Between when Rahm Emanuel announced he would be departing the White House in late September and the end of 2010, 25 Evanston residents have contributed a combined total of more than $200,000 to his Chicago mayoral campaign. Had some of those local donors – many of whom waited until the final days of the year – delayed their contributions until the New Year, their campaign dollars would have been swiftly declined.
That’s because more than 85 percent of Evanston’s 2010 contributions to Emanuel’s campaign would have been declared illegal under the state’s new 2011 campaign finance reform legislation. Senate Bill 1466, which caps individual donations at $5,000 and businesses and organizations at $10,000, is being practiced for the first time in one of Chicago’s most publicized mayoral races of all time.
The new restrictions are essential in a political climate notorious for its corruption, especially in the wake of the 2008 scandal that ended in then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s ouster, said Steve Brown, state House Speaker Michael Madigan’s press secretary. Madigan, along with 22 other Illinois legislators, co-sponsored the legislation. The bill passed both houses Oct. 30. It was signed by the governor on Dec. 9 and went into effect Jan. 1.
“The Speaker thought that those were reasonable laws needed to be put on the books to restore public confidence,” Brown said.
He added that state lawmakers consulted past campaigns, other states’ electoral statutes and “what people view as a large donation – or what could influence decision-making” when setting the new limits. Brown also specified that “99 percent of the time” political contributions have no effect on a candidate’s priorities.
“$5,000 and $10,000 are reasonable numbers in this day and age,” Brown said.
Emanuel’s biggest donor from Evanston contributed two donations for $50,000 in October and December 2010.
Another Evanston donor, Marjorie Benton, the philanthropist who co-founded the Chicago Foundation For Women, agreed that the tweaked sums are necessary. She donated $5,000 to Emanuel’s mayoral campaign in December, just 22 days before her contribution would have been considered “maxed out.”
“I try to stay well within what the regulations are,” Benton said. “I just do what is right.”
She added that she was proactively aware of the upcoming campaign finance reform, and that reality did factor into her dollar quantity.
“I would like to see limits on all campaign spending,” she said. “Money is very corrupting.”
But not every Emanuel supporter was fully informed about the impending limits at the time of their contribution. David Hodgman, a law partner at Chicago-based Schiff Hardin LLP who lives in Evanston, said he obliged in early December when a close friend requested that he donate $1,500 to the Emanuel campaign. He recalled signing a disclosure form that stated current contribution limits but did not realize such standards would change in a month.
“I did it more to be respectful of my friend than (because of) a deep-felt preference for Rahm,” he said. “Though I strongly favor disclosure and limitations on the topic.”
Multiple phone calls left with representatives for the Emanuel, Chico, Braun and del Valle mayoral campaigns were not immediately returned.
