Lake County Gazette

Illinois state Sen. Craig Wilcox (R-McHenry) thinks it is time for less talking and more action when it comes to bringing ethics reform legislation to Springfield.

“Ethical scandals in both chambers of our capitol, and elsewhere in Illinois politics have shaken the confidence of Illinois residents,” Wilcox said in a press release. “The recently proposed solution of a partisan ethics commission to ‘talk about’ reforms is not enough.”

Wilcox points to the growing number of ongoing federal corruption scandals that now find current lawmakers at the center as justification for his position.

Former Illinois state Rep. Luis Arroyo (D-Chicago) | http://reparroyo.com/

Longtime state Rep. Luis Arroyo (D-Chicago) was recently ousted from his 3rd District seat after being collared on bribery charges involving a sitting state senator, and veteran state Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago) was also recently pressured into stepping down as chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee after being implicated in a shakedown scheme where he is alleged to have used the power of his office.

“The residents of Illinois deserve and should demand better,” Wilcox said. “Senate Republicans have introduced meaningful ethics reforms that failed to get a vote, much less a public hearing. As legislators, we must hold ourselves to a higher standard and work together to ensure honest, ethical state government.”

Wilcox pointed to Senate Bill 2297 proposed by Sen. Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington), which would allow the Legislative Inspector General to start an investigation without pre-approval from the Legislative Ethics Commission, and Sen. Dan McConchie’s (R-Hawthorn Woods) SB 2300, which prohibits a member of the State Board of Elections from contributing to or being an officer of a state or federal political committee, as proposals that could have meaningful impact.

The veteran lawmaker has also expressed support for state Rep. Dale Righter’s (R-Mattoon) bill that would ban members of the General Assembly, their spouse or immediate family living with them from lobbying for compensation.