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Question of the day

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Illinois

* I followed up with one of the House Republicans who issued a press release after the ComEd Four verdicts to ask what ethics bills he supported. From his spokesperson…

Here is the full list of ethics reform bills filed by members of the Republican caucus:

HB 1641 (Wilhour) – amends the definition of “representation case” so that it includes going before local government and not just state agencies.
HB 2983 (Wilhour) – 3-year revolving door.
HB 3577 (Windhorst) – stricter ban on lobbying by legislators at the municipal, county, or township level
HB 3582 (Wilhour) – LIG doesn’t need the approval of the LEC to issue a subpoena. Requires the ethics commissions to make reports available within 60 days of receiving the report
HB 3756 (Ozinga) – LIG doesn’t need approval to issue a subpoena, and provides for the release of founded and unfounded reports
HB 3953 (Wilhour) – Amends the Lobbyist Registration Act to expand the definition of “officials” to include more positions at the local level. Expands the definition of lobbying regarding what is considered lobbying.
HB 3956 (Wilhour) – Adds more items for disclosure for the Statement of Economic Interest

* The Question: Which, if any, of these ideas do you support the most and which, if any, do you oppose? Make sure to explain your answers, please. Thanks.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, May 3, 23 @ 2:16 pm

Comments

HB 2983 is a solid idea, but good luck with implementing at either the state or federal level. The ban on revolving doors has been talked about for a decade, in Springfield and Washington. Yet in 2023, just weeks after leaving office, Cheri Bustos joined the legions of members of Congress quickly jumping to big corporate lobbying gigs. It’s what makes people hate politics, but it goes on and on.

Bustos is just another in a long line.

But the three-year ban on the revolving door is a great idea.

Comment by Suburbs are the key Wednesday, May 3, 23 @ 2:34 pm
HB 3577. Less competition. Choose a lane, legislate or lobby. Not both

Comment by NotRich Wednesday, May 3, 23 @ 2:40 pm
Support them all, 3756 seems the best - bring in the sunshine.

Comment by lake county democrat Wednesday, May 3, 23 @ 3:05 pm
2983 sounds great in a speech, but in the real world lobbying is a legitimate field and you need people with experience.
3582 and/or 3576 seem obvious. Several previous LIG’s have put forth their lists of what they need and the GA has failed to follow through.

Comment by WK Wednesday, May 3, 23 @ 3:11 pm
HB3953, HB3577 and HB1641 all seem worthwhile and unlikely to have adverse unintended consequences.

By contrast, HB 3956’s ratcheting up of the Statement of Economic Interest certainly look like the kind of impediment that keeps honest folks from running for office.

Do we really need every candidate for precinct committeeman to list “all real property and its location, whether owned by the person, his or her spouse, or a relative” in order to get on the ballot?

Seems more than a bit excessive, imho.

– MrJM

Comment by MisterJayEm Wednesday, May 3, 23 @ 3:29 pm
==HB 3756 (Ozinga) – LIG doesn’t need approval to issue a subpoena, and provides for the release of founded and unfounded reports.==
Nothing will chill whistleblowers and complainants faster than the reputational risk of being declared by the LIG as filing an unfounded report. The privacy of good faith whistleblowers is more important than releasing the allegations of an LIG report as a mailer, claiming your opponent was accused of a bad thing, and dealing your opponent the impossible hand of proving a negative. It turns the LIG into an opposition researcher and risks the credibility of the office.

The LIG needing approval for subpoenas is an appropriate guard rail against the risk of a future LIG who is a partisan hack. To quote Toby Ziegler in that West Wing episode where they are opining on the merits of another country’s draft constitution “sure [name of current leader] a great guy. What about the next ten guys?”

Comment by Nuke The Whales Wednesday, May 3, 23 @ 3:43 pm
Will say HB 3577 seems like a good idea, avoids some conflicts and yeah if you are an elected you shouldn’t be someone else’s lobster at the same time.

Comment by OneMan Wednesday, May 3, 23 @ 3:58 pm
I’m more or less for all of ‘em, I just don’t think they’d do anything to prevent the next ComEd 4.

Comment by Arsenal Wednesday, May 3, 23 @ 4:01 pm