Thanks to Howie Klein at http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com for allowing me to share my views on campaign finance reform.
Continuing the Fight for Campaign Finance Reform
by Illinois State Senator Mike Noland
Our Congress is deadlocked; Washington is in a constant rut unable to pass even the smallest pieces of meaningful legislation. I believe that the root cause of this gridlock is our unregulated system of campaign financing. This current system makes candidates work for the highest bidder who can support their next campaign and not the voters who send them to Washington.
When I was first elected to the Illinois State Senate in 2006 there were NO LIMITS on how much could be donated to a candidate running for office.
My first campaign for the State Senate was one of the most expensive contests during that cycle. As the race heated up, both sides began to dump hundreds-of-thousands of dollars worth of mail, television advertising, and unregulated cash into my race. While I was happy to accept the cash from the Senate President, I knew that there would be strings attached, down the road.
It did not take me long to, realize how damaging Illinois’ unregulated campaign finance system was to our elected representatives, so I stood up and began to work to fix it.
You can read the whole blog by clicking here.
About Mike Noland
Mike is an Illinois State Senator, first elected in 2006. He has been one of the most progressive members of the Senate and is exploring a run for Congress in IL-8 as a populist Democrat focused on economic recovery, ethics reform, and fighting for universal health care. You can follow him on Twitter @noland4congress and Facebook at facebook.com/nolandforcongress.