Senate Republicans Monday said that the majority Democrats’ proposal for reforming ethics and rooting out public corruption in Illinois doesn’t go far enough, urging passage of their own legislation in the waning weeks of the General Assembly.
Senate Leader Dan McConchie (R-Lake Zurich), Sen. John Curran (R-Lemont), and Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) appeared at a statehouse news conference to urge quick action on SB1350 (Curran). McConchie invoked the words of Gov. J.B. Pritzker in his 2020 state-of-the-state address promising to “root out the purveyors of greed and corruption,” to demonstrate how Democrats have failed to address ethics reform.
“Since he spoke these words 14 months ago, the governor has sat idle on the sidelines. He has refused to put forward his own package and has failed to address the flames of corruption that continue to engulf this state. We’re tired of waiting; we’re tired of inaction. The governor has failed in many ways in his administration, and right now this is key among these,” McConchie said.
Curran said their bill expands on SB4 (Gillespie), the Democrat’s ethics bill, in four key ways: it allows the Illinois Attorney General to convene a statewide grand jury on matters of public corruption, it allows the Illinois Attorney General to seek judicial approval for wiretaps in public corruption investigations, allows the Legislative Inspector General to conduct investigations and submit subpoenas related to public corruption with the approval of the Legislative Ethics Commission, and bans legislators from lobbying and institutes a one-year revolving-door prohibition before a former legislator can begin lobbying state government.
Curran said that many of the recent scandals that have involved members of the General Assembly and particularly Democrats could have been brought to light and addressed sooner and more thoroughly.
“Let’s take [Commonwealth Edison] for example, and you're talking about wiretapping authority at the local level. That would have unleashed our 102 local prosecutors where these legislators go home and often conduct these deals in secret. Local authorities there would be able to actually start investigating and bring those matters before a grand jury,” Curran said, noting that federal authorities and local authorities in other states like New York already have many of these powers.
Curran also argued that the majority’s proposal for ethics reform has not received enough attention and work through the committee process, despite upcoming legislative deadlines. Tracy said that over a dozen ethics-related bills have been introduced by Senate Republicans, yet none have received a hearing.
“We need to mop out the dark corners, throw open the windows, and let some fresh air in to clear out the smoke-filled back rooms and blow the dust off the status quo. It is unfortunate that we seem to be meeting opposition, every step of the way in our effort to reform the process,” Tracy said. “We have two weeks left in session and the clock is simply running out."
Allison Richard
Legislative Consultant
