A former Illinois attorney who lives in Texas and two PACs have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Chicago challenging the recently passed restrictions on political contributions on judicial candidates.

The lawsuit argues that the prohibitions on a candidate political committee established to support or oppose a candidate seeking nomination to the Supreme Court, Appellate Court, or Circuit Court from accepting contributions from any entity that does not disclose the identity of those who make contributions to the entity, and from accepting contributions from any out-of-state person violate free-speech rights established in the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Citizens United decision, which opened the door to unlimited political contributions.

Filed by the conservative Liberty Justice Center on behalf of John Matthew Chancey, Fair Courts America and Restoration PAC three months before an election for two state Supreme Court races, the lawsuit asks the federal court to grant a preliminary injunction blocking the restrictions and to overturn them as unconstitutional.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed Amendment to House Bill 716, requiring judicial candidate committees to report all persons who have contributed in excess of $500 to the committee if received from any committee, association or group not required to disclose its contributors.

Any political committee that receives such a contribution and fails to report this information must forward the contribution amount immediately to the State Treasurer.

The bill also prohibits self-funding political committees and independent expenditure committees established to support or oppose a state judicial candidate from accepting contributions from any single person, other than the candidate or the candidate’s immediate family, in a cumulative amount exceeding $500,000 in any election cycle.

The bill is effective immediately and applies to judicial elections this year.

Illinois lawmakers adjourned sine die early Saturday morning after passing a bill limiting contributions to judicial self-funding political committees and independent expenditure committees.

Amendment to House Bill 716 prohibits self-funding political committees and independent expenditure committees established to support or oppose a state judicial candidate from accepting contributions from any single person, other than the candidate or the candidate’s immediate family, in a cumulative amount exceeding $500,000 in any election cycle.

Supporters of the bill argue this does not conflict with federal law established in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission because the state’s interest in preserving public confidence in the integrity of its judiciary extends beyond its interest in preventing the appearance of corruption in non-judicial elections.

If Governor Pritzker signs the bill, it will become effective immediately and would apply to judicial elections this year.

The DuPage County Board passed an ordinance to repeal the county’s lobbying ordinance.

Ordinance FI-O-0014-22 repeals Chapter 2, Article IX, Section 2-600 of the DuPage County Code in recognition of Illinois Public Act 102-0664.

The act requires state registration under the Lobbyist Registration Act by persons lobbying local officials in counties, townships, and municipalities.

The act preempts and supersedes all existing laws and ordinances inconsistent with the act, except in Chicago.

The Illinois General Assembly has canceled in-person work for a second week due to COVID-19 concerns.

Of the nine scheduled session days, eight have now been pushed to remote.

Committee meetings can still be viewed by the public on the Legislature’s website.

The Illinois Legislature canceled two of the three days scheduled this week and may cancel the session for next week due to a spike in daily average of COVID-19 cases.

House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch announced the House and Senate will not meet January 4 or January 6 and will convene only on Wednesday for organizational purposes and to empower committees to meet and vote remotely.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

The Cook County, Illinois Board of Commissioners passed a substitute ordinance amending the County Ethics Ordinance on December 16.

The substitute ordinance updates many sections of the ethics code and includes provisions acknowledging registration for lobbying in Cook County will only be filed with the state beginning on January 1, 2022.

The definition of official is amended include any individual elected or appointed to a county office, regardless of whether the individual official is compensated.

Contribution limits are increased for persons doing business with the county from $750 to $1,500 in a calendar year to any local, state, or federal political committee established in support of a candidate for county office or an elected county official.

Officials, employees, and board or commission appointees are prohibited from accepting employment for a period of 364 calendar days following their term of office or employment from any person if the official, employee, or appointee participated personally and substantially in the decision to award a contract with a value of more than $15,000.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation prohibiting dark money contributions to judicial candidates.

Effective immediately, Senate Bill 536 prohibits a political committee established to support a state judicial candidate from accepting contributions from any out-of-state person and from any entity that does not disclose the identity of all donors to the entity.

The bill also prohibits any entity that does not disclose the identity of all donors from financing a distribution or broadcast of campaign materials prepared by the candidate, his or her campaign committee, or designated agents.

The bill also increases the threshold for which contributions to a conduit must be itemized from $500 to $1,000.

The Illinois House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 539 with the amendatory veto issued by Gov. JB Pritzker.

The bill passed along party lines in a vote taken September 9, after it was rejected in an earlier vote last week.

The bill, which now goes back to Pritzker for his signature, expands state lobbyist registration requirements to the local level; prohibits all fundraising statewide during legislative sessions; expands revolving door restrictions; and requires certain consultants hired by a lobbyist or lobbying entity to register and report.

If signed, the bill will be effective January 1, 2022. 

The Illinois House of Representatives has returned to Springfield for a special session starting at noon today to consider urgent energy legislation and vote on the amendatory veto of Senate Bill 539 issued by Gov. JB Pritzker in August.

The Senate adopted the change on August 31, but the House rejected the change with a vote taken late in the evening after some members had left the session.

The bill expands state lobbyist registration requirements to the local level; prohibits all fundraising statewide during legislative sessions; expands revolving door restrictions; and requires certain consultants hired by a lobbyist or lobbying entity to register and report.

If the Amendatory Veto is accepted the bill will be effective January 1, 2022. 

Illinois State House lawmakers killed an ethics omnibus bill by rejecting the Amendatory Veto of Senate Bill 539 issued by Gov. JB Pritzker last week.

The requested amendment was a minor change to the bill to keep the current process regarding ethics investigations.

The Senate adopted the change, but the House, which had passed the bill by a vote of 113 to 5, rejected the change by a vote of 59 to 35.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker issued an amendatory veto of Senate Bill 539 lawmakers requested to maintain the current process regarding ethics investigations.

Pritzker pledged to certify the bill once the amendatory veto passes the Legislature.

The bill expands state lobbyist registration requirements to the local level; prohibits all fundraising statewide during legislative sessions; expands revolving door restrictions; and requires certain consultants hired by a lobbyist or lobbying entity to register and report.

If signed, the bill will be effective January 1, 2022.

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and Senate President Don Harmon issued a joint proclamation calling on the Legislature to convene on August 31 for a one-day special session to make changes in the new state legislative district map after official 2020 population numbers were released last week by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The House and Senate approved the state legislative map on May 28 with only Democratic votes, and Gov. JB Pritzker signed the map into law on June 4.

Republicans have filed a lawsuit in federal court to invalidate the map and give the redistricting commission remapping authority, claiming if a valid redistricting plan with the full force and effect of law was not completed by June 30, the Illinois Constitution shifts the responsibility for drafting a plan from the General Assembly to a redistricting commission.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation changing the vendor disclosure due date.

Effective immediately, Senate Bill 581 requires the Vendor Payment Program financial backer disclosure to be filed on August 1 of each year for the previous fiscal year.

The former deadline was July 1.