Southern Illinois News

Freshman Illinois state Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) has been appointed to the newly created Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform.

“The Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform was created during the veto session via passage of HJR 93, which I supported,” Windhorst said in a press release. “I take this responsibility very seriously. The state of Illinois is in the middle of an ethics crisis, multiple legislators and their associates are under federal investigation or indictment and a cloud of corruption hangs over the statehouse. The time to act to reform our ethics laws is now.”

Over the last several weeks as several state lawmakers have found themselves at the center of ongoing federal corruption probes, Windhorst has been one of the loudest and most critical voices about corruption in Springfield. He is co-sponsoring legislation that would prohibit lawmakers from serving as lobbyists to municipal governments, institute a 24-month revolving door ban on legislators serving as lobbyists, and tighten regulations on statements of economic interest and lobbyist-activity disclosures.

Illinois state Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago)

“The legislative package that I’m sponsoring are measures that can and should be voted on as soon as lawmakers return to Springfield in January,” Windhorst said. “Illinois has a long, well-documented and dubious history of public corruption. As a member of the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform, I will study current law and work with my colleagues to make legislative recommendations that will serve as sufficient deterrents for politicians that are thinking about engaging in self-dealing.”

In recent weeks, veteran state Rep. Luis Arroyo (D-Chicago) was forced to step down from his seat in the 3rd District after being nabbed on federal bribery charges, and longtime state Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago) was pressured into relinquishing his post as Senate Transportation Committee chairman after being implicated in a kickback scheme.

“I look forward to getting to work on passing meaningful ethics reforms into law and restoring faith and trust in the General Assembly and Illinois government,” Windhorst said.