(of the Illinois Campaign Finance Task Force as stated in the Simon-Stratton Report)

Giving money to political campaigns is an American tradition, a valid way for citizens to participate in the electoral process, and should be encouraged.

Improving the accountability of candidates and officials through greater disclosure of contributions and expenditures should be the first priority for Illinois.

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Great care should be taken to ensure that campaign finance laws do not hinder the candidates’ ability to remain competitive as money is needed to conduct their campaigns.

Election campaigns should provide the widest possible dissemination of information about candidates and issues.

The role of political parties in the electoral process, including new parties commonly called third parties, should not be weakened by changes in the law.

The cost of elections should not be a major barrier to running an effective campaign in Illinois, especially for challengers.

Access to officials should not be determined by large contributions to political campaigns, and contributions should not be of such magnitude that they appear to control officials’ behavior.

As an enormous flow of money under legislative leaders’ control undermines the principle of representation and reduces flexibility in policy discussion and formulation in the legislature, sources of funds raised and spent by candidates should be diversified so that elected officials are not unduly influenced by large contributions from a fewer sources.

Campaign funds should be exclusively for campaign purposes, not personal use. Officials should not be allowed to take campaign contributions with them for personal use after they leave office.

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Adequate authority, funding and resources, including staff and technology and sufficient enforcement powers should be allocated to the agency or agencies given the responsibility of administering campaign finance laws.