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Governor credits unified legislative effort
and years of work in monumental
ethics reforms
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Comprehensive package meets goals laid
out in governor's spring veto,
gives Illinois real, meaningful ethics reform for the first time
[DEC. 10, 2003]
CHICAGO -- On Tuesday, Gov.
Rod Blagojevich signed into law the toughest, most comprehensive
ethics reform package in the state's history. At a ceremony in
Chicago's Bilandic State Office Building, the governor was joined by
Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Secretary of
State Jesse White, Comptroller Dan Hynes, legislative leaders, the
bill's sponsors and representatives from good-government
organizations.
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"Today, I am signing a bill into law
that finally gives Illinois revolutionary ethics reform,"
Blagojevich said. "We are not just tinkering at the edges, tweaking
here and tightening there. Today, we are re-establishing the primacy
of principle over politics, and in Illinois, that is real change. We
are renewing the promise of public service. And I hope it's a step
in the ongoing process of giving people a reason to start believing
in their government again.
"Getting here was not easy. It took
nearly a year of hard work. It took two ethics bills. It took
cooperation from all four legislative caucuses and from virtually
every part of the executive branch of government. It couldn't have
happened without the efforts of good-government advocates, who,
through the years, have been lonely voices in the wilderness -- and
who have fought for change and finally made it happen."
The governor signed Senate Bill 702,
which was sponsored in the state Senate by Sen. Susan Garrett and in
the House by Speaker Michael Madigan and Minority Leader Tom Cross
and was overwhelmingly passed by the legislature during the recently
concluded fall veto session. It contains comprehensive reforms to
supplement changes contained in the original ethics bill passed in
the spring and approved in late November. Taken together, the ethics
package provides more definitive rules regarding what constitutes
improper use of state time and resources, improves ethics training
and reporting procedures, and establishes strong enforcement
mechanisms to ensure ethics rules are followed.
The state ethics package signed by the
governor will immediately:
Strengthen ethics rules for employees and elected officials
--Require ethics training for all state
employees.
--Ban taxpayer-funded public service
announcements, newspaper or magazine ads, bumper stickers,
billboards, buttons, magnets, and stickers that feature the image,
voice or name of constitutional officers or members of the General
Assembly.
--Close the "revolving door" in state
government by prohibiting state workers from leaving government
employment and immediately accepting jobs with companies that they
regulated or were involved with in awarding state contracts worth
more than $25,000. The prohibition lasts for one year after an
employee leaves the state payroll.
--Strengthen the Gift Ban Act by
removing numerous exemptions, including those for golf and tennis,
and by limiting lobbyist spending on food and drinks to $75 per
state employee or official per day.
--Boost the integrity of the state's
boards and commissions by prohibiting lobbyists and individuals with
a personal financial interest in state contracts from serving on
boards or commissions.
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--Improve government transparency by
requiring unpaid advisers serving on behalf of constitutional
officers to file "Statements of Economic Interest" and requiring
disclosure of all ex parte communications involving state regulators
and licensing agents.
--Strengthen prohibition against using
state employees for political work and ban accepting or making
political contributions on state property.
Strengthen executive branch enforcement
--Establish a nine-member Executive
Ethics Commission to review and determine appropriate action in
cases brought forward by the executive inspectors general and
represented by the attorney general. The governor appoints five
members, and each of the other four constitutional officers appoints
one; no more than five may be from the same political party.
Commission members cannot be state government employees and will
receive the same part-time salary rate, set by the Compensation
Review Board, as the members of the State Board of Elections.
--Require each constitutional officer
to appoint an executive inspector general to review complaints of
corruption or wrongdoing within each respective office. The
executive inspectors general will be empowered with subpoena
authority and will report to the independent ethics commission as
well as the constitutional officer who appoints them. Previously,
only the governor, treasurer and secretary of state had inspectors
general, and only the secretary of state's inspector had subpoena
power.
--Protect those who report wrongdoing
from retaliation by supervisors.
--Establish stiff penalties --
including Class A misdemeanor charges, possible dismissal and tough
fines -- for those found guilty of impropriety by the ethics
commission.
Strengthen legislative branch
enforcement
--Establish an eight-member Legislative
Ethics Commission to review cases of wrongdoing within the
legislative branch. Each legislative leader appoints two members.
--Creates the position of legislative
inspector general, who will be nominated by the ethics commission
and confirmed by the General Assembly.
"Our
determination to change a system of corruption and a culture of
cynicism will require constant struggle," Blagojevich said. "It may
meet with some setbacks along the way. But in the final analysis, if
we are vigilant and if we value honesty, reward integrity, respect
the taxpayers and start to treat their money as we treat our own, we
can change a culture of corruption, cynicism and misplaced
priorities and replace it with a government dedicated to helping
people build better lives."
[News release from the
governor's office] |
