Chicago City Wire

Rep. Brad Stephens (R-Chicago) called out his Democratic colleagues for blocking ethics reforms, such as House Bill 2842.

“House Democrats have proven their indifference toward corruption by continuing to block the ethics reforms our state so desperately needs,” Stephens wrote on Facebook. “One of the numerous ethics bills killed by House Democrats was HB 2842, which would give the Legislative Inspector General more autonomy in investigating complaints against lawmakers by allowing the office to issue subpoenas independently of the Legislative Ethics Commission.”

Former Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan’s indictment has garnered heat from Republicans.

Madigan was indicted on March 2 on federal racketeering and bribery charges. The DOJ wrote in a release that “The 22-count indictment accuses Madigan of leading for nearly a decade a criminal enterprise whose purpose was to enhance Madigan’s political power and financial well-being while also generating income for his political allies and associates.”

Madigan is facing charges of racketeering, conspiracy, as well as individual counts of using interstate facilities to carry out bribery, wire fraud, and attempted extortion. The release notes that in addition to his role as Speaker of the House, Madigan has also held the positions of representative of Illinois’ 22nd District, committeeman for Chicago’s 13th Ward, chairman of both the Illinois Democratic Party and the 13th Ward Democratic Organization, and partner at the Chicago law firm of Madigan & Getzendanner.

Madigan pleaded not guilty to all charges. His next scheduled court appearance is set for April 1.

“Corruption by an elected official and his associates undermines the public’s confidence in our government,” John Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said in the release. “The indictment alleges a long-term, multifaceted scheme to use public positions for unlawful private gain. Rooting out and prosecuting the kind of corruption alleged in the indictment will always be a top priority for this office.”

HB 2842 would have amended the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act to provide that “the Legislate Ethics Commission shall adopt no rule requiring the Legislative Inspector General to seek the Commission’s advance approval before commencing any investigation or issuing a subpoena,” LegiScan wrote.

Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Westmont) also added her displeasure with Madigan’s indictment.

“It is baffling to me how, even after the indictment of their long time leader for bribery and corruption, as well as the recent bribery cases of lower level Democrat state Senators and representatives, that Democrats in the majority can justify denying a vote on commonsense ethical reforms for state legislators,” Mazzochi wrote on Facebook.

The last person to hold the position of Legislative Inspector General (LIG), Carol Pope, resigned in July, stating her office was “essentially a paper tiger.” Pope wrote in her resignation letter that when she accepted the position as LIG, she had hoped to be “able to make a difference working from the inside.”

Pope called out lawmakers for failing to pass effective ethics reform legislation and stated, “This last legislative session demonstrated true ethics reform is not a priority.” The office of LIG had been vacant for more than 4 years when Pope took the job in 2018.