The Chicago Tribune: on Government Reform


Daniel Biss: Political system favors billionaires & machine politicians

State Sen. Daniel Biss formally announced his Democratic candidacy for governor, assailing a broken system he says favors his political opponents. "We have a political system where billionaires and machine politicians are the ones who are listened to. That's the system we have to change," Biss, who has represented Evanston for six years in legislature, said in a 25-minute Facebook Live video.

"We have to build a movement of the people because the question fundamentally is, 'Who do politicians feel obligated to listen to?' In Illinois, the public has set very low expectations and we can understand why," he said.

Biss' indictment of Illinois' system of government covered a wide swath, including not only Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner but also Democratic rivals for governor. Rauner dismissed Biss as "part of the system."

Source: Chicago Tribune on 2018 Illinois gubernatorial race Mar 20, 2017

Jill Stein: We need ranked-choice voting in presidential elections

Some say the two-party system is too entrenched, and you can't play unless you're a Democrat or a Republican. Indeed, our first-past-the-post election system allows both parties to scare voters into line: Vote for the lesser evil, or else!

Yet we could break free from this trap with a simple reform called ranked-choice voting. Ranked-choice voting allows voters to rank candidates. If no candidate gets more than 50% of the first-choice votes, second-choice votes are factored in and so on. The system removes the fear that a vote for a favorite candidate could inadvertently help a least-favorite candidate. Ranked-choice voting is used in a growing number of American cities and is used on the statewide ballot in Maine.

But despite all their dire warnings about splitting the vote, the Democrats and Republicans have resisted ranked-choice voting and other reforms that would expand voter choice. It's time to stop settling for the downward spiral of voting for the lesser evil.

Source: Stein OpEd, Chicago Tribune: Third 2016 Presidential Debate Oct 20, 2016

Chuy Garcia: Implement financial and performance audits

As mayor, I will tackle the total cost of Chicago government with four core principles: better and more efficient service; transparency and public accountability; comprehensive revenue reforms that are equitable and sized to meet the needs of a well-functioning government; and collaboration with our government partners, public employees, service providers, the City Council and our collective constituents. We must immediately implement financial and performance audits of city departments.
Source: Chicago Tribune coverage of 2018 IL-4 House race Mar 13, 2015

  • The above quotations are from Media coverage of IL political races in The Chicago Tribune.
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2020 Presidential contenders on Government Reform:
  Democrats running for President:
Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO)
V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC)
Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA)
CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY)

2020 Third Party Candidates:
Rep.Justin Amash (L-MI)
CEO Don Blankenship (C-WV)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Howie Hawkins (G-NY)
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Howard Schultz(I-WA)
Gov.Jesse Ventura (I-MN) 		Republicans running for President:
Sen.Ted Cruz(R-TX)
Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Gov.John Kasich(R-OH)
V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC)
Pres.Donald Trump(R-NY)
Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL)
Gov.Bill Weld(R-MA & L-NY)

2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
Sen.Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC)
Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK)
Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX)
Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA)
Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA)
Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
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Page last updated: Sep 18, 2022