A classic line in the movie "All the President's Men" was Deep Throat's advice to reporter Bob Woodward to "Follow the money" as he investigated the Watergate scandal that brought down President Nixon.

That's good advice for Illinois voters, too, especially in a state where pay-to-play politics has a long and sordid history.

That's not to say every donation to a candidate is made with an expectation of getting something in return - other than good government. However, it is still more than mere curiosity that leads us to look at campaign finance disclosure documents and look for patterns and connections.

Having access to that information is part of Open Government 101. And there's little excuse for delayed reporting with today's technology.

Those who have dragged their feet about enacting campaign contribution limits - or endorsed half-baked measures like House Bill 7, which Gov. Pat Quinn's should veto - say disclosure rules are enough.

But disclosure doesn't prevent the undue access and influence that large donors receive and it doesn't prevent pay-to-play politics. Still, it is useful and relatively easy.

July 20 was the deadline for candidates and political action committees to file their semi-annual reports covering contributions, loans and expenditures for Jan. 1 to June 30.

To see these reports, go to the State Board of Elections' Web site: www.elections.il.gov and click on the campaign disclosure section.

By "clicking" on committee or candidate, you can search for the reports using a candidate's name or a committee's name.

Within those reports you can click on the word "itemized" to get details of contributions, expenditures, money transferred from other committees and related information.

You also can search for contributions or expenditures to see, for example, to whom your elected representatives are donating money or to whom a particular recipient of large state contracts has made contributions.

What you won't find is information about "bundlers" - people who collect numerous contributions on behalf of a candidate. Federal elections rules and laws in other states require such reporting, but not Illinois. Yet, you can be sure the candidates know who their big fundraisers are, even if the public doesn't.

We agree with the Illinois Reform Commission that state law should require political committees to disclose these bundlers if they coordinate contributions above a certain amount - the Reform Commission recommended $16,000 as the threshold.

The Legislature also should adopt the commission's recommendations for speeding up filing requirements, such as mandating that contributions of $1,000 or more for statewide office and $500 for other offices to be reported electronically within five business days.

Voters should get involved and be informed. They should demand disclosure rules that are meaningful, useful and enforceable.