SPRINGFIELD, IL – House Republican lawmakers presented a legislative proposal to bring forward an opportunity for ethics reform in the Illinois Capitol. The proposals aim to put the public’s faith back into their state government and root out corruption. State Representative Charlie Meier highlighted the unfortunate record of guilty verdicts for former Illinois General Assembly members and staff, including the former House Speaker Michael Madigan.
“We have got to try to clean up the mess in Springfield,” said State Representative Charlie Meier. “How many arrests, indictments, guilty pleas, verdicts, and prison sentences is it going to take for the majority party to actually do something to prevent corruption?”
The ethics reform legislation Meier co-sponsored includes the following:
• HB 1382 – Puts ‘teeth’ into the Legislative Inspector General’s office to issue subpoenas without first seeking approval from the people they may be investigating.
• HB 1384 – Addresses local government lobbying reform.
• HB 1385 – Closes the loophole in the current revolving door policy that allows a legislator to be a member one day and the next day be a lobbyist.
• HB 3115 – 3-year revolving door lobbying ban for members of the General Assembly.
• HB 3121 – Implements representation case and recusal reform.
• HB 1554 – Bans public officials from using campaign funds for their own legal defense.
• HB 2813 – Requires a 72-Hour budget review before a vote on the budget.
“The majority party seems totally uninterested in enacting ethics reform,” Meier continued. “Zero of these bills have been heard in committee. Even after the long list of indictments and the black cloud that hangs over the Statehouse, not one of our proposals has been called in a committee for debate. It’s shameful.”