May 27, 2008

Long-awaited pay-to-play reforms, greater protections for domestic violence victims and new tools for law enforcement to go after Internet criminals were among dozens of measures taken up by the Senate as they worked toward a planned end-of-May conclusion, according to 58^th district State Senator Dave Luechtefeld.

As Illinois legislators attempt to wrap up the 2008 session by the May 29 deadline, Senate Republicans were also busy on May 22, during the first-ever Veterans Recognition Day at the State Capitol.

More than 230 Illinois veterans and their family members came to Springfield for a day of seminars and meetings with state lawmakers. Senator Luechtefeld explained that the event was a special day set aside to honor the veterans, their families and the sacrifices they have made for Illinois and the nation.

In other news, after a year of negotiations the Illinois Senate unanimously approved House Bill 824, campaign contribution reform legislation that would ban campaign contributions from contractors to the statewide officeholder responsible for awarding that contract, as well as declared candidates for the office that would award the contract to the donor.

If approved by Illinois representatives and signed into law, House Bill 824 will also require businesses with state contracts to register with the State Board of Elections, which would create a searchable database linking the businesses names to disclosures of all their contributions to political committees. Any incomplete or falsified filings would be a criminal offense, punishable by a fine.