Pritzker signs election bill to increase party power in primary
elections
Send a link to a friend
[July 03, 2024]
By ANDREW ADAMS
Capitol News Illinois
aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com
Changes to primary election fundraising, the electoral college and the
state’s voter registration database are now law after Gov. JB Pritzker
signed a wide-ranging bill on Monday.
The legislation, containing several unrelated election measures, passed
near the end of the legislature’s spring session on a vote of 68-38 in
the House and 51-3 in the Senate.
A measure loosening restrictions on political parties’ spending during
primary campaigns sparked pushback from some House Republicans during
debate of the bill.
Under the new law, parties will be allowed to transfer an unlimited
amount of funds to candidates during primary elections. In previous
elections, parties were limited in the amount of money they could give
candidates based on the office they sought. That provision was put in
place in 2009 as part of a reform campaign by then-Gov. Pat Quinn, who
took office after his predecessor, Rod Blagojevich, was removed from
office following a corruption scandal.
The measure comes after several primary elections earlier this year
where House Speaker Chris Welch sided with challengers over incumbents
of his own party. In the Senate, a party-backed candidate also lost
their primary election. Appointed Sen. Natalie Toro, D-Chicago, lost to
progressive challenger Graciela Guzman.
Critics, including campaign finance advocacy group Reform for Illinois,
said the measure could lead to legislative leaders’ centralizing their
power over lawmakers while also making elections more expensive.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Jul/03/images/ads/current/ldn_lda_BUSDIRCOVER_2024.png)
Another provision in the bill would change how the state handles the
electors it sends to the electoral college during presidential
elections. Under the new law, electors – those who actually cast
Illinois’ votes for president – would be required to vote for the
presidential candidate that won the state’s presidential election.
Previously, electors were not legally bound to vote for the winner of
the popular vote and could instead act as a “faithless elector,” casting
their vote for another candidate.
While unprecedented in Illinois, several electors elsewhere have voted
against their state’s winner in recent elections. In 2016, seven of the
538 electors successfully voted against their state’s winner. Three
others also voted faithlessly, although their votes were invalidated.
Illinois law will require electors to sign a pledge to vote faithfully
and, if they don’t, they would be immediately replaced with an alternate
who also signed a pledge to vote in accordance with the popular vote.
The measure was based on model legislation that has been adopted in 12
other states. Illinois is now the 34th state that bars faithless
electors. While some states impose a penalty while still counting the
vote, Illinois will not count faithless electoral college votes.
The newly signed law also contains a provision crafted in response to a
situation where voters’ home addresses and birthdays were published on a
network of conservative websites.
Local Government Information Services, a company backed by conservative
operatives Dan Proft and Brian Timpone, published voter information
earlier this year and was quickly sued by Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul’s office.
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/070324PIX/news_b3.jpg)
A voting booth is pictured in Sangamon County. (Capitol News
Illinois photo by Andrew Campbell)
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Jul/03/images/ads/current/bennet_lda_010722.png)
The law now explicitly says that voter registration data cannot be used
for “any personal, private, or commercial purpose, including, but not
limited to, the intimidation, threat, or deception of any person or the
advertising, solicitation, sale, or marketing of products or services.”
Proft was recently the subject of a Democratic Party complaint alleging
he and his political action committee illegally coordinated with
then-candidate for governor Darren Bailey. That complaint, the first
such challenge to be considered by the Illinois State Board of
Elections, was ultimately dismissed.
Medical debt relief, other newly signed laws
Pritzker has signed more than 50 bills this week, including a pair aimed
at reducing the harmful effects of medical debt.
One measure establishes a program first outlined in the governor’s
annual budget address to spend $10 million of state funds to purchase
Illinoisans’ delinquent medical debt. The governor’s office said the
program will forgive approximately $1 billion in personally held debt.
Medical debt holders in Illinois are eligible for the program if they
have a household income less than four times the federal poverty limit
or have medical debt greater than five percent of their total household
income. The program will be administered by the Department of Healthcare
and Family Services, which must launch the program by Jan. 1, 2025.
Department staff will then work with hospitals and other medical
providers to identify eligible residents and, after wiping their debt,
notify them that their debt has been erased.
Another measure prohibits credit reporting companies from factoring in
negative information about medical debt in credit reports. This
provision went into effect immediately when it was signed.
“These two pieces of legislation work to ensure that medical debt is not
a lifetime sentence of poverty, and that Illinoisans who are struggling
under current debts have an opportunity to get back on a strong
financial path as they heal,” Pritzker said in a Tuesday afternoon news
release.
The governor also signed bills this week that will:
Add the state’s Office of Pretrial Services, which already exists, into
statute.
Require schools to put in place plans to handle cardiac emergencies like
heart attacks.
Allow the Department of Transportation to start a program aimed at
reducing noise pollution near highways.
Require insurance companies to cover continuous glucose monitors, a
medical device commonly used by those with diabetes, without cost
sharing or a requirement for prior authorization.
Require auto insurers to disclose how they determine a vehicle is a
total loss during the claims process.
Lower the minimum shotgun gauge size for hunting wild turkeys from 20
gauge to .410 bore.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Jul/03/images/ads/current/dreamteammow_sda_060324.png) |