Peoria Standard

State Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) and other Republican lawmakers in the state Senate want to see an end to political corruption in Illinois which has created a black-eye on the state's government for years. 

Tracy, chair of the Legislative Ethics Commission, said with a newly introduced bill, Republicans were renewing their vow to fight corruption.

"Less than a year ago members from both sides of the aisle promised that the ethics package we passed was only the first step to rooting out corruption," Tracy said during a Jan. 27 press conference. "We haven't forgotten our promise and we hope that our Democrat colleagues haven't either."

Tracy believes the legislation, Senate Bill 3636, will be another step toward restoring voters' faith in the state's government.

"For years numerous studies have ranked Illinois as one of the most corrupt states in the nation. According to Forbes' news outlet, Illinois has experienced the second highest number of public corruption convictions per capita. We cannot continue to bury our heads in the sand and act surprised when yet another Illinois politician is indicted, nor can we ignore the advice of and recommendations of our former legislative watchdog, our legislative inspector general, and present that her resignation wasn't the result of legislative inaction," Tracy said during the press conference. 

The bill, as introduced, would do a number of things such as banning members of the General Assembly and their immediate family from lobbying while they are serving, forbid lawmakers from negotiating future employment with a lobbying firm, prohibit former lawmakers for lobbying within a year of leaving office and ban lobbyists from serving as an officer on a candidate's political committee, according to a press release. It would also give the attorney general and prosecuting attorneys better tools to investigate and prosecute corruption of public officials.

"We must pass legislation that holds legislators, public officials, and other elected officials accountable for their actions and ensure the only interest they are looking out for are those of their constituents," Tracy said. "We must bring an end to the known practices that lead to unethical behavior. Then, and only then, will we be able to take back our government for one that serves the people of the State of Illinois."

A dozen Republicans are co-sponsoring the bill which was filed on Jan. 19, according to the Illinois General Assembly website.

If it passes, the law would go into effect right away.

It currently sits in the Senate Assignments Committee.