Kane County Reporter

Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope's goal was to bring ethics reform to the Illinois Legislature, but instead found her position to be a "paper tiger" and will be stepping down come mid-December.

State Rep. Jeff Keicher (R-Sycamore) believes Democratic lawmakers are to blame, since they failed to approve measures Pope recommended to give her more independence.

"Democrats continued to block an ethics reform package this spring that would allow the Legislative Inspector General to go where the evidence leads. Instead they passed an ethics revision that didn't address the issues revealed during multiple indictments and investigations but offered watered down measures that offer good speaking points," Keicher wrote in a post on his Facebook page. "Now we have a woman with high integrity and a proven track record who is fed up with the sham LIG system she's been asked to serve within resigning from her position."

Pope had hoped to boost the public's perception of the legislature by implementing "true ethics reform," The Center Square reported.

"Unfortunately, I have not been able to do so," Pope said, The Center Square reported. "This last legislative session demonstrated true ethics reform is not a priority. The LIG has no real power to effect change or shine a light on ethics violations, the position is essentially a paper tiger."

According to the same report, Pope said she hasn't been effective as she would have liked when she took the position, but will continue to serve while a search for her replacement is underway, or until Dec. 15.