We have 20 questions for the candidates... but this isn’t a game.
Given our state’s sorry history of government corruption – documented most recently during the Blagojevich trial – it’s imperative that candidates tell voters now what they promise to do to change politics and government in Illinois.
The CHANGE Illinois! coalition has asked all candidates for Governor and the General Assembly to answer 20 straightforward questions on government and election reform.
We have 20 questions on a wide range of issues, including ballot access, judicial selection, campaign contribution limits, transparency, lobbying, disclosure, and redistricting. Our questions seek a simple “yes,” “no” or “undecided” answer.
Read the answers from all of the candidates here.
TAKE ACTION – URGE CANDIDATES TO ANSWER QUESTIONS
Here is a sample of a letter you can send to candidates urging them to answer all 20 questions on the CHANGE Illinois! questionnaire. And here is a list of all the candidates who have not yet responded, please contact them and tell them how important this is to you.
READ THE QUESTIONNAIRE
Click here to read the 20 questions. This questionnaire has been developed the with help of the Better Government Association, Business and Professional People for the Public Interest (BPI), Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice, Citizen Advocacy Center, Common Cause Illinois, Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, Illinois Public Interest Research Group, and Protestants for the Common Good.
SEE THE COVER LETTER
The co-chairs of CHANGE Illinois! and the eight major reform groups sent a letter to all candidates for governor and all candidates for the General Assembly. Click here to read the letter.
READ THE PRESS RELEASE
The coalition sent Illinois news media outlets information about our projects. View the August 30 press release here.
READ WHAT NEWSPAPERS ARE TELLING CANDIDATES ABOUT THE 20 QUESTIONS
Newspaper editorials are urging candidates to answer the 20 questions from CHANGE Illinois!
- Read The State Journal-Register here
- Read The Moline Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus here
- Read The Southern Illinoisan here
SEE WEBSITE LINKS TO BACKGROUND OF ISSUES
To help candidates learn more about reform issues, CHANGE Illinois! is providing website links to more information about the topic of each of the 20 questions. Find the links here.
NEWSLETTER COPY FOR MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS
CHANGE Illinois! members click here for sample newsletter copy.
Organizations and individuals in the CHANGE Illinois! coalition hold a range of positions on issues of importance to Illinois. The coalition as a whole supports expanding the enacted limits to include contributions by legislative leaders and political parties to candidates in the general election, and it supports increased transparency and public involvement as the boundary lines for legislative districts are adjusted following the 2010 Census. Some members of the coalition have taken positions on other issues covered in the questionnaire, but the coalition as a whole has not taken positions on topics of the other survey questions.
