should the City of Chicago or the State of Illinois reduce the influence of big special interest money in our elections by financing campaigns using small contributions from individuals and a limited amount of public funds?"