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A former Commonwealth Edison executive and three lobbyists, one
being a close confidant of former Illinois House Speaker Michael
Madigan, D-Chicago, were convicted last month. The scheme
involved giving do-nothing jobs to Madigan associates in
exchange for favorable legislation for the utility. Madgian has
pleaded not guilty and faces trial next spring.
Early Saturday morning just before the budget was approved,
state Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, said it’s “crazy” to leave town
without addressing the issue.
“Four convictions all swirling around the person that presided
at this rostrum, at this dias, for 38 years and we as a
legislature are adjourning without doing anything on the topic
of ethics reforms,” Spain said.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said prosecutors have the tools they need to
catch corrupt actors.
“Everybody that’s been tried and now convicted is being tried
and convicted with laws that are already on the books,” Pritzker
said during an unrelated event last week.
More can be done though, he conceded.
“And I think that there is as I have seen an effort to address
red-light camera contributions,” Pritzker said.
House Bill 3903 will establish ethical parameters and guidelines
for how the technology can be used and how the industry
interacts with state and local elected officials. Among other
regulations, one element prohibits contractors for such
technology from making political donations.
“It provides that no member of the General Assembly and no
officer or employee of a municipality or county shall knowingly
accept employment or receive compensation or fees for services
from a contractor that provides automated enforcement system
equipment,” said state Sen. Laura Murphy, D-Des Plaines.
Regardless, Spain said more needs to be done to address ethics
after “one of the largest public corruption trials” produced
guilty verdicts.
“And boy, I just cannot believe it that we don’t, all of us,
place a priority on cleaning up the corruption that has been
such a deep stain on the state of Illinois,” Spain said. “We
leave a lot of work to do here.”
Lawmakers aren’t scheduled to return until sometime this fall.
Greg Bishop reports on Illinois government and
other issues for The Center Square. Bishop has years of
award-winning broadcast experience and hosts the WMAY Morning
Newsfeed out of Springfield.
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