Public opinion research shows that most Americans believe there is a serious problem with money in elections. But they’re cynical about the chances of cleansing politics of big money. And with the current U.S. Supreme Court majority equating campaign contributions with free speech, efforts to reduce the impact of big money by simply trying to impose caps on big donations aren’t likely to succeed anyway (at least not in the absence of a constitutional amendment, which is not likely to happen anytime soon).

We’re left with a situation in which politicians are likely going to pay more attention to the concerns and desires of their funders than to the interests of the mainstream voter. If political realities and Supreme Court rulings make it unlikely we’ll reduce the impact of big money, we need to look at increasing the impact of small money from local sources.

How about a campaign financing system in which we make it possible for serious candidates who are not independently wealthy to run competitive campaigns without having to become indebted to special interests in order to do so?

Such a system exists: financing municipal campaigns by increasing the impact of small donations with matching public and/or private funds. It’s been used in New York for several years and is being tried in municipalities large and small across the country.

If ever there were a state ripe for reform, it’s Illinois. And by adopting this kind of campaign financing system, Oak Park has an opportunity to not only help promote more participation and greater voter engagement in municipal elections, but also help lead the way in Illinois on an important policy reform, as it has with fair housing and marriage equality.

In a small-donor matching system, candidates who are able to reach a designated threshold in small contributions become eligible to have those funds matched, up to a maximum amount. There is a range of options for the match, along the continuum of entirely private donations to public funds from the municipal budget.

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For more background information on creating a fair campaign financing system in Illinois, check out the link below:

ICPR Background on Small Donor Matching

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