WTTW Chicago Tonight discusses the halt put on ethics reform in Illinois by democrats in a time when legislators are being indicted and investigated. Read/watch below.
Good Government Groups Scold Legislators for Putting Ethics on the Back Burner
It’s been more than six months since a state commission was supposed to issue a report on proposed ethics reforms and nearly a year since the bipartisan commission was first formed.
A coalition of self-described good government groups on Tuesday issued a statement rebuking lawmakers for the delay.
“They’re leaving us in the dark and that’s the opposite of what they should be doing when we’re talking about ethics reform. This process should be transparent and we should know what’s going on,” said Alisa Kaplan, director of Reform for Illinois.
The Joint Legislative Ethics Commission held a series of meetings early this year and was due to issue a set of recommendations by March 31.
“We understand perfectly that that coincided with when COVID was emerging and that there was cause for some delay,” Kaplan said.
But given that other legislative committees and groups have been meeting virtually and in person for months now, she said it’s past time for the commission to meet its obligations. Instead, she said, there’s been no communication since mid-August.
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