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* From the prepared remarks delivered at today’s Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform hearing in Springfield. Emphasis added by me…
My name is Julie Porter. I am an attorney at Salvatore Prescott Porter & Porter. From November 2017 through February 28, 2019, I served as the Acting Legislative Inspector General for Illinois. I entered the office with optimism, intending to serve the public by conducting independent, thorough investigations into alleged wrongdoing by state legislators, and—should I conclude that wrongdoing occurred— by reporting my findings to the public. That is not what happened, though. Although I completed dozens of investigations without incident, in some significant matters, when I did find wrongdoing and sought to publish it, state legislators charged with serving on the Legislative Ethics Commission blocked me.
Specifically, the Legislative Ethics Commission refused to publish one of my founded summary reports. There was also a second founded summary report that I requested to be published before my term ended. My successor chose not to press publication with the Legislative Ethics Commission; it was obvious, I suspect, that the Legislative Ethics Commission would bury it, just like it buried my other report on a similar topic. I wrote about these events in an Op-Ed that was published in the Chicago Tribune in April 2019, after leaving my role as Acting Legislative Inspector General.
Since then, there has been an additional shocking development. Both the Legislative Inspector General and the Legislative Ethics Commission are required to publish quarterly reports, identifying certain statistics regarding new and pending matters. The reports are mostly just numbers, but a careful observer will note that my final report to the Illinois General Assembly, dated February 28, 2019, disclosed that since the date of my previous report, one action had been filed with the Legislative Ethics Commission and was pending before the Legislative Ethics Commission. That was unusual. It was the first time in my tenure that I had requested, pursuant to the Illinois State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, 5 ILCS 430/25-50, that the Attorney General file a formal complaint before the Legislative Ethics Commission (the only type of matter that could be “pending” before the Legislative Ethics Commission).
What happened to that matter? I cannot tell you, both because I left office while it was still pending, and because of my confidentiality obligations under 5 ILCS 430/25-90. What I can point out to you, though, based on public reports, is that although that matter remained pending throughout the second and third quarters of 2019, the Legislative Inspector General’s third quarter 2019 report, dated October 15, 2019, indicated that the matter was no longer pending before the Legislative Ethics Commission. The Legislative Ethics Commission’s report for the same period, also dated October 15, 2019, states that the Commission “did not agree to publish” another founded summary report, which I can only conclude—based on this public information—was the formal complaint that I had caused the Attorney General to bring before the Commission.
Because I am bound to confidentiality, I cannot share with you what this investigation was or detail for you the many hours spent to get to the bottom of what I concluded was serious wrongdoing, warranting a founded summary report and even a formal complaint brought by the Attorney General. But my report and the Attorney General’s complaint should not be secret. They remain so only because the Legislative Ethics Commission squashed them so that the public could not see what the supposedly independent Inspector General determined to be wrongdoing by a sitting legislator.
The Illinois State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, 5 ILCS 430/1, is the statute that governs both the Legislative Inspector General and the Legislative Ethics Commission. The statute has fundamental flaws that undermine any true effort to have an independent watchdog with real authority to investigate and expose misconduct.
Although there are many places that the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act could and should be tweaked, I wish to highlight one key deficiency: the Legislative Inspector General cannot be independent, and having a Legislative Inspector General is a waste of resources, if a Legislative Ethics Commission staffed by legislators—all appointed by the House and Senate leaders—presides over her investigations and has the power to kill them. That is precisely the system we have now in Illinois: the fox is guarding the henhouse. And the problems are not just hypothetical; over the past year, the Legislative Ethics Commission has used its authority under this statute to undermine the Legislative Inspector General’s work in critical ways.
To address this core defect, I recommend at least the following changes to the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act:
(1) If there is going to be a Legislative Ethics Commission, it should not be staffed by legislators appointed by the House and Senate leaders. 5 ILCS 430/25-5 should be amended to require a more diverse body, including or exclusively non-legislators, that is not beholden to legislative leadership.
(2) Section 5 ILCS 430/25-50(f) should be deleted. The Legislative Ethics Commission should not have the power unilaterally to rule on the “sufficiency” of a complaint advanced by the Legislative Inspective General, reviewed by the Attorney General, and filed by the Attorney General. The term “sufficiency” is not defined, and the statute identifies no factors relevant to judging sufficiency. As written, the Legislative Ethics Commission could find a complaint insufficient simply because they regard it as politically embarrassing. There is also no process for the Attorney General or the Legislative Inspector General to appeal an arbitrary or unsound judgment by the Legislative Ethics Commission, making this provision all the more problematic.
