CHANGE Illinois! has 20 questions for governor and General Assembly candidates

The CHANGE Illinois! coalition issued 20 questions ranging from campaign finance to redistricting to each candidate for governor and the General Assembly.

The 20 questions fall into five categories: campaign finance, lobbying, elections and voting, disclosure and redistricting, according to the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.

The reform activists and the CHANGE Illinois! member organizations will press all of the candidates to answer all of the questions, and voters will be able to view and compare candidate responses at www.ChangeIL.org well before the Nov. 2 general election. The website also will highlight the candidates NOT answering all of the questions.

“With one ex-governor in prison and a second one recently convicted, the people of Illinois want to know what the candidates for public office propose to do to restore faith in our government,” said Peter Bensinger, a CHANGE Illinois! co-chair and a former Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. “If you want to represent us in Springfield, you should be willing and able to answer these questions and follow through, if elected.”

The questionnaire was developed with the help of the following reform organizations: Better Government Association, Business and Professional People for the Public Interest, Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice, Citizen Advocacy Center, Common Cause Illinois, Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, Illinois Public Interest Research Group, and Protestants for the Common Good.

Read the 20 questions here.