For Immediate Release
CAMPAIGN FINANCE ORDINANCE LIMITS CONTRIBUTIONS AND ADDRESSES CONCERNS ABOUT THOSE DOING BUSINESS WITH THE CITY OF AURORA
(Aurora, Illinois) – Alderman Rick Lawrence introduced today a campaign finance ordinance that would limit campaign contributions for city elections in the City of Aurora, the second largest city in Illinois.
The ordinance would place a reasonable limit of $1,500 during a candidacy and address concerns associated with contractors doing business with the city who make contributions to candidates.
Alderman Rick Lawrence said “I have asked fellow mayoral candidates Tom Weisner and Stephanie Kifowit to join me in supporting this campaign finance ordinance that will protect the integrity of our city government and ethics of our electoral process.”
“Even the appearance of impropriety damages our ability to govern and city government’s credibility. The people of Aurora should have full faith and confidence that our decisions are based solely on merits and we avoid favoritism, undue influence and political relationships.”
“As a business owner, I also ask Mr. Weisner and Ms. Kifowit to join me in protecting businesses who seek contracts with our city. This ordinance would limit the pressure those companies feel to support any specific candidate over another. Any business should not feel obligated to contribute in order to be considered fairly for city business or fear retaliation or exclusion from city business because of not making a contribution.”
“Since being elected in 2005, I have been surprised at the focus by some elected officials to continually raise funds, including specifically targeting those companies that have contracts with the city. Some of these contributions raise questions and give the appearance of impropriety.”
“We have seen similar levels of contributions and even some of the same players exert influence over state officials, which has led to an environment and culture of corruption, pay-to-play, investigations and indictments.”
“I look forward to working together with our city council to make Aurora above and beyond the rest of the state when it comes to honest government the taxpayers of Aurora can truly trust to represent their best interests.”
Alderman Rick Lawrence is a 2009 candidate for Mayor of Aurora, covering portions of DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will Counties and a leader on making Aurora a better place to live. He was recently selected by the Illinois State Crime Commission for the 2008 Award of Excellence in Government.
