The Chicago Tribune recently ran a headline on an issue State Representative Patrick Windhorst says House Republicans have been aware of for some time. The banner read “Governor JB Pritzker and lawmakers moving sluggishly on Illinois ethics law reforms despite uptick in convictions.”
The article pointed to the fact that “in the six years since the Democratic governor took office, members of the Illinois General Assembly have run afoul of the law at a staggering pace, even for a body with a history of greed and graft stretching back more than a century. During Pritzker’s reign in Springfield, 11 now-former lawmakers have pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial of crimes, a stain on the Illinois government he heads even though the governor himself has not been accused of any wrongdoing. That total avoided becoming an even dozen when a mistrial was declared last week in the federal court case against Democratic State Sen. Emil Jones III of Chicago.”
As the legislature enters the final weeks of its spring session, strengthening the state’s ethical safeguards doesn’t appear to be anywhere near the top of the agenda in Springfield, according to Windhorst who says he’s disappointed.
It’s disappointing that we haven’t seen anything come forward yet out of the ethics and elections committee. This is one of the largest problems we have as a state. We’ve seen time and again politicians get elected, charged, indicted, and even sent to prison. We have to address the issue. The time is now to do it. We’re in the waning days of session and we need to bring something forward that makes our ethics laws the strongest in the country.
Without offering specifics, Windhorst says some Democrat leaders have suggested an overarching ethics package could emerge in the final weeks before the legislature’s May 31 adjournment deadline. But that’s worrying to reform advocates who fear an eleventh-hour proposal will pop up as a “take-it-or-leave-it” proposition Windhorst suspects could be loaded with more loopholes.
