May 28, 2009
The General Assembly is in its final week of the regular legislative session. In these closing days, we have focused on the state budget, a capital construction bill and government reform. While progress has been made to address the difficult economic climate our state faces, there remains much work to be done.
I am excited to announce that we passed the state's first capital infrastructure and jobs bill in ten years. New revenues will allow $28.9 billion to be spent repairing roads, mass transit, schools and other public infrastructure, while creating thousands of good paying jobs.Capital infrastructure and jobs bill will fund:
- Roads and Bridges – Repairs, new construction and long-term development
- Education Enhancements – Building repairs & construction for public schools, community colleges, and public & private universities
- Environmental Quality – Improvements to infrastructure for energy efficiency, water and sewer improvements, Brownfield clean-up, and improvements to parks, libraries and museums
- Public Transportation – System improvements for the CTA, Metra & PACE, high-speed-rail, airports and traffic management
While the capital construction and jobs program is vital to help revitalize our economy, the state’s budget gap is still very large. Funding for human services, education, pensions and social services including health care, child care and senior care depend on the decisions we make in the next few days.
We will also continue debating and passing strong government reforms to make sure government is accountable and accessible to the people of Illinois. The seven measures already passed by the House and detailed below are a great start down the path towards genuine reform and greater accountability, but again, there is more work to be done. This week we are continuing work on additional state government reforms, including campaign finance reform.
I have heard from many of you about the need to maintain state services in the budget and to pass strong government reforms. As we negotiate in the closing days of session, your concerns remain very important to me. I hope to hear from you at my district office located at 3657 N. Kedzie Ave in Chicago, by phone at (773) 267-2880 or e-mail me at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
Sincerely,
Deborah
GOVERNMENT REFORMS - PASSED THE HOUSE
Ethics Reform
Sweeping ethics reforms were built upon the work of the bipartisan House-Senate Joint Committee on Government Reform, which heard testimony from expert witnesses, representatives from public interest organizations, elected officials, state employees and Illinois citizens. Many of these reform measures are similar to the recommendations made by the Illinois Reform Commission chaired by former federal prosecutor Patrick Collins.
Senate Bill 54 will bring transparency to the Executive Ethics Commission and release reports of the Inspector General to the public. This measure will increase regulations over lobbyists, procurement officers, gifts to family members of state officials, and ethics training for state employees.
The bill goes further to prohibit contributions to elected officials in exchange for any official act or action, including appointments to a board or any other official capacity. Furthermore, a state employee who is requested or directed by an officer, member, employee, or candidate to engage in political activities prohibited by this provision is required to report the request to the appropriate ethics officer or Inspector General.
This legislation eliminates waivers to get around the “revolving door” ban to prevent former state employees or their immediate family members from going directly from their state position to working with a private entity they did business with as an agent of the state for one year after their state employment ends.
Additionally, this measure:
- Strengthens whistleblower protections;
- Expands the ability of the Executive Ethics Commission and Inspectors General to refer violations of the Ethics Act to be investigated by the Attorney General;
- Allows the Executive Commission to levy fines up to $20,000, or the value of the violation, whichever is greater, for violating the Ethics Act;
- Requires all persons and organizations to register as a lobbyist for lobbying any employees or members of state boards, commissions and retirement systems;
- Prohibits lobbyists from accepting compensation from a state agency for lobbying or legislative action; and requires lobbyists to report all expenditures and file weekly reports during the legislative session.
Procurement Reform
The Illinois Reform Commission made strong recommendations for procurement reform, including: an insulated, independent procurement office; remove loopholes and exemptions; independent monitors; greater disclosure for contractors and lobbyists; and enhanced transparency.
To address these recommendations and prevent "pay-to-play," Senate Bill 51 imposes strong oversights by the Executive Ethics Commission to ensure that purchasing and contracting decisions are made based on their merits and removed from political influence. This measure will also create new transparency requirements to prevent insider-dealings and show where taxpayer money is spent.
Some of the highlights of the procurement reform package include the following:
- A six-level system of procurement oversight, with procurement officers insulated from political influence because they are appointed by the Executive Ethics Commission, not the Governor. With a series of checks and balances, this framework makes it exponentially more difficult for a purchasing decision to be made on anything but its merits.
- Multiple requirements to increase transparency and mandate the public disclosure and retention of documents that explain the criteria, evaluation process and rationale for procurement decisions.
- Strong conflict-of-interests provisions, similar to those that are included in other reform measures under consideration, greatly lessen the likelihood for insider self-dealing and enrichments.
- A prohibition on firms that help prepare the specifications for a proposal request from receiving the contract that is awarded based on the criteria that firm helped to devise.
