And now a word from your Illinois House Republican caucus...

As you know, this year we have heard a renewed call for ethics reform following the arrest, indictment and impeachment of former Governor Rod Blagojevich. For months, reform groups have been working tirelessly to clean up the political landscape in Illinois, and to regain the public's trust in government by developing real reforms. Unfortunately, this week Speaker Michael Madigan flexed his political muscle by passing flimsy campaign finance legislation that does not truly reform the system.

Senate Bill 1466 includes campaign contribution caps for individuals, corporations, unions and political action committees. However, the bill does not limit contributions from a political party or a leader PAC to a candidate during the general election cycle. Parties and legislative leaders will remain free to give unlimited campaign cash to their preferred candidates.

House Republicans filed an amendment to extend the contribution caps to the general election, but our pleas fell on deaf ears. The money that controls the campaign playing field is a powerful source of control used by legislative leaders to recruit and train rookie politicians into loyal members. The very men who control the political system and the legislature in Illinois wrote this law to protect their own interests.

The money spent during a primary election pales in comparison to the cash shelled out during the general election. For example, the Democratic Party of Illinois spends 40 times more on General Election campaigns than it does on Primary Elections.

House Republicans have sent a letter to Governor Quinn asking him to put people above politics by using his amendatory veto power to ensure that this campaign finance legislation brings about real reforms and places caps on party bosses and legislative leaders during BOTH the primary and general election. We remain hopeful that he will do the right thing.

We had a real opportunity for reform, but we doubt the people of Illinois will be surprised to hear that the "reform" proposal was negotiated behind closed doors by the Governor and the Democratic Legislative Leaders. The end result? They become even more powerful.

After all that Illinois residents have been through, we are deeply disappointed that the Democrats refused to regain the public's trust with real reform. The people of this state deserve better. We are committed to rebuilding Illinois' reputation for political corruption, and we will continue to advocate for real campaign finance reform.