SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) – Bribery charges, office raids and FBI investigations have Gov. JB Pritzker calling on the Illinois General Assembly to deal with ethics reform this legislative session.
“It’s no longer enough to sit idle while under-the-table deals, extortion or bribery persist,” Pritzker told lawmakers this week during his State of the State address at the Illinois State Capitol. “We must take urgent action to restore the public's trust in our government.”
Illinois has a long history of corrupt politics with its share of governors heading to the state penitentiary over the years. Names like Otto Kerner, Dan Walker, Rod Blagojevich and George Ryan were all guests of the prison system.
This time, Democrats have been targeted in a series of FBI actions. This week, former senator Martin Sandoval entered a guilty plea to bribery and tax charges. State Repl Luis Arroyo has been charged with passing a $2,500 bribe to an Illinois State Senator in an effort to gain support for sweepstakes gaming legislation, while Sen. Tom Cullerton faces an indictment in a federal embezzlement case.
All three appear to be cooperating with federal investigators or working on a plea deal.
While Pritzker calls for action on ethics reform, Republicans are jumping at the opportunity to say Pritzker only briefly touched on ethics during his address and must do more.
“The governor is the leader of the party that is literally drowning in corruption (and) spent two-and-a-half minutes talking about corruption,” said State Sen. Dale Righter, (R-Mattoon).
The governor also asked lawmakers to end the practice of officials lobbying other units of government for pay.
“The public cannot reconcile a legislator (or) a policymaker, being paid to influence policy at any level of government,” Righter stated.
The governor has appointed an ethics commission which met Thursday in Springfield. It is expected to have recommendations by March.
