Reform For Illinois, Northwestern University

What Reform For Illinois, Northwestern University does

Reform for Illinois (RFI) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) research and advocacy organization headquartered in Chicago (680 N. Lake Shore Drive, #110-1459) that has operated for over 20 years, previously under the name Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR). Its functional mission is to reduce the role of money in Illinois politics, combat public corruption, and advance fair, accessible elections through legislative advocacy, litigation, public education, and media engagement. RFI does not sell products or services and has no disclosed pricing; its revenue model consists entirely of tax-deductible donations accepted via the Zeffy online platform, by check, and as employer-matched gifts through Benevity and similar providers.

The organization's core technology asset is the Illinois Sunshine campaign finance database (operated at illinoissunshine.org), described as the most comprehensive campaign finance database of its kind, which allows the public to track who funds Illinois political campaigns and how the money is spent. Adjacent research products include the Illinois Voter Project (a demographic profile of Illinois voters using Illinois State Board of Elections Voter File and U.S. Census data) and the Good Governance Candidate Questionnaire, a survey instrument that asks city council and mayoral candidates about ethics, equity, ranked-choice voting, and public campaign financing positions. Distribution and engagement channels span the website and blog, the Politics 101 podcast hosted by Senior Policy Advisor David Orr, in-person and virtual educational forums, webinars (including a Countering Citizens United event co-hosted with the League of Women Voters), a mailing list, an unpaid internship program, and frequent earned media engagement with Fox 32 Chicago, the Chicago Tribune, The Center Square, WTTW, NBC 5 Chicago, Crain's Chicago Business, and ABC 7 Chicago.

RFI's go-to-market is community- and coalition-led rather than commercial. It pursues impact through a multi-pronged approach of legislative advocacy in the Illinois General Assembly, administrative and court litigation (including a ranked-choice voting lawsuit led by Board President David Melton), public forums featuring expert panels and policymakers, and media outreach. Strategic partnerships span the good-government ecosystem — Common Cause Illinois, Change Illinois, League of Women Voters of Illinois, Joyce Foundation, Better Government Association — as well as ideologically diverse civic groups (American Bar Association, American Constitution Society, Federalist Society) for its Civil Disagreements debate series. Leadership comprises Executive Director Alisa Kaplan, Board President David Melton, Senior Policy Advisor David Orr, and directors Ricky Gandhi, Kira Dault, and Patrick Hanley (on leave). Operations are confined to Illinois, and no AI/ML capabilities, commercial pricing, or revenue figures are disclosed in the source data.

Name

Reform For Illinois, Northwestern University

Legal name

Reform for Illinois

Website

https://reformforillinois.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Reform for Illinois is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) research and advocacy organization that promotes campaign finance, election, and ethics reform in Illinois through legislative advocacy, litigation, public education, and the Illinois Sunshine campaign finance database.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Reform Advocacy

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Democratic Governance & Public Administration Reform (BPADAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Rule of Law & Justice Sector Reform (BPADAGAB)

Keywords

• Campaign finance reform
• Election reform advocacy
• Government ethics research
• Political transparency tools
• Nonprofit civic advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: RFI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that relies on public donations. They accept online donations through Zeffy platform, pay by check, and employer-matched gifts through Benevity and other platforms.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Reform For Illinois is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) research and advocacy organization that promotes campaign finance reform, election reform, and government ethics reform in Illinois. Its flagship programs include the Illinois Sunshine database (the most comprehensive state-level public resource for campaign contributions, expenditures, and lobbyist disclosures) and the Illinois Voter Project, which produces research on voter participation and reform. The organization also administers the Good Governance Candidate Questionnaire to evaluate Illinois state and local candidates on reform positions.

