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ILLINOIS
LAWMAKERS TACKLE BALLOONS, PITCHFORK FISHING, BUT KEEP RESIDENTS IN DARK
ON ETHICS REFORMS
Illinois Policy Institute/
Brad Weisenstein
The Illinois General Assembly busies itself
with limiting balloon releases and regulating pitchfork fishing along
highways when ethics reform is the need in a state with a rich history
of corruption. |
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The Illinois General Assembly has a little over a month to
address the culture of corruption it started rejecting when Mike Madigan was
ousted as Illinois House speaker after a 36-year reign. But nearly two months
into legislative session, lawmakers have prioritized fringe bills ahead of
publicly debating one of the state’s most pressing public policy issues: public
corruption reform.
On April 21 the Illinois House passed a limit on balloon releases, expecting the
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to go after scofflaws who release more
than 49 balloons into the air. House Bill 418 will lead to a warning, then a
$500 fine, then a $1,000 fine for repeat offenders and for each group of 50
balloons if the bill becomes law.
On April 22 the House was nearly unanimous in its desire to stop people from
fishing along highways using pitchforks, spears, bows and slingshots to catch
carp, catfish, buffalo, suckers, gar, bowfin, shad and drum fish species. House
Bill 3756 would stop the roadside carnage.
Fiddling around with minutia is easier that publicly handling the major crises
of a $317 billion pension deficit and 20 years of budget deficits. It is also
nothing new in Springfield, where micromanagement is high art.
But Madigan’s replacement, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, said he intends
to pass an ethics reform package before the General Assembly adjourns in May.
State lawmakers have about a month to make that promise happen, with the
individual reform bills all sitting in the committees where bills usually go to
die. The public has no idea what an “omnibus package” would entail.
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Springfield’s culture of corruption comes with
costs.
The state’s reputation suffers as the second-most corrupt state in
the U.S. and most corrupt of the 10 largest states. There is an
actual dollar cost as well: $556 million a year, or $10.6 billion
since 2000 in lost economic opportunities.
To achieve meaningful reform, Illinois needs to:
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empower the watchdog charged with holding
lawmakers accountable for wrongdoing. The reform to do that is
House Bill 2774.
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improve transparency by improving financial
disclosures from lawmakers. House Bill 3751 and Senate Bill 1597
would achieve that goal.
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prohibit members of the General Assembly from
working as lobbyists to executive agencies and local
governments. House Bill 3664 calls for that change.
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require a cooling off period before lawmakers
can become lobbyists to the General Assembly after leaving
office. The revolving door would be stopped by House Bill 3486.
Welch may gather all those reforms into a package
and yet keep his promise, but Illinois democracy works best in the
open with public debate. Keeping things hidden until the last minute
was a hallmark of Madigan’s corrupt way of doing business.
Breaking with the past is the heart of ethics reforms. This
opportunity deserves Springfield’s attention, not to be skewered in
committee or allowed to float away with the calendar.
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