McLean County Times

Illinois state Rep. Dan Brady (R-Normal) is leading a contingent of GOP lawmakers pushing for ethics reform legislation in Springfield.

At a recent press conference, Brady pointed to a law that allows current lawmakers to also serve as paid lobbyists as one of the most glaring examples of how blurred the lines have become.

“The current situation permits a clear conflict of interest that invites corruption,” he said in the press release. “Lawmakers can now lobby their colleagues for passage of legislation that benefits their outside clients, and themselves, financially.”

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

As a remedy, Brady is sponsoring House Bill 3947, which seeks to ban lawmakers from performing paid lobbying work with local government units while they are in office. The veteran lawmaