For years, Illinois politicians have been on the honor system when it comes to dealing with conflicts of interest. But a new bill filed by state Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana – House Bill 4041 – would hold lawmakers accountable by requiring them to disclose conflicts with a particular bill and to recuse themselves from voting on that bill.

Since former state Rep. Luis Arroyo was charged with bribery related to his lobbying business, Illinois state and local lawmakers have increasingly begun to recognize the need to prevent and punish lawmakers operating under blatant conflicts of interest. Developments include:

• Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan acknowledged he did not know why it was not already illegal for lawmakers to also lobby.

• The Chicago City Council recently banned state lawmakers from lobbying the city government.

• State Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, filed Senate Bill 2314 to end the revolving door from lawmaker to lobbyist, requiring a two-year cooling off period before a former lawmaker can be employed as a lobbyist.

Lobbying by current and newly retired lawmakers is not the only source of conflicts of interest. Other forms of employment, ownership and investments also have the potential to pose a conflict if a bill in the General Assembly substantially affects those specific interests.

Illinois is ranked as the second-most corrupt state in the country. Still, the state lets lawmakers decide for themselves whether they have conflicts of interest and gives them discretion whether to disclose those conflicts or recuse themselves from voting. If a lawmaker has a personal, family or client legislative interest in a measure, under current Illinois law he or she should “consider the possibility of removing the interest creating the conflict situation.” If the lawmaker determines that is not feasible, he or she should “consider the possibility of abstaining” from the official action. Furthermore, “if he does abstain, he should disclose that fact to his respective legislative body.”

Politicians are essentially on the honor system for revealing conflicts regarding specific bills and recusing themselves from a self-interested vote. And while Illinois does require lawmakers to file general financial disclosure statements, the requirements don’t require a lawmaker to declare when he or she faces a conflict of interest before taking a vote.

By contrast, 26 states require all members of the legislature to disclose conflicts of interest for each measure where such a conflict arises. And 27 states prohibit all members of the legislature from voting at all in the case of a conflict.

At least 36 states have constitutional, statutory, or parliamentary provisions that require lawmakers to either disclose their conflict of interest for each measure where such a conflict arises, or to recuse themselves from voting on the matter, according to Illinois Policy Institute research. Several states impose penalties, and even criminal sanctions, for violating these requirements.

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