- Mandated disclosure of sub-contractors to ensure that the public is able to determine any entities that are receiving tax dollars.
- A ban on the use of placement agencies and contingency fees with respect to bonds or other securities issued by the state.
- New requirements regarding the awarding of state grants to ensure they are being spent for their intended purposes, including quarterly reporting for grants greater than $25,000, the right of the Auditor General, Attorney General or granting agency to audit the program receiving the grant, and the ability to suspend grants for non-compliance.
Compensation Reform
One of the most pressing ethics reform measures has been fought over for years, but nothing has ever been done until now. Many years ago, legislators set up the Compensation Review Board, a body to make recommendations on pay raises for elected officials. The Compensation Review Board’s pay raise process has proven to be an ineffective check and balance that provides a way for elected officials to escape responsibility for hiking their salaries.
Under current law, members of both the House and Senate are required to pass the same resolution rejecting the automatic pay increase, but rarely does the other chamber consider its counterpart’s resolution. Thus, the pay raise goes into effect, while each chamber can technically say it voted to reject the pay raise.
Senate Bill 2090 abolishes the Compensation Review Board and ends the games by requiring pay increases to pass like any other law in both the House and Senate and be signed into law by the Governor. This will allow voters to hold elected officials accountable for their actions if they vote to increase their own salaries. Additionally, the bill requires lawmakers to take four furlough – unpaid leave – days to save money and help balance the state budget.
Transparency Reform
Many of the reform recommendations from the Illinois Reform Commission and the House-Senate Joint Committee on Government Reform call for increased transparency. To expand upon these recommendations and provide information to citizens, House Bill 35 will require the state to create the Illinois Transparency and Accountability Portal (ITAP) to provide direct access to where the state spends taxpayer money.
Among the financial information the website will list are state employees, consultants, expenditures, tax credits and contracts. The Portal will include information pertaining to the amount of the expenditure, purpose, agency of authorization and the performance outcome of the expenditure. The information will bring together a single searching point to access information from all state agencies and departments with a single search at no cost to users.
Pension Reform
In April, the General Assembly passed, and Governor Quinn signed, legislation to radically overhaul the state pension systems. This action was necessary to protect retiree’s and taxpayer’s money. Public Act 96-0006 terminated the terms of current members of the state’s pension boards and required the new board members to meet strong restrictions.
Board members are required to file a statement of economic interest that includes any financial interests with lobbyists, ownership interests, and income records. Board members will also be subject to and bound by the state’s Ethics Act. They will be prohibited from making investments with an entity if they or an employee or advisor has a relationship with that investment entity.
This reform measure will also extend to board employees, consultants and fiduciaries or advisors by placing tough restrictions on their activities and require that they are selected under a competitive selection process with written terms within their contract. This measure will provide sunshine on the activities of the pension boards by requiring they publish all information on their website.
Other features of this pension reform package include: 8 hours of ethics training annually for board members; banning gifts or the solicitation of gifts to board members or employees; and banning contingent and placement fees.
Government Employment Reform
Senate Bill 1333 removes patronage appointees from the Ryan and Blagojevich administrations who remain in their taxpayer funded posts. The effect of this legislation is to force a 90-day review of gubernatorial appointees and high-level political appointees, who will be terminated after that time period unless Governor Quinn decides to retain them because he believes they are effective, professional and acting in the best interests of taxpayers.
The measure will also incorporate “Inspiring Better Government” recommendations from the Illinois Reform Commission to combat patronage, including the creation of a seven member Task Force on Personnel and Patronage Reform that will study hiring practices and the method for determining positions that are exempt from normal hiring procedures. Exempt appointees will be required to have their names published on a list with an explanation of their position and why they are exempt from standard hiring practices.
Freedom of Information Act Reform
With the backing of Attorney General Lisa Madigan and the Illinois Press Association, the state’s Freedom of Information Act will be revised to improve government transparency and make it easier for citizens, watchdog groups and journalists to gain access to government documents.
Among the most significant of the major revisions to the law contained in Senate Bill 189:
- The position of Public Access Counselor is created in the Attorney General’s office to settle disputes between public bodies and people requesting information.
- In order to deny a FOIA request, government must prove by clear and convincing evidence the reason for an exemption – this is a much higher and more difficult standard to meet, making it harder for governments to avoid disclosing documents.
- The total time allowed to respond to FOIA requests is reduced from 21 to 10 days.
- Courts may impose fines from $2,500 to $5,000 on public bodies that violate FOIA. Current law contains no penalties.
- Those who successfully sue over the denial of a FOIA request are entitled to payment for attorney’s fees. Current law allows for, but does not require the awarding of attorney’s fees.
