Study: Illinois’ and Chicago’s reign as corruption leaders continues

[November 10, 2023]  By Glenn Minnis | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) – For the fourth year in a row, Chicago ranks as the country’s most corrupt city. Illinois stands as the third-most corrupt state in a University of Illinois at Chicago study.

To arrive at the findings, researchers analyzed 2021 public corruption statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Justice. In all, there were 32 public corruption convictions in the Northern District of Illinois that includes Chicago in 2021, nearly a 33% increase from the 22 convictions that were reported the year before.

State Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva, isn’t surprised.

“It’s an awful shame, and goes to show you what happens when we have one party controlling everything,” Ugaste told The Center Square. “It gets to people, and they think they can do as they please instead of doing what is required of them under the law and required of them ethically.”

A solution to the long-running problem doesn’t have to be that difficult, Ugaste said.

“We have extremely weak ethics laws,” he added. “If we fixed those within the House and Senate and gave our Legislative Inspector General more authority, I think it would go a long way in helping all of it. On the Republican side, we file bills every year to strengthen the legislative inspector general and the ethics laws but they never get hearings.”

Among the legislation Ugaste argues that Republicans have sought to enact are measures that would give the LIG greater subpoena power for investigations and policy that would require legislators to file more detailed statements of economic interest.

“The revolving door issue between lobbyists and legislators also needs to be extended,” he said. “You shouldn’t be allowed to lobby until two years after you’ve been out of the legislature.”

In one of the state’s most recent high-profile corruption cases, former longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan is set to stand trial early next spring on a slew of criminal charges alleging that he was the ringleader of a criminal enterprise notorious for its widespread pay-for-play power schemes. Earlier this year, four defendants with known ties to Madigan were convicted on varying charges in the so-called ComEd 4 criminal trial.

Even with Madigan no longer in power after a nearly four decade long run, Ugaste said Springfield has continued to function in much the same way.

“Nothing changed as far as making ethics laws what we need in order to make certain we’re at least trying to police ourselves,” he said. “They’re just not letting our bills be called. It’s all about politics and power.”