Bomke:

Democrats offer the good, the bad,
the ugly         

[NOV. 22, 2003]  SPRINGFIELD -- Democratic lawmakers offered a proposal that smacks in the face of the newly approved ethics legislation, according to state Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield. He said Senate Bill 82 has been coined "the good, the bad and the ugly" for its impact on Illinois election laws.

"Today we learned how serious the Democrats were about adhering to good government ethics," said Bomke. "They asked us to support legislation that could lead to voter fraud, and they asked us to erase campaign finance violations pending before the State Board of Elections or they would not put President Bush on the ballot. I stood up for the laws we passed yesterday and voted no."

"This is the good portion of the legislation, and while I fully support the president, I cannot jeopardize the integrity of Illinois election laws by allowing other portions of this bill to become law. It's the bad and the ugly that I refuse to support," Bomke said.

Senate Bill 82 as amended in the House would also allow voters to vote absentee the first time they vote. Current law requires them to vote in person the first time. This is a precautionary measure to prevent voter fraud, but the Democrats want to remove that provision from Illinois law.

Even worse, according to Bomke, the amended legislation would dismiss without prejudice any matters currently pending before the board. This especially applies to A-1 violations that were levied after the original State Gift Ban Act, meaning that candidates who failed to file proper financial disclosure statements of campaign contributors would get away with their violations.

Bomke and his colleagues pledged to launch a write-in campaign for President Bush rather than bow to Democratic pressure.

The measure failed to pass, 23-27-0.

[News release from Sen. Larry Bomke]