Illinois General Assembly Passes Comprehensive Regulations For Campaign Finance

New Campaign Contribution Limits

The new law, Public Act 96-0832 substantially overhauls regulation of the campaign finance process in Illinois and adopts the state's first general contribution limits. Now that Gov. Quinn has signed the bill, many changes to registration and disclosure requirements will become effective on July 1, 2010; others, along with the campaign contribution limits set forth below, will become effective on January 1, 2011.

Public Act 96-0832 differentiates types of political committees based on whether their purpose is to support a candidate, a political party, or a ballot initiative. An individual may be subject to filing and disclosure obligations if he or she meets threshold tests. The new law requires political committees to record all contributions, regardless of amount, and to disclose the identity of certain people who have collected contributions on behalf of the committee.