Kane County Reporter

Republican state Rep. Jeff Keicher is seeking unity in the push for ethics reform in Springfield.

To that end, the veteran lawmaker in now promoting a survey by Illinois House Republicans as part of their Reimagine Illinois campaign, which includes such questions as "Do you think ethics reform should be a priority for Illinois lawmakers?"

The pillars of Reimagine Illinois include a corruption free state, responsible fiscal leadership, and growing jobs for families to stop the exodus of Illinois residents. The last main pillar is a safe state where senseless violence doesn’t exist and kids can grow up safely, according to its site.

Rep. Avery Bourne (R-Litchfield) offers an idea of where to begin.

“One of the main bills is House Bill 626, which is super common sense,” Bourne said in a video. “It says you need 72 hours between a budget bill being introduced and when you vote on it. There’s (a) 72-hour waiting period when you buy firearms, but we don’t have a waiting period to spend taxpayer dollars.”

But Bourne and ReImagine Illinois assure that’s only the start.

“We need to do a lot more and our entire focus is on these four areas,” Bourne added. “We have over a dozen bills that deal with who serves in elected office and how they’re held accountable, everything from enhanced transparency to not being able to be a lobbyist and legislator at the same time.” 

Keicher and Bourne aren't the only ones who have been concerned about the need for ethics reform in Illinois. State Rep. Jackie Haas (R-Kankakee) is also trumpeting the push, recently joining colleague Rep. Chris Bos (R-Lake Zurich) in a video where they highlight some of the ways they feel corruption has negatively impacted services and residents receiving them.

“I think that we know that, for far too long, Illinoisans have been paying a high price for corruption,” Haas told the Kankakee Times. ”We’re painfully aware that corruption decreases economic growth,  and it discourages development in our state.”