04/1/2014
Matt Dietrich
Two weeks ago I combed through Illinois Board of Elections records to note some big names who had written big checks to Yes for Independent Maps, the group trying to get a constitutional amendment on the November ballot to get politicians out of the legislative map-making process.
Among those names was former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, who kicked in $100,000.
On Friday Yes for Independent Maps logged another big donation, this one from former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg’s $500,000 is the largest single donation recorded so far.
Two weeks earlier, the organization had filed a report with the Illinois State Board of Elections that contained several five-figure donations from prominent political players and organizations.
Yes for Independent Maps is expected to announce this week that it has met the requirement of getting nearly 300,000 signatures to put a constitutional amendment for redistricting reform before voters in November. We’ll have more when that announcement comes.
See who’s supporting the redistricting reform effort financially.
Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel thinks we need to reform the current redistricting system.
And so do some GOP political candidates.
Even Jon Stewart and the Daily Show have noticed Illinois’ strange way of drawing maps.
Matthew Dietrich is Reboot’s executive editor. An award-winning journalist, Dietrich is the former editorial page editor of the State Journal Register in Springfield. He believes in holding our politicians accountable. Read Dietrich’s take on the leadership vacuum that sent Illinois sinking. You can find Reboot on Facebook and on Twitter @rebootillinois.