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One measure strengthens the inspectors who are supposed to root out
corruption in Illinois government. They would be allowed to
investigate anonymous tips instead of responding only to signed
complaints, and they could release findings to the public. They
would gain new power to investigate hiring.
The legislation also would expand the "revolving door" prohibition
against state officials going to work for interest groups they once
regulated.
Another bill overhauls the process for buying goods and services.
New procurement officers and monitors would try to make sure tax
dollars are spent honestly instead of going to political insiders.
The House also voted to give Gov. Pat Quinn a deadline for
deciding whether to fire state employees hired by former Gov. George
Ryan, a Republican now in federal prison, and former Gov. Rod
Blagojevich, a Democrat facing federal corruption charges.
The bill would give Quinn 90 days to review about 750 employees who
serve at the pleasure of the governor and decide whether they
deserve to keep their jobs. Anyone he doesn't specifically decide to
keep would lose their job.
When he took office in January, Quinn promised to "fumigate" state
government. But the Chicago Democrat has removed relatively few
people hired by his predecessors and works closely with some key
members of Blagojevich's administration.
"I didn't think he was moving at a good pace and that's why I
introduced the bill -- to accelerate the pace," said House Speaker
Michael Madigan, D-Chicago.
Madigan dropped a provision firing former Blagojevich budget
director John Filan from his new job as executive director of the
Illinois Finance Authority. The speaker said Quinn assured him that
Filan, a longtime friend, would leave the job voluntarily in July.
All three measures passed without a single "no" vote and now go to
the state Senate.
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 The bills are the latest in a series of ethics measures that Madigan
and Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, are backing in the
wake of Blagojevich's arrest and removal from office.
The proposals came after hours of testimony by a special joint
committee off the House and Senate, but that testimony looked at
ethics issues in general -- not the specific proposals approved
Thursday.
Those measures popped up in an entirely different committee
Wednesday, passed after little discussion and then were approved by
the House a day later.
Cindi Canary, head of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform,
said she hadn't seen the legislation and couldn't comment on whether
it would have much impact on government corruption. She noted that
even bills meant to improve government transparency are being
handled in typical legislative fashion, surfacing at the last minute
with little time for review.
"If anything, this year is more mystifying than ever, and that says
a lot," Canary said.
___
The bills are
SB51,
SB54,
SB1333.
___
On the Net: www.ilga.gov
[Associated Press; By CHRISTOPHER WILLS]
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed. |
