You can’t vote for or against Mr. Moneybags, but he’s still very much in every single race in this election. The race for votes–following the principle of one person, one vote–is ultimately what counts in every contest on the ballot. But the outcome of each is profoundly shaped by the money race–which follows the principle of one dollar, one vote.
Illinois campaign-finance laws prohibit outright bribery but otherwise place few limitations on candidates. Some of Ryan’s campaign strategies would be prohibited in other states. A St. Louis Post-Dispatch analysis of fund-raising through the end of June shows that Ryan had raised $868,000–around one-tenth of his fund-raising at that point–from state employees over the past four years, nearly all from workers in his office. They may not have all have given freely. “Having worked in state government,” says Larry Hansen, a Joyce Foundation expert on campaign finance, “I have some understanding of that culture. I know it’s difficult to resist a superior’s suggestion that you buy tickets for a dinner or some affair.”
Still, many state campaign reformers credit Poshard with a well-intentioned, honest effort. “You’re trying to break the direct linkage,” Redfield says. “I think that’s clearly what Poshard has in mind–he thinks that makes him more independent. I have no doubt of his sincerity.” But it has raised doubts about the wisdom of unilateral disarmament in the political money war.
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And there’s a starker difference. A recent report by the auditor general concluded that Illinois pays more to build roads than the average midwestern state, spending $896 million in 1996, not counting the large budget of the tollway authority. The auditor general found that “a lack of competition” was partly to blame. The 783 competitively bid contracts came in nearly 11 percent below estimates–but the 106 single-bid contracts were nearly 1 percent higher than the estimates. If the single-bid contracts had followed the pattern of the competitive bids, the state would have saved $8.9 million. Ryan has expressed concern and promised to review all state programs, but had no opinion on the single-bid contracts. Poshard has proposed moving “aggressively to reform both procedures and designs to bring our highway costs into line….We should not hesitate to demand [greater accountability] from our highway engineers and contractors.” He also promises to look for ways to eliminate single-bid contracts. That attitude might have cost him a few contributions.
It’s often difficult to see that a campaign contribution has influenced a specific vote. In 1996 Illinois Senate president James “Pate” Philip, a major recipient of gambling-interest contributions, killed Governor Jim Edgar’s well-received proposal to increase taxes on riverboat casinos to pay for education. But Edgar too had received gambling-industry contributions.
These figures cover only organizational contributions. In Illinois it isn’t yet possible to break down smaller contributions according to likely interests, but stricter federal reporting requirements make it possible to identify the occupation and employer of contributors of more than $200. (Contributions of less than $200 account for about one-fifth of the average budget of victorious federal candidates; larger individual contributions account for 30 to 40 percent of most campaigns.) The Center for Responsive Politics compiled contribution data on individuals, business firms, and political action committees and concluded that so far in the 1997-’98 election cycle, business has contributed $460 million to federal candidates and political parties, and labor has contributed $39 million. That gives business a 12 to one advantage over labor.
