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Kent Redfield, editor Table of Contents Keeping Faith: the struggle for Democracy in America . 1 by Kent Redfield Illinois State Profile . 11 Democracy in Illinois: Problems and Prospects . 13 by Cynthia Canary Executive Summary . 13 Findings: Policy and Political Problems . 14 Policy: Advances, Recommendations and Status . 32 Michigan State Profile . 37 Democracy in Michigan: Problems and Prospects . 39 by Rich Robinson Introduction and Executive Summary . 39 Political Context . 40 Findings and Recommendations . 42 Minnesota State Profile . 63 Democracy in Minnesota: Problems and Prospects . 65 by C. Scott Cooper Introduction and Executive Summary . 65 Findings and Recommendations . 67 Ohio State Profile . 79 Democracy in Ohio: Problems and Prospects . 81 by Herbert Asher, Ann Henkener, Peg Rosenfield, Daniel Tokaji, and Catherine Turcer Executive Summary . 81 Findings: Policy and Political Problems and Recommendations . 83 Wisconsin State Profile . 111 Democracy in Wisconsin: Problems and Prospects . 113 by Mike McCabe Executive Summary . 113 Findings: Policy and Political Problems . 115 Accomplished and Recommended Reforms . 129 Appendix A: The Midwest Democracy Network . 135 Shared Democratic Values . 137 Appendix B: Author Profiles and Acknowledgements . 139 1 Keeping Faith: the struggle for Democracy in America The idea of exporting American democracy to wide spread to ignore. The growing sense of crisis is other countries and helping them build democratic not limited to civic activists. Not long ago, the syn- institutions always carries a sense of irony for those dicated columnist Neal Peirce captured the mood who have toiled long and hard on political reform of many citizens when he observed that “American at the local, state and national level in the United democracy, once the wonder of the world, is work- States. The recipe for democratization in its most ing about as well as the levees around New simplistic form– take one constitution, a heavy dose Orleans.” of elections and a pinch of civil liberties and just add water — strikes those who through advocacy and grassroots activity have struggled to make A Mounting Crisis of democracy work here at home as naïve, misguided Confidence and sometimes even dangerous. These efforts also imply at some level that we have gotten everything Such alarms have traditionally been sounded right in the United States—that the current state by the good government and civic watchdog types of democracy in America, while not without minor who are routinely dismissed by their detractors as glitches, is the full and final realization of the values “goo goos,” misinformed and unsophisticated, and hopes of those who launched the American albeit well-intentioned civic busy bodies. But that experiment in representative democracy more than is no longer the case. Today, the ranks of those who two centuries ago. are concerned about the shortcomings of American Those of us who have come together under democracy include a growing number of prominent the auspices of the Midwest Democracy Network citizens—political practitioners, journalists, schol- to assess the state of democracy in five key states – ars, and private sector leaders whose partisan and Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, and Illi- ideological loyalties are as diverse as the American nois – know better. Democracy is not “set it and people’s. Their urgent calls for fundamental reform forget it.” An ongoing commitment is required to should not be quickly dismissed. guarantee a flourishing democracy both in our In his 1992 book, Who Will Tell the People, respective states and nationally. To thrive, our dem- journalist and author William Greider warned that ocratic institutions need constant reinforcement, “American democracy is in much deeper trouble careful stewardship, thoughtful debate and citizen than most people wish to acknowledge. Behind the involvement. reassuring façade, the regular election contests and It is right and proper to look outward, to strive so forth, the substantive meaning of self-govern- to aid those seeking to establish self-government ment has been hollowed out.” Representative gov- wherever they may be. But we should not avert our ernment, according to Greider, has become “a eyes from the growing crisis facing democratic insti- grotesque distortion of its original purpose,” in tutions and processes on the home front. Looking which “the power to decide things has … gravitated at democracy through the lens of the five state from the many to the few, just as ordinary citizens reports that follow, there are signs of trouble - of suspect.” Greider goes on to note that in the face of abuse, decay and neglect – that are too obvious and “promises made and never kept” and “laws enacted by Kent Redfield 2 and never enforced” ordinary citizens often feel health and legitimacy of our shared political powerless to confront such deceptions, because they order.” are “too marginalized to make much difference.” In late 2000, delegations of judicial, legisla- Since the early 1990s, there have been other tive and civic leaders, led by the chief justices from such warnings. For example, the editors of Business the seventeen most populous states with judicial Week observed in June 2004 that “something is elections, gathered in Chicago for a National Sum- amiss in the land of Madison and Jefferson. In some mit on Improving Judicial Selection. After two days very basic ways, the delicate mechanism of our of deliberations, the participants issued their own democracy has come unsprung.” The editors argue Call to Action. “As currently conducted in many that “unless we want to continue on the path we’re states,” their statement declared, “judicial election treading—declining participation, permanent campaigns pose a substantial threat to judicial inde- incumbency, less competition for ideas, increased pendence and impartiality, and undermine public balkanization, and more big-money politics— trust in the judicial system.” The then recently reform isn’t an option. It is perhaps the most urgent completed Supreme Court election campaigns in priority facing the republic as it lurches into the Ohio and Michigan had just set new records for harsh light of a new century burdened by a politi- spending and ugliness, with much of the latter cal system that seems less democratic by the day.” delivered in the form of unregulated broadcast issue The editors’ bottom-line conclusion: “It is time to advertisements and independent expenditures by take an unblinking look at our political land- special interests; these practices, most summit par- scape—and assess the growing symptoms of dys- ticipants agreed, represented “a particularly grave function.” The magazine then offered up an and immediate threat.” The Call noted that judges ambitious reform agenda encompassing election were becoming, at least in the eyes of many voters, laws and administration, campaign finance, redis- increasingly indistinguishable from ordinary politi- tricting, and media policy. Three months later, cians. “Judicial campaigns are becoming more like Business Week was at it again, this time with warn- campaigns for other offices, not less,” and as a result ings about the real and growing threats to judicial judicial candidates were under growing pressure to independence. raise large sums of money, hire campaign consult- In late 2005, a panel of 19 distinguished ants, and either fend off or ally themselves with scholars organized by the American Political Sci- organized groups seeking to affect the final results. ence Association issued a sober warning after com- Although the summit issued 20 sensible recom- pleting a three-year examination of citizen mendations for improving state judicial elections participation in the United States: “American and safeguarding the courts’ independence, most democracy is at risk.” The panel opined, for exam- experts agree that the conduct of such elections has ple, that congressional elections are dull, because gone from worrisome, to bad, to worse in the few so few are competitive. Why? Because “our systems years since 2000. of redrawing district boundaries and financing The Committee for Economic Develop- campaigns…all work to the advantage of incum- ment—a non-partisan organization of more than bents—an advantage that has grown in recent 200 of the nation’s top business leaders and uni- years.” Moreover, gerrymandering tends to versity presidents—issued reports in 1999 and empower the parties’ ideological extremes, drive 2005 advocating fundamental changes in federal out moderates, and intensify party conflict. And campaign finance laws, including a ban on soft finally, if citizens don’t have choices, what incentive money contributions, tighter regulation of 527 do they have “to pay attention, become informed, committees, reform of the Federal Election Com- take part in the campaign, and vote in the elec- mission, and improving the presidential campaign tion.” While the authors of Democracy at Risk note finance system. According to Ed Kangas, former that Americans can and should take pride in the chairman of the Global Board of Directors of historical accomplishments of their constitutional Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and co-chair of CED’s democracy, they also note that it is not what it subcommittee on campaign finance reform, “when should be and conclude that the risk is to “the government is too intertwined with money, Amer- 3 icans will view it, at the least, as suspect and, at information—were under assault in the region and worst,

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