Governor puts spin on ethics reform passage

[September 23, 2008]  In the wake of public and media pressure, Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, allowed Senate lawmakers to return to Springfield on Monday and override Gov. Rod Blagojevich's veto of long-awaited "pay-to-play reforms."

The Illinois Senate had to wait for outside pressures to force Jones to call the Senate back into session to also allow a vote to veto the governor's changes. It has been widely reported that pressure came from Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

The governor has come under criticism for making changes to the original bill that, without a reconvening of the Illinois Senate, would have meant another year with no ethics reforms.

The governor, in a late morning Tuesday press release, now states that it was his actions that called the Senate back in session, and he lauds the Legislature for voting to override his own amendatory veto.

State Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield, was a sponsor of the legislation and voted to concur with the House's override of the substantial, controversial changes the governor made to House Bill 824.

"At times it seemed like this legislation would never be approved. While I applaud the diligent work of lawmakers from both parties who negotiated this legislation, it was the overwhelming support from the public and the media which really contributed to seeing this bill through to fruition," said Bomke.

House Bill 824 bans campaign contributions from contractors to declared candidates for the office that would award a contract to the donor.

As amended, House Bill 824 would also require businesses with state contracts to register with the State Board of Elections, which would create a searchable database linking the businesses' names to disclosures of all their contributions to political committees. Any incomplete or falsified filings would be a criminal offense, punishable by a fine.

[Illinois governor's office, state Sen. Larry Bomke, LDN staff]