McCombie to introduce legislation creating Task Force during Fall Veto Session
In recognition of Global Ethics Day, State Representative Tony McCombie, along with several of her legislative colleagues, announced plans to introduce legislation to create a State Ethics Task Force to tighten ethics rules within Illinois government.
“To have the public’s trust, we must take action whenever confidence is broken,” said McCombie. “We’ve seen the headlines of the FBI’s recent activity, including raiding the homes of legislators, lobbyists, and offices within the State Capitol. The cost of corruption is too high for Illinoisans to ignore.”
Within the past year, questionable activities by those within state government raise concerns that Illinois’ ethics rules are not strict enough. Examples include:
- A State Senator indicted on embezzlement charges
- An ongoing federal probe into another member of the State Senate
- A federal investigation into the campaign finance activities of a former state legislator and current Illinois Auditor General
- Secretary of State investigation into a State Senator for economic conflicts of interest
- Based on FBI actions, questions surrounding local municipalities and various industries, including energy, gaming, and transportation sectors
“The State Ethics Task Force will identify areas of concern, study best practices for ethics and transparency in public business implemented by other states and the federal government toward proposing legislation early next year to ensure Illinois has among the toughest ethics laws in the nation,” McCombie continued.
Veto Session begins the week of October 28th.