Southern Illinois News

After the indictment of former Speaker of the House Mike Madigan, Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Harrisburg), are looking for stronger ethics reform legislation.

In a March 14 Facebook post, Windhorst reiterated his support for ethics reform in the state. He shared a link to a legislative survey focusing on ethics reform and encouraged his constituents to take the survey so that their voices could be heard in the House and Senate.

"I believe major ethics reforms are needed to end the culture of corruption in Illinois. I am the sponsor of a sweeping ethics bill (HB 3396) that would ban legislators from serving as lobbyists, end the revolving door, and strengthen the power of the Legislative Inspector General when investigating allegations of corruption. Let me know what you think about corruption in our state by taking the ethics reform survey at the link below," Windhorst posted.

The survey is a single yes or no question, positioning the state's Democrats as not caring about ethics reform. "Illinois Democrats have been criticized for not making meaningful ethics reform a priority in the legislature. Do you think ethics reforms should be a priority for the General Assembly?"

Windhorst isn't the only one who is speaking up about the need for ethics reforms. Rep. Tim Butler  (R-Springfield) has asked for more transparency after a Better Government Association report revealed that Gov. J.B. Pritzker's blind trust managing his personal portfolio had invested in a state contractor.

And Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) is also pushing for ethics reform, telling Illinois residents that she and her party haven't given up on it. She is the chair of the Senate Legislative Ethics Committee and has sponsored Senate Bill 3636 to ban the spouse or family members of a legislator from lobbying for compensation and would also keep legislators from lobbying while in office.