"We need to take special interests out of judicial elections and allow candidates to place the focus where it belongs – on their qualifications," Hynes said. "This need was underscored when two candidates for State Supreme Court raised an unprecedented $9.3 million. That need has not gone away, and, in fact, continues to grow."

Hynes said the bipartisan initiative is an important first step toward establishing a sustainable public funding system for campaigns for statewide offices in Illinois.

The initiative removes the corrupting influence of campaign contributions from state Supreme Court and appellate court judicial campaigns by approving public funding for those races. It provides a baseline of $750,000 in public funds to qualifying Supreme Court candidates, $250,000 for appellate court candidates, limits contributions to candidates who choose not to take public financing, and triggers matching funds for publicly financed candidates when third parties or non-participating candidates spend a certain percentage over the baseline. It is funded by a tax check off and a $1 court appearance fee and becomes operational when the fund reaches $5 million.

Senate Bill 222, approved by the Senate Local Government Committee, is sponsored by Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, and Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-Hinsdale. Hynes commended Raoul and Dillard for their hard work on the proposal and urged its passage by the full Senate.

"There is no shortage of evidence that the corrupting influence of money for political campaigns has damaged public confidence in all branches of government," Hynes said. "The current system of funding campaigns fuels more spending with every successive election cycle and places ever greater pressure on candidates to raise large sums of money in order to have a chance of winning. Judges must interpret laws impartially. The people of Illinois deserve a judiciary untainted even by the appearance of influence from special interests and campaign contributions."

The initiative is part of a three-pronged reform package pushed by Hynes that also dramatically reduces the corrupting influence of campaign contributions on the awarding of state contracts (HB1) and strengthens laws governing lobbyists (HB8). HB1 and HB8 were approved by a House committee last week and will be considered by the full House.

The bill package addresses the executive, legislative and judicial branches of state government. It is guided by three simple principles: eliminate the corrupting influence of money in government, control spending on political campaigns, and eliminate financial barriers to attaining office.

Hynes long has been a strong advocate of state government and campaign finance reforms. He issued an Executive Order two years ago requiring his office to adhere to the contract reforms.