Rich Whitney, Green Party candidate for Governor, welcomed potential rival Dan Hynes into the race for governor, but noted that he will make an issue of Hynes’ fundraising practices, which are not very different from those of ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
“We’ve had two governors in a row brought down by scandals that directly involved campaign contributions,” said Whitney, an attorney from Carbondale. “Despite these recent ethical scandals, Hynes continues the practice of taking large campaign donations from corporations and industries that as governor he may one day regulate.”
According to his most recent filings with the Illinois State Board of Elections, Hynes accepted $386,572 in contributors from individuals and businesses, including everything from banks and financial services
companies to major industrial polluters like energy firm Midwest Generation. He took an additional $483,370 in PAC money from special interest groups.
Hynes, who is currently the state’s comptroller, officially announced his campaign for governor yesterday.
“Voters have to make the call, do we want another governor under the influence of corporate campaign contributions, or do we want a clean slate?” said Whitney, noting that he and other Green Party candidates
do not accept donations from corporations and other businesses.
Whitney is the only announced candidate for the Green Party nomination for Governor. In 2006, Whitney received more than 10% of the vote statewide, achieving “established party” status for the Illinois Green
Party.
Filed under: 3rd party, campaign finance reform, election, elections, grassroots democracy, Green Party
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