In August of 2016, more than 563,000 Illinois voters signed a petition for a ballot initiative that many hoped would end partisan gerrymandering in the Land of Lincoln. The Illinois State Supreme Court quickly dashed those hopes when it struck down the ballot initiative as unconstitutional. The ruling affirms the Illinois constitution’s, exceptionally limited scope of potential ballot initiatives. This ruling has implications far beyond gerrymandering: this decision limits the potential for future ballot initiatives in Illinois, and thus the resolution of many of the state’s thorniest issues..
Illinois Supreme Court
Campaign Contributions Playing Increasing Role in Illinois Judicial Elections
By Carl Zielinski
Although previously thought above the campaign tactics of the political branches, in recent years, judicial elections have become the most recent political dark money battleground. Judicial races are considered “low-information,” in that voters are often unfamiliar with specific candidates; advertisements against one of a judge’s past opinions could constitute all a potential voter knows about a given candidate. In this way, a comparatively small amount of money can play a significant role in a judicial election. [Read more…] about Campaign Contributions Playing Increasing Role in Illinois Judicial Elections