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Three of
the appointments are effective Monday, and two will go into effect
in July when the remaining two members' terms expire. The governor's
appointees are:
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Judge
Aaron Jaffe, who will serve as chairman of the Illinois Gaming
Board, retired in late 2004 from a 19-year career on the Cook
County bench, in both the Law Division and Chancery Division.
During his tenure he decided corporate and partnership disputes,
contract matters, class actions, administrative law matters, and
other complex equitable cases. He taught at University of Loyola
School of Law and received mediation training at the National
Judicial College. Judge Jaffe served in the Illinois House of
Representatives from 1971 to 1985, where he chaired the Judiciary
Committee and the Legislative Investigating Commission. His
appointment is effective March 21.
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The Rev.
Eugene Winkler is a retired Methodist minister and social
activist. Before retiring, he presided over several charitable and
service organizations, including Protestants for the Common Good
and the Interfaith Coalition for the Homeless in Chicago. He also
served on various boards in Chicago, including the Better
Government Association in Chicago, the Center for Ethics and
Corporate Policy, and the Illinois Division of the ACLU. His
appointment is effective March 21.
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Charles
Gardner is manager of a small, family-owned real estate investment
company. Before retiring, he was president and chief executive
officer and a member of the board of trustees of the Chicago Dock
and Canal Trust, a real estate investment trust in Chicago. He
started his career as a CPA with Arthur Anderson in Denver. He
currently serves on the Roosevelt University board and was
formerly on the board of directors of Lohan Caprile Goettsch
architects, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, and
Lawson House YMCA. His appointment is effective March 21.
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Sheila
Simon, daughter of late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, is a law professor
at Southern Illinois University, where she has taught courses in
family law, argumentation, and legal reasoning and writing. She
worked as an assistant state's attorney in Jackson County from
1994 until 1998. Simon has also served on numerous state and local
bar association committees, including a committee that organizes
annual training for domestic battery prosecutors in Illinois. Her
appointment is effective July 2.
- Joe Moore Jr. is a 30-year
employee of Shell Oil Company, where he currently serves as
manager of community relations, overseeing the company's local
education program. He also operates the Moore Group, a public
affairs group specializing in social investment strategy and
public policy. Moore is active on several boards, including the
Illinois Service Federal Saving and Loan, Chicago Convention and
Tourism Bureau, and the Cosmopolitan Chamber of Commerce. His
appointment is effective July 2.
The governor's ethics proposal would
prohibit Illinois Gaming Board members and staff and their families
from being employed by or having any financial interest in a casino
licensee; ban board members and staff from accepting employment or
taking a financial interest in the gaming industry for five years
after leaving the board; prohibit board members and staff from
gambling at riverboats or racetracks; require board members to
publicly report any informal discussions about board decisions
within 24 hours; and expand financial disclosure requirements for
casino licensees and their stakeholders.
[to top of second column in this article] |
Specifically, the governor's proposal would:
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Strictly
prohibit board members, board employees, Department of Revenue
employees who work for the board, and their families, from having
a financial interest in or being employed by a casino licensee.
Currently, only board members and their families are completely
prohibited from having a financial interest in a casino; board
staff can have an interest of up to $25,000, and employees of the
Department of Revenue, which oversees the board, are under no
restrictions whatsoever.
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Extend
the "revolving door provision" for Gaming Board members and staff.
Instead of the current one-year prohibition on accepting
employment with a gaming enterprise after leaving the board, the
new restriction would last for five years and would prohibit board
members, board employees and Department of Revenue employees who
work for the board from accepting employment or a financial stake
in any casino or horse-racing enterprise.
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Ban
Gaming Board members and employees from gambling at riverboats and
racetracks. Violators would be charged with a Class A misdemeanor,
and their winnings would be paid into the State Gaming Fund.
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Strengthen restrictions on ex parte communications by requiring
board members and staff to disclose and add to the public record
by the next business day any informal conversations they have in
which someone tries to influence the board's decisions; otherwise,
they would face termination.
- Improve transparency by requiring
public disclosure of all of the financial interests of anyone who
holds a gaming license and anyone who holds any financial interest
in the license, regardless of what percentage of the license they
own. Current law requires licensees to disclose only investors
with a beneficial interest of at least 1 percent, and other
enterprises or businesses in which the licensee holds interests of
more than 5 percent.
The governor also asked Chris
Anderson, director of the Gambling Recovery Center in Evanston, to
work with the board to develop ideas the board can implement to help
people with gambling addictions. Anderson will begin working with
the board immediately to develop and institute new reforms.
"We have spent a great deal of time
considering how best to regulate gaming in Illinois to ensure the
best interest of the public is always paramount," the governor said.
"Ultimately, we decided we need a new Gaming Board with no
connections to the industry and no history with the recent wrangling
over the 10th license. The five individuals we are announcing today
all bring the utmost integrity and respect for the public's trust.
I'm honored that they accepted my invitation to serve."
[News release from the
governor's office] |