Product overview

Reform for Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) research and advocacy organization that offers educational services, policy research, and public engagement tools rather than a technology product platform. Their core offerings include the Illinois Sunshine campaign finance database, The Illinois Voter Project research initiative, and Good Governance Candidate Questionnaire results. These services are provided free to the public to promote transparency, accountability, and integrity in Illinois government.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Illinois Sunshine: A comprehensive campaign finance database operated by Reform for Illinois, allowing users to find out who is funding campaigns and how that money is being spent.
• Illinois Voter Project
• IL Sunshine

Products and services

• Illinois Sunshine Campaign Finance Database Illinois Sunshine is a public database maintained by Reform For Illinois that aggregates campaign contributions, expenditures, and lobbyist disclosures for the State of Illinois. It is offered free of charge to the Illinois general public, journalists, and researchers who need to examine political money and influence.
• Illinois Voter Project The Illinois Voter Project is a research program of Reform For Illinois that studies voter participation, election administration, and related policy issues in Illinois. Its research outputs inform the organization's advocacy on election reform and are made available to the public.
• Good Governance Candidate Questionnaire The Good Governance Candidate Questionnaire is an instrument distributed by Reform For Illinois to Illinois state and local candidates to capture their positions on campaign finance, election, and ethics reform. Responses are aggregated and shared with Illinois voters to inform voting decisions.

Quantifiable outcome

• SB 2651 voting equipment modernization signed into law July 20, 2018

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Common Cause IllinoiscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 February 2025Joint statement on Madigan verdict calling for meaningful ethics reform. Both organizations called for empowering the inspector general, stronger restrictions on legislators lobbying their peers, and stronger conflict-of-interest provisions.
• Change IllinoiscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 February 2025Joint statement on Madigan verdict calling for meaningful ethics reform. Called for broader systemic change in Illinois government.
• Illinois Campaign for Political ReformcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on #ProtectOurVote project advocating for Best Practices in Illinois election administration, voting equipment modernization, and vote center legislation.
• League of Women Voters of IllinoiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on #ProtectOurVote project advocating for Best Practices in Illinois election administration.
• League of Women Voters of Roselle-Bloomingdale Area and ChicagominorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-hosted webinar on Countering Citizens United: Blunting the Influence of Money in Politics.
• American Bar Association's Division for Public EducationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor of the Civil Disagreements series of moderated debates on current civic questions.
• American Constitution Society (Chicago and Austin chapters)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor of the Civil Disagreements series of moderated debates on current civic questions.
• Federalist Society (Chicago chapter)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor of the Civil Disagreements series of moderated debates on current civic questions.
• Better Government AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-authored op-ed with Bryan Zarou from Better Government Association supporting OIG ordinance to safeguard independence of inspector general investigations in Chicago.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• RepresentUs: National anti-corruption organization pushing for campaign finance, ethics, and voting reforms at state and federal levels. Comparable advocacy model with broader geographic reach.
• Common Cause: National nonpartisan government reform organization focused on campaign finance, ethics, and election integrity. Directly comparable to RFI in mission and advocacy approach; RFI already partners with its Illinois state chapter.
• Better Government Association: Chicago-based nonprofit investigative journalism and government accountability organization. RFI's prior co-author on inspector general reform op-eds; comparable Illinois-focused mission and reform constituency.
• Brennan Center for Justice: National law and policy institute focused on election reform, campaign finance, and government accountability. Closely comparable in advocacy-driven reform work, though operating at the federal/multistate level.
• Campaign Legal Center: Nonpartisan organization working on campaign finance, election law, and ethics through litigation and advocacy. Directly comparable to RFI's combined research-litigation-advocacy model.
• Change Illinois: Illinois-focused bipartisan reform coalition advocating for ethics, elections, and fiscal policy. RFI's partner on the Madigan ethics response and natural peer in the Illinois reform ecosystem.
• League of Women Voters of Illinois: Nonpartisan civic engagement and voting rights organization with an Illinois chapter. RFI's partner on #ProtectOurVote and Countering Citizens United webinar; highly comparable voter-education mission.

Regional players

• Illinois PIRG: Illinois state affiliate of the U.S. PIRG network, focused on public interest advocacy including government reform. Comparable state-level advocacy footprint and donor base.

Broad incumbents

• Public Citizen: National consumer and government accountability advocacy organization. Overlaps with RFI on campaign finance reform but operates across a much broader issue portfolio.

Emerging players

• MAPLight: Nonpartisan research organization tracking money's influence in U.S. politics through data tools. Closely comparable to Illinois Sunshine's mission and database-driven approach, with national scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/illinois-campaign-for-political-reform

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Reform For Illinois, Northwestern University