Editorial: Give Illinois legislative inspector general some teeth chicagotribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chicagotribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Illinoisans have only to look to the disturbingly long queue of former lawmakers charged with crimes or facing federal probes to know that ethics is not the Illinois General Assembly’s strong suit.
There’s former state Rep. Luis Arroyo, D-Chicago, who has pleaded not guilty to federal bribery charges, and was allegedly caught on tape trying to bribe another lawmaker while boasting, “This is, this is the jackpot.” Former state Sen. Martin Sandoval pleaded guilty to corruption charges before dying of COVID-19 complications last December. Or how about the cadre of allies of former House Speaker Michael Madigan including his former chief of staff, Tim Mapes whose alleged misconduct led to federal charges filed against them amid the ongoing ComEd corruption scandal? Mapes has also pleaded not guilty.
Normal, IL, USA / www.cities929.com
Jul 15, 2021 | 3:08 PM
(The Center Square) – The Illinois Legislative Inspector General announced she’s leaving the job at the end of the year because she says lawmakers have failed to bring about substantive changes to allow better policing of legislator conduct.
Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope took the job in 2019 after her nomination was approved by the Illinois General Assembly. She replaced interim LIG Julie Porter who was appointed temporarily following a multi-year vacancy revealed in 2017. That vacancy was created when Tom Homer left the position years earlier.
Pope, Porter and Homer have all raised issues with how state lawmakers have put laws in place that hinder the LIG’s ability to investigate claims against lawmakers.
By WMAY Newsroom
Jun 3, 2021 | 1:07 PM
The Illinois Legislative Inspector General says comments made by a Republican state lawmaker on the day of the January 6
th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol were “distasteful and not excusable,” but says an allegation that the lawmaker helped to incite the violence that day is “unfounded.”
Representative Chris Miller was in Washington that day and posted a Facebook Live video in which he talked about “a great cultural war” between supporters of then-President Donald Trump and, quote, “dangerous Democrat terrorists.” The Chicago Sun-Times reports Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope said those remarks are problematic, but did not rise to the level of “conduct unbecoming a legislator.”
(The Center Square) – The final day of the Illinois Legislature’s session is expected to be packed with major issues from how tax dollars will be appropriated for the coming year, to changes to election law, possible changes to gamblin.