Dupage Policy Journal

State Rep. Amy Grant (R-Wheaton) is hoping No. 60 will prove to be the charm in the fight to bring ethics reforms to Springfield.

“Right now, the House Republican Caucus has 59 different ethics reform bills that have been filed in the current 101st General Assembly,” Grant said. “Not one of them has been granted a hearing and not one of them has been brought to the floor for a vote.”

That has't stopped Grant and her GOP colleagues from pushing, especially in light of veteran Democrat state Sen. Terry Link recently becoming the fourth member of Congress to face federal corruption charges this year. Link was hit with federal income tax evasion charges, but thus far has resisted overtures calling for him to step down.

Grant argues something has to give.

“House Republicans have been fighting for ethics reforms for years, and our efforts are continually blocked by the Democrats who control the flow of bills in Springfield,” she said.

With longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan also recently implicated in an ongoing federal corruption probe involving ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme, Grant blasted the recent reform package put forth by Democrats as “smoke and mirrors,” adding that virtually every measure proposed by them has already been offered up by Republicans.

“In addition, after touting the package, not one of them called for a special session where the bills could be acted upon,” she said. “Not one of them demanded that Gov. (J.B.) Pritzker call us back to Springfield for a special session on ethics reform. Until these lawmakers are willing to stand up to their leadership and demand a special session to address ethics, it’s hard to take their overtures seriously.”

Grant is hoping House Bill 4002, which she originally proposed last year, will finally get a shot. The bill would enact a two-year moratorium on when a statewide elected official, executive or administrative head of a state agency or member of the General Assembly could become a lobbyist after leaving their position.

“Illinois is one of only a few states that has no ‘revolving door policy,’ which prohibits high-level state officials from serving in their position one day and lobbying their colleagues the next,” Grant added. “There should be a cooling down period of at least two years.”