Springfield . . . Lawmakers acted on a number of issues during the final week of the Fall Veto Session, but State Sen. Kyle McCarter (R-Lebanon) said the most anticipated bill to be considered during the Veto Session – campaign finance reform – ultimately fell short of its goal of real reform.

Republican legislators joined editorial boards across the state in criticizing Senate Bill 1466, which they say doesn’t go far enough.  Although the legislation would impose Illinois’ first-ever contribution limits on individuals, businesses and special-interest groups, the donations by political leaders’ and political leadership committees would only be limited during primary elections—allowing for unlimited spending during the general election.

Senator McCarter expressed support for the contribution limits included in the bill, as well as more stringent transparency and disclosure measures, but said the measure as approved essentially gives unlimited power to the legislative leaders through unlimited contributions in both cash and in-kind contributions.

McCarter said he prefers a tougher measure, Senate Bill 2457,  that he is sponsoring, which reflects the full recommendations made by an independent ethics reform task force.

“The bill that passed the Senate and House this week falls very short of the real reform the people of Illinois demand and deserve,” said McCarter.  “I will continue to push for real campaign finance reform in the upcoming spring session, which starts in January.”

Also this week, Senate Republicans said it’s time to take action on reforming the way legislative district boundaries are drawn.  McCarter and his colleagues said gerrymandering, the drawing of districts in a politically partisan way to maintain power, must end.  After four separate public statewide hearings on issue, McCarter said lawmakers need to step forward and embrace the reform suggestions advanced by expert witnesses and Illinois citizens.

Although ideas for reform varied, several key principles emerged from the hearings:

• Politicians should not be in charge of drawing the maps;
• Maps should not be drawn based on where the incumbent legislator lives;
• When the partisan voting history of district residents is used to draw maps, it discourages competition and reduces voter choice; and
• The process should be open and transparent.

The Republican senators stressed it’s important not to be misled by false reforms that continue to allow politicians to draw the legislative boundaries.  Some reform measures that have been advanced would simply increase the number of votes necessary to approve a map but, McCarter said that would not address the current problems of influence, incumbency protection and corruption that currently taint the state’s redistricting process.

In other business, Gov. Pat Quinn announced this week that he wants to borrow an additional $900 million because the state is months behind in bill payments. Although he would not need legislative approval for the borrowing, he would need the Comptroller and Treasurer to sign off on the plan.

The governor says that the money is needed to keep state government services and programs functioning as normal, as well as to finance the Monetary Assistance Program (MAP), which provides college scholarships to Illinois students.

Senate Republicans say that borrowing revenue is a short-term solution to a much larger problem, noting that Illinois should reduce state spending before borrowing even more money. The state already borrowed more than $2 billion recently for a short-term infusion of cash to pay bills and finance general state spending.