May 21, 2009 6:19 pm US/Central
Illinois House Approves Ethics Oversight Measures
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) ―
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Michael Madigan (file)
CBS
The Illinois House voted Thursday for a series of ethics bills meant to give state inspectors more authority, improve oversight of how tax money is spent and clear out political pals hired by two disgraced former governors.
One measure strengthens the inspectors who are supposed to root out corruption in Illinois government. They would be allowed to investigate anonymous tips instead of responding only to signed complaints, and they could release findings to the public. They would gain new power to investigate hiring.
The legislation also would expand the "revolving door" prohibition against state officials going to work for interest groups they once regulated.
Another bill overhauls the process for buying goods and services. New procurement officers and monitors would try to make sure tax dollars are spent honestly instead of going to political insiders.
The House also voted to give Gov. Pat Quinn a deadline for deciding whether to fire state employees hired by former Gov. George Ryan, a Republican now in federal prison, and former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat facing federal corruption charges.
The bill would give Quinn 90 days to review about 750 employees who serve at the pleasure of the governor and decide whether they deserve to keep their jobs. Anyone he doesn't specifically decide to keep would lose their job.
When he took office in January, Quinn promised to "fumigate" state government. The Chicago Democrat has convened a panel that has recommended ways, including campaign contribution limits, to clean up state government in the post-Blagojevich era.
Still, Quinn has removed relatively few people hired by his predecessors and works closely with some key members of Blagojevich's administration.
"I didn't think he was moving at a good pace and that's why I introduced the bill -- to accelerate the pace," said House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago.
Madigan dropped a provision firing former Blagojevich budget director John Filan from his new job as executive director of the Illinois Finance Authority. The speaker said Quinn assured him that Filan, a longtime friend, would leave the job voluntarily in July.
All three measures passed without a single "no" vote and now go to the state Senate.
The bills are the latest in a series of ethics measures that Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, are backing in the wake of Blagojevich's arrest and removal from office.
The proposals came after hours of testimony by a special joint committee of the House and Senate, but that testimony looked at ethics issues in general -- not the specific proposals approved Thursday.
Those measures popped up in an entirely different committee Wednesday, passed after little discussion and then were approved by the House a day later.
Cindi Canary, head of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, said she hadn't seen the legislation and couldn't comment on whether it would have much impact on government corruption. She noted that even bills meant to improve government transparency are being handled in typical legislative fashion, surfacing at the last minute with little time for review.
"If anything, this year is more mystifying than ever, and that says a lot," Canary said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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