To subscribe to Capitol Fax, click here. Kennedy unveils “government reform agenda” Thursday, Oct 19, 2017 * Press release… Chris Kennedy, Democratic candidate for governor, and his running mate, Ra Joy, presented their government reform agenda today to prevent the destruction of democracy in Illinois. During a speech where he outlined a range of policies, Kennedy cited the need to restore faith in government by not letting, “Crony capitalists infiltrate our party and betray the democratic activists who have always made up the mosaic-like fabric of our party. “With millions of dollars flowing into campaigns for Illinois Republicans from just two or three donor families, like the Rauners, Ken Griffin and the Uhlines, the Democrats have become desperate. “Democrats now believe that to compete, they must adopt the same behavior as those who have oppressed us. We are mimicking behavior that we abhor. Just as debilitating behavior can be passed from one person to another, so too can self-destructive traits be passed from one party to another. “A small group of billionaires has realized that, if they can control the government, then they can reap massive financial benefits at the expense of everyone else.” Kennedy and Joy’s plan includes the following five priority areas to increase voter registration and voter turnout, implement campaign finance reform and campaign reform, and improve the Democratic Party and the political system: Voter Empowerment * Increase voter registration by fully implementing automatic voter registration and supporting the infrastructure and appropriate staff levels to guarantee same-day voter registration at every voting site.

* Increase staffing at early voter sites making it easier to vote and less time consuming.

* Move primaries to a more hospitable month, like May or June.

* Align the Illinois gubernatorial election with the presidential election year cycle.

* Align municipal races with midterm congressional elections. Direct Democracy * Adopt direct democracy by pursuing a constitutional amendment that will allow voters to make major decisions by ballot initiative or referendum. Campaign Reform * Draw fair maps so voters can choose their elected officials instead of elected officials choosing their voters.

* Institute term limits for statewide office, including the governor, to end the stagnation and careerism that plague our government.

* Support elected school boards. Campaign Finance Reform * Ban political parties from making contributions to any candidate during a primary election.

* Create a small-dollar donor matching system in Illinois that allows campaigns to raise a majority of their funds from small dollar donors to compete with the campaigns financed by special interests, crony capitalist donors, and suppliers. Conflicts and Corruption * Put a year-long ban on the revolving door that allows elected officials to go into private practice and lobby that same office, just like their employees are subject to.

* Ban property tax lawyers from making contributions to local assessors or to the assessors’ political organizations or even to political parties that have a hand in slating these political candidates.

* Ban family members from working as lobbyists and agents before elected officials from their own family.

* Separate party leadership roles from elected official roles.

* Create an Inspector General role that is responsible for ensuring that the legislature follows these rules. “If we can fix the way the system itself works, we can get good people into office who can make the other necessary reforms,” Ra Joy said. “To stem the rising power of oligarchic big money in our elections and the increasingly unrepresentative nature of our institutions, we must pursue these reforms.” The campaign’s government reform policy speech is part of a series of policy speeches intended to cover a range of topics and plans that will help bring lasting change and move Illinois forward. Over the summer, Kennedy spoke about ways to end the state’s property tax racket and he presented an eight-point plan to address the scourge of gun violence throughout the state. Chris Kennedy is a Democratic candidate for Illinois Governor, who ran the Merchandise Mart and is currently leading a privately-financed construction project that is bringing 2,000 jobs to Illinois. Along with his wife, Sheila, he founded Top Box Foods, a community-based nonprofit that offers healthy food at affordable prices. Previously, he served as chairman of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. Chris is the son of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy and is the eighth of their eleven children. He and his wife have four children and reside in suburban Chicago. Some of that is good, if not particularly new. But having the primary during or just after spring legislative session would not be a good idea. Legislators could wind up falling all over themselves to please the PACs while they’re taking final action votes. Also, banning political parties from contributing to primary candidates seems fruitless because they’ll just get around it another way. Money is fungible. Putting statewide races on the same schedule as presidential cycles would be great for Democrats. I’m not sure Republicans would love it here, though. Anyway, do you have any other thoughts on these proposals? - Posted by Rich Miller

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