Avalanche of mail hitting Illinois voters, but funding behind partisan ‘newspapers’ not disclosed

Dan Proft is chair of People Who Play by the Rules PAC, which supports Republicans. (Tim Boyle, Sun-Times Media)

In the days before the Nov. 8 election, along with routine political pitches, an avalanche of so-called “newspapers” produced by GOP partisans who do not reveal their financial backers is flooding the mailboxes of Illinois voters.

The Illinois Campaign Disclosure Act requires that a political committee put its name on any political communications it is paying for, whether TV spots, texts, mailers, leaflets or print or digital ads. It’s different for a newspaper.