Litigation

Court Rejects Challenge to IL Disclosure Law

By Peter Hardin

A federal judge has rejected a motion by a Virginia-based group seeking to block enforcement of Illinois election laws that require public disclosure of campaign spending and contributions.

U.S. District Judge William Hart turned down the bid by the Center for Individual Freedom, a conservative, nonprofit advocacy group that has been a significant spender in state judicial elections.

The Center pumped big dollars into state Supreme Court campaigns in Pennsylvania and Alabama in 2007 and 2008, according to a Chicago Tribune article.

For background, the newspaper drew on data from a recently published Justice at Stake Campaign report entitled ?The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2000-2009: Decade of Change.? Co-authoring the report were the Brennan Center for Justice, the National Institute on Money in State Politics and Hofstra University law professor James Sample (see Gavel Grab posts).

The Center challenged Illinois’ disclosure rules as discriminatory, saying labor unions were exempted from the reporting requirements imposed on other nonprofits. Judge Hart, however, said that exception did not matter, for the Center faced the same disclosure rules as a political committee.

“People can express whatever views they have, but it’s important for voters to know where those views are coming from and who’s paying for them,” said Cynthia Canary, executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. Her group is a partner of Justice at Stake, and Canary sits on the JAS board of directors.

The Tribune article suggested that the Center may be interested in a retention (up-or-down) election this year involving state Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride, who has become a target for conservative activists.

Full post as published by The Gavel on September 03, 2010 (boomark / email).