With public corruption scandals at never-before seen levels
in Illinois, lawmakers had an opportunity during the Fall Veto Session to enact
meaningful ethics reforms to address glaring instances of public abuse of
power. Since January, House Republicans have filed 26
different ethics reform bills. While these robust, common-sense measures
languished in the House Rules Committee and were denied consideration, majority
party lawmakers filed two watered-down measures in the middle of the night
leading into the final day of session, and limited floor action to only these
two bills.
The approved measures do nothing to prohibit lawmakers from
also serving as paid lobbyists. They do nothing to prevent committee
chairpersons from blocking bills his or her campaign donors don’t like. They
also do not prevent committee chairpersons to lobby agencies whose budgets they
control, or prohibit legislators who resign from office after being arrested on
federal corruption charges, from having significant voting power over selecting
his or her successor.
House Republicans stood united and voted against adjourning
Veto Session, asking that lawmakers remain in Springfield until meaningful
ethics reforms were approved and sent to the governor. Members of the
Democratic Caucus instead voted to go home without passing anything substantive
to improve ethical conduct in the legislature.