"The men and women who preside in our courts must remain free from prejudice and favoritism and we must ensure that those who want to serve as judges are not prevented from doing so because they are unable to raise the millions of dollars that is sometimes required for a competitive election campaign," Hynes said. "This public financing initiative will help maintain an independent judiciary and help eliminate financial barriers to attaining office."

Hynes said the amount of money spent on high-profile judicial elections would shock most Illinoisans. He pointed to a recent State Supreme Court race where the two candidates raised more than $9 million.

"The public deserves to have confidence that in a court of law, no matter who you are, or where you come from, you will receive a fair shake," Hynes said. "It is sometimes difficult for people to maintain that confidence when they see special interests contributing large sums to judicial campaigns."

Hynes said the bipartisan initiative (SB222) is an important first step toward establishing a sustainable public funding system for campaigns for statewide offices in Illinois and he commended its sponsors, Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, and Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-Hinsdale.

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.

Hynes long has been a strong advocate of state government and campaign finance reforms. He issued an Executive Order more than two years ago requiring his office to adhere to reforms which prevent entities with large contracts with the Comptroller's Office from contributing to his election campaigns.