Kane County Reporter

State Sen. Don DeWitte (R-St. Charles) is co-sponsoring legislation to strengthen ethics laws for Illinois legislators.

According to a press release, DeWitte signed on as a chief co-sponsor of Senate Bill 3030 following the resignation of Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope on Jan. 6 leaving the position vacant. 

"At a time when a lack of ethics continues to grab headlines in Illinois, the state is currently without a Legislative Inspector General (LIG)," DeWitte wrote in his press release.

Pope originally stated her resignation would be effective Dec. 16, but she extended the deadline to Jan. 6 to give the search committee more time to find a replacement. No replacement has yet been found, according to Capitol News Illinois.

WBEZ Chicago reported that Pope announced her departure in response to the passage of an “ethics reform bill” that she said would not allow her to actually do her job, and she stated that "this last legislative session demonstrated true ethics reform is not a priority."

Four highly qualified lawyers were appointed to a search committee to recommend a new LIG. Rep. Jim Durkin criticized Illinois Democrats last month for rejecting both of the committee’s recommendations.

"Until filled, the office and its staff will be empty, leaving complaints of wrongdoing unanswered and uninvestigated," DeWitte wrote. "Last year, an independent, bipartisan committee brought forward a unanimous choice for Pope’s replacement, but Democrats who serve on the LEC (Legislative Ethics Commission) refused to accept that individual. Instead, they pushed for a candidate that was not recommended by the LEC’s independent search committee so they could hand-pick their own ethics watchdog."

Senate Bill 3030 would require LEC meetings to be open to the public, and have the meetings publicly posted; prevent elected officials to serve as members of the LEC; and provide the LIG with subpoena power to investigate ethics complaints against members of the Illinois General Assembly.

"It is important to further empower the LIG to root out corruption in the General Assembly, and today I signed on as a chief co-sponsor of legislation (Senate Bill 3030), which makes important changes in the way the LEC processes ethics complains against state lawmakers," DeWitte concluded.

The Office of the Legislative Inspector General in Illinois was established in 2003.  People who suspect that a member of the General Assembly is engaging in any form of misconduct can inform the Office of the Legislative Inspector General, which will then carry out an investigation.