* From Carolyn Schofield…

The Illinois Legislative Inspector General, Carol Pope has substantiated recent ethics violation claims filed against Representative Allen Skillicorn charged with falsifying his attendance and voting record in Springfield while campaigning in Harvard, Illinois for another office on the same day;

“My investigation substantiated allegations that Representative Skillicorn was not present when the quorum roll call vote was taken at 12:15 p.m. on June 1, 2019, nor was he present for any of the votes that he was recorded as voting on prior to 3:00 p.m. Representative Skillicorn filed a letter to correct the record with the Clerk of the House.”

“I interviewed 11 people during the course of my investigation, including Clerk’s Office personnel, staff members, and several members of the General Assembly.”

“Apparently it is common practice for members to ask a seatmate or staffer to vote their switch if they need to step out and use the bathroom, or meet with leadership or talk to a constituent. It is not accepted practice for a member to ask someone to vote their switch when they are out of town, nor is it appropriate for a staffer or seatmate to take it upon themselves to vote another member’s switch when they are out of town and absent from the session.”

The LIG also indicated that no legislators were paid for the overtime session held on June 1st, 2019, at the direction of Speaker Mike Madigan. A suggestion will be made to Leadership that written protocol be put in place as some members, despite the existing set of Rules that govern the House, have not familiarized themselves with proper procedures.

Skillicorn is being challenged for his 66th District House seat by McHenry County Board Member Carolyn Schofield in the March primary.

I’ve reached out to Skillicorn for comment.

…Adding… The letter from LIG Pope…

Ms. Schofield—I wanted to update you on the status of my investigation into your complaint relating to Representative Skillicorn. My investigation substantiated your allegations that Representative Skillicorn was not present when the quorum roll call vote was taken at 12:15 p.m. on June 1, 2019, nor was he present for any of the votes that he was recorded as voting on prior to 3:00 p.m. Representative Skillicorn filed a letter to correct the record with the Clerk of the House. You can find it on pages 5-6 of the House Journal for June 1, 2019. Here is a link to the Journal:
http://www.ilga.gov/house/journals/101/2019/HJ101063R.pdf

I found no evidence that Representative Skillicorn authorized anyone to operate his switch in his absence. I interviewed 11 people during the course of my investigation, including Clerk’s Office personnel, staff members, and several members of the General Assembly. Apparently it is common practice for members to ask a seatmate or staffer to vote their switch if they need to step out and use the bathroom, or meet with leadership or talk to a constituent. It is not accepted practice for a member to ask someone to vote their switch when they are out of town, nor is it appropriate for a staffer or seatmate to take it upon themselves to vote another member’s switch when they are out of town and absent from the session. I will be suggesting to Leadership that a written protocol be put together and given to members and staff so there is no question about the procedures to be followed when a member is going to be absent. There is a set of Rules that govern the House, however, I am not sure how many members have totally familiarized themselves with the particulars of those rules. Some members could relate to me the procedures that should be followed if they are going to be absent, but some members indicated they did not know what procedures to follow if absent.

I found no evidence of malicious intent with regard to the operation of Representative Skillicorn’s switch.

No per diem was paid to any member of the House for June 1, 2019, per order of the Speaker.

Thank you for bringing this situation to my attention. I am hopeful that a written protocol provided to every member and his or her staff will prevent such a situation from reoccurring. I have closed my investigation into this matter.

Sincerely,
Carol Pope
Legislative Inspector General
State of Illinois

*** UPDATE *** Rep. Skillicorn…

I agree with everything in Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope’s findings. Clearly, mistakes were made here. I corrected the official record of the House to reflect the fact that I was not present in the chamber on June 1, 2019 during the few initial votes that were taken that day.

I strongly support LIG Carol Pope’s recommendation for a written protocol to ensure that this does not happen again. As she noted, she “found no evidence of malicious intent with regard to the operation of Representative Skillicorn’s switch.”

Indeed, there was no malice. It was mistake and we as a legislative body should clearly define what the protocol should be so that the rules are clear and mistakes like this will not be made.