lawmakers approved ethics reforms Monday and early Tuesday morning that advocates said would bar elected officials from lobbying other units of government and interrupt the "revolving door" of lawmakers leaving
State lawmakers approved ethics reforms Monday and early Tuesday morning that advocates said would bar elected officials from lobbying other units of government and interrupt the “revolving door” of lawmakers leaving and then returning to lobby the General Assembly.
The package, which received bipartisan support in the Illinois House and Senate, also would give the legislative inspector general the power to initiate investigations of lawmakers without first receiving approval from a bipartisan commission of lawmakers.
“This legislation takes the first steps in addressing some of the most egregious scandals in our state’s history,” said Sen. Ann Gillespie, D-Arlington Heights. “It offers bipartisan solutions to re-establish public trust in our institutions.
Amanda Vinicky | June 1, 2021 8:26 am
(WTTW News)
Illinois Democrats used their supermajorities in the General Assembly to full advantage this weekend as their spring session reeled toward an end, pushing through a progressive agenda, an on-time $42 billion budget with no tax or fee hikes on individuals, and legislative maps that could help the party to continue to secure its in-state dominance into the future.
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Even with complete control of the levers of power in Springfield and despite working into the wee hours of Tuesday morning, policy fissures between the chambers meant lawmakers didn’t fully complete their work in time to adjourn as scheduled May 31, leaving hanging high-profile issues like an elected board for Chicago Public Schools, repairing issues with the state’s gun licensing process, and a massive energy package.
Illinois made an important first step in its break with the corrupt practices that defined the legislative process under former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan. New ethics rules about lobbying, financial disclosures and the legislative watchdog were passed in the final hours of the session.
Editorial Roundup: Illinois
Chicago Sun-Times. May 10, 2021.
Editorial: Catholic religious orders must come clean about abusive clergy
Despite public pressure, some orders still resist telling the full truth about sexual abuse allegations, as the Sun-Times’ Robert Herguth has reported.
A clerical sex abuse scandal has rocked the Catholic Church for decades now, and to our way of thinking, full disclosure is the only way for the church to put the scandal completely to rest.
Every independent religious order must follow the lead of the rest of the Church and come clean about abusive priests in their ranks.
A number of those independent orders among them the Jesuits and Carmelites have made the only correct moral and ethical choice. They now publicly disclose the names of clergy who have been credibly accused of abusing minors. But other independent orders have stubbornly resisted full disclosure of the details regarding abusive clergy, as the Sun-Times’ Robert Herguth ha