(3) Section 5 ILCS 430/25-52 should be amended so that the power to publish a founded summary report lies solely with the Legislative Inspector General—not with the Legislative Ethics Commission. The Legislative Ethics Commission has shown that it cannot be trusted to publish founded summary reports. Because the Commission’s deliberations are confidential, and I am bound by that confidentiality, I cannot reveal the reasons for my deep concerns about the way the Commission is wielding this power. All I can say is that allowing the Commission the power to hide a Legislative Inspector General’s findings of misconduct from public view, when the Legislative Inspector General is urging that such findings be public, renders the Legislative Inspector General position almost entirely pointless.
I am not aware of any other Inspector General in Illinois who is required to jump through the hoops and be subject to the control that Illinois legislators have bestowed upon the Legislative Ethics Commission. All one needs to do is pick up a newspaper to see how important it is to have a truly independent and empowered Legislative Inspector General in Illinois. I call upon this Joint Commission to take this issue seriously and begin the process of bringing true independence to the LIG role.
Thank you for considering my perspective on this matter.
Tina Sfondeles has more background here.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 11:08 am
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This would be a lot easier to follow if she laid out what she reported instead of making me navigate the trib’s awful website
Comment by Will Caskey Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 11:13 am
If only there were someone in Springfield powerful enough to do something about this.
Oh, well. Moving on.
Comment by JB13 Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 11:17 am
This is not surprising. These “ethics” bodies only look for the small stuff and ignore the big stuff. The supervisors have high powered connections with the people they are charged with regulating. It’s akin to Boeing employees inspecting their own safety procedures (instead of the FAA).
The OEIG does this too,
Look at OEIG case no 15-02180. In that case Emil Jone’s grandson was hired as a ghost employee for CMS. The OEIG report ignores the familial relationship between Emil “Alvarez” Jones and Emil Jones.
Look at OEIG case no. 17-00626 (the Barney’s warehouse lease). In that report the OEIG ignores the fact that Pacific Management was the entity that negotiated the Barney’s lease with the State, and sent hundreds of emails to state employees. The report fails to mention Pacific Management once.
Comment by Merica Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 11:19 am
Huh? Maybe I am an uneducated buffy afterall.
Comment by Blue Dog Dem Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 11:24 am
The former Inspector General should have resigned under protest at the first block and not waited around for the following series of delays.
Comment by Matt Vernau Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 11:26 am
This kind of “fox guarding the henhouse” news in Illinois is not surprising, but it certainly is depressing.
Comment by Streator Curmudgeon Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 11:28 am
So let me get this straight. Ms. Porter submitted one report no date mentioned except it was between Nov 2017 and Feb, 2019. She can’t tell us what is is about.
The day she left she filed a second report asking about the first report. Because of her frustration she wants IL Statutes to change.
And?
Comment by 17% Solution Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 11:28 am
I am truly shocked there is gambling in Casablanca
https://giphy.com/gifs/film-humphrey-bogart-casablanca-Qjf12eSG7eypG
Comment by Lucky Pierre Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 11:38 am
So there seems to be a report out there that was quashed that accused a sitting legislator of some type of bad behavior enough that the Attorney General should get involved. I think I got that right. The dates given in the article indicate the legislator was in office between November 2017 and February 2019. This would indicate the report is not about Jack Franks but another legislator as Franks left after his County Board Chairman’s election in 2016.
Comment by Nagidam Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 12:21 pm
== And?==
And, what? What exactly do you want her to do here? If you believe that legislators should be able to block the public from seeing reports about their own wrongdoing, then by all means argue for that, but she can only do so much given the restraints put on her by the legislature.
Comment by Lester Holt’s Mustache Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 12:27 pm
No LHM, and where do we go from here?
Comment by 17% Solution Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 12:32 pm
She is simply abiding by the law due to the ‘independent’ commission calling the shots.
Commission: “We didn’t see notin’ …carry on, news reporter..”
Comment by Billy Sunday Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 12:34 pm
What other state does this in a way that the former LIG would like Illinois to emulate?
Comment by Precinct Captain Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 12:42 pm
At least the former Inspector General should be able to sleep at night knowing she tried. From this story it appears quite a few others who stood in her way should not be able to sleep soundly at night if they have any conscience.
Comment by Responsa Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 12:43 pm
If this was DC someone would have leaked the report. Wonder if the US Attorney managed to get a copy?
Comment by LTSW Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 1:10 pm
I guess my question regarding her testimony is “What if the victim does not want the report to be made public?”
It sure seems like based on what’s been said, implied and left unsaid that the victim in this case did not want it made public. Without assurances that a complaint can be made confidentially, it could have a chilling effect on reporting.
Comment by Lou Grant Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 2:39 pm