May E-newsletter
With one governor behind bars and another one indicted, it’s clear that we need to strengthen our ethics standards and demand greater accountability from public officials. Rumor around the state house is that we may vote on a reform package next week.
Immediately after the Illinois Reform Commission issued their final 100-day report on April 28, I joined with my House Republican colleagues in calling for a committee of the whole hearing in the Illinois House so that all legislators could have an opportunity to hear testimony directly from the Reform Commission members themselves on what specific proposals they recommend to clean-up state government.Continue reading …
Without hesitation, the idea was blocked by Speaker Madigan’s floor leader Barbara Flynn Currie, “No, there’s no chance at all, for heaven’s sake. If (Cross) wants a few more opportunities on the floor of the Illinois House, he’d better do a better job electing Republicans.”
Since the request was denied, the House Republicans hosted our own hearing Friday, May 15, inviting legislators from both parities, constitutional officers along with the public to hear from the commission.
In making their recommendations, the IRC noted that 46 other states have stronger finance regulations in place and provide their law enforcement agents stronger resources to root out public corruption than Illinois.
Throughout my tenure, I have filed and co-sponsored several pieces of legislation regarding term limits, redistricting, requiring a 3/5ths majority vote on all tax increases, and abolishing unnecessary government positions such as the comptroller and lieutenant governor. Unfortunately, House Speaker Madigan has ignored these reform proposals.
While there are 34 recommendations, here are a few that I firmly believe will help stop pay-to-play government:
Real-time disclosure of campaign contributions - Require year-round electronic submission of A-1 forms to the Illinois State Board of Elections within five business days after receipt of any contribution of $1,000 or more for statewide elections and $500 or more for any other elections.
Contribution limits - Limit contributions of $2,400 for individuals, $5,000 for political action committees and $30,000 for a legislative caucus committee giving to a legislative candidate.
Leadership term limits - Legislative leaders would be limited to 10 years in their positions. Madigan has controlled the House all but two years since 1983. Both Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton have near-exclusive control over what bills are assigned to committee and which are left to die, denying rank-and-file legislators of both parties an opportunity to have their bills be given fair consideration.
Important bills deserve a vote - The House and Senate adopt rules requiring that each bill introduced to the Rules or Assignment Committees be subject to a full committee vote if the bill has a minimum of 16 sponsors in the House and eight sponsors in the Senate.
Fair redistricting - Allow a computer program to draw maps impartially without regards to residency, political affiliation of registered voters, previous election results and demographic information. The redistricting process, which occurs every 10 years, is currently partisan, depending on which party wins the flip of a coin. The districts are carefully drawn based on how an area historically votes, therefore favoring one party over another.
I encourage you to visit the IRC’s website, www.ReformIllinoisNow.org, to view the commission’s full report and find out how you can help us enact meaningful ethics and campaign reform this year. Please don’t hesitate to let me know which reform proposals are more important to you and where you believe priority should be given.
The General Assembly is in the final push to pass a budget, reforms and a possible capital bill by the scheduled adjournment May 31. I will keep you posted as details emerge.
Sincerely,
Suzie Bassi
