Case Background: In July 2018, the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit challenging Illinois’ restrictive campaign finance laws. Illinois campaign finance laws limit how much money individuals and organizations may contribute to political candidates. But once certain fundraising thresholds are met in a given race, the campaign contribution limits are eliminated for all types of donors in that race – except “independent expenditure committees.” This means that individuals, corporations, unions and political parties can give unlimited amounts of money to candidates and coordinate with those candidates’ campaigns. But groups such as our client, Liberty Principles PAC, cannot. Independent expenditure committees are forbidden from giving to candidates or even talking with candidates about their plans. Our lawsuit, Dan Proft, et al. v. Kwame Raoul, et al. (formerly Dan Proft, et al. v. Lisa Madigan, et al.) challenged these free speech restrictions and sought to level the playing field for all who wish to engage in the democratic process.
On December 16, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld the District Court’s dismissal of our case.
Jeffrey M. Schwab serves as Senior Counsel and Interim Director of Litigation at the Liberty Justice Center, where he litigates cases to protect the rights to free speech, economic liberty, private property and other Constitutional rights in both federal and state courts across the country.
James McQuaid is a staff attorney at Liberty Justice Center where he assists in cases to protect the rights to free speech, economic liberty, private property, and other Constitutional rights in courts across the country.