CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — “Money in American politics” will be the theme of a University of Illinois symposium starting Friday, Nov. 11, just three days after a contentious election awash in dollars and filled with allegations of corruption.
A leading authority on the issue, Sheila Krumholz, the executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics and its OpenSecrets.org website, will deliver the keynote at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 11 in the Alice Campbell Alumni Center ballroom, 601 S. Lincoln Ave., Urbana.
Prior to the address, there will be a roundtable and public forum from 3:30-5 p.m. in the ballroom of the Illini Union, 1401 W. Green St., Urbana, featuring Krumholz, U. of I. faculty and other experts.
Part of the 2016 Cline Symposium sponsored by the Cline Center for Democracy at Illinois, both events are free and open to the public.
Krumholz, for nearly three decades at CRP, has been a leader in the dissemination of data about money in politics and in the creation of award-winning online tools to empower citizens, journalists and activists.
OpenSecrets.org has been described by journalist Dan Rather as “the authority in the increasingly murky world of campaign finances.” Columnist George F. Will has described CRP as a “calm island of information in a boiling sea of contention” on an issue where “the stakes could not be higher.”
In her speech, “Open Secrets, Closed Doors and the Fight for Transparency,” Krumholz will describe CRP’s work to make political fundraising and lobbying transparent, and discuss the role of “dark money” and other threats to citizens’ right to know about their government.
For the roundtable, “What Does Money Buy in American Politics, and What Does it Cost?”, Krumholz will be joined by OpenSecrets’ Research Director Sarah Bryner; veteran political strategist Anne Hathaway; Vikram Amar, the dean of the College of Law; and Chris Mooney, the director of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at Illinois.
Krumholz and Bryner will be available for media interviews, on request.
Additional information about the Cline Symposium can be found here. Information and updates can also be found on the Cline Center’s Facebook page.
The Cline Center for Democracy is an interdisciplinary research organization in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences that uses cutting-edge data science methods to better understand regime change, economic development, ethnic and religious identity politics, civil unrest and conflict.
For additional information, contact Dan Shalmon, the Cline Center’s external engagement coordinator, at 217-265-7846; email shalmon2@illinois.edu.
