Illinois state Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) on the House floor | repugaste.com
Illinois state Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) on the House floor | repugaste.com
Illinois state Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) wants to see more Illinois voters take their political destiny into their own hands.
“People are going to have to start paying closer attention to the people running for office and the people they’re electing,” Ugaste told the Kane County Reporter. “No one tells you they’re going to do something unethical, but voters have to do more to determine who it is they're choosing to represent them.”
Ugaste argues that a new Harvard University Center for Ethics survey proves there is no time to lose. Researchers determined that Illinois now rates as the second most corrupt state in the country and Chicago holds the top spot in that dubious category among cities.
The negative image and the corruption behind it come at a steep cost, with Illinois Policy Institute pegging the amount of economic activity lost since the year 2000 stemming from deception in state government at nearly $10 billion. In the last 10 months alone, taxpayers have had to endure the spectacle of seeing a veteran state representative arrested on federal bribery charges, the home and offices of a longtime state senator raided in connection with an ongoing kickback scheme, and at least three political insiders with connections to longtime Democratic House Speaker Mike Madigan targeted by federal agents as part of a widening probe.
“It’s a terrible shame,” Ugaste said. “Illinois is such a great state and Chicago a great city. The fact that a few politicians seem to think that they don’t have to play by the same rules or think that the purpose of government is to enrich them has put a stain on everything.”
Ugaste says that Republicans have recently filed a host of bills aimed at changing the culture of Springfield, only to be rebuffed by the Democratic majority.
“What we need is for our ethics clause to get stronger and for us to close some of the loopholes,” Ugaste said. “Until we do that, I don’t know if a whole lot will change.”