State Rep. Mark Luft (R-Pekin) has joined his Republican colleagues in Springfield urging Gov. Pritzker to veto an ethics reform bill they say doesn’t go far enough.
“Today, I joined my colleagues to take a stand for a more ethical Illinois,” Luft posted on Facebook. “We’re calling on Gov. Pritzker to issue an amendatory veto to SB 539 to enact meaningful ethics reform.”
In the letter, Luft and others argue “passing comprehensive ethics reform and anti-corruption safeguards are a priority for the Republican caucus, and should be for all elected officials in the state of Illinois. With the unsavory history of Illinois’ political corruption and the recent far-reaching federal investigations, it is past time to strengthen our ethics laws.”
The GOP pushback comes in the wake of Legislative Inspector General (LIG) Carol Pope announcing she plans to soon step down from her post with Senate Bill 539 being one of her primary reasons for leaving. She said the bill that now sits on the governor’s desk doesn’t give the LIG enough independence.
Republican lawmakers are in agreement with Pope in arguing that the bill falls for short of being what’s needed to steer Springfield in the right direction.
Luft recently praised legislation designed to make it harder for a lawmaker in Springfield to serve decades in leadership as a “good first step.”
House Bill 642 would cap the time a legislator could serve in leadership in the General assembly at 10 consecutive years.
“I hope that in the future, we can work together in a bipartisan way to implement more comprehensive term limits,” he said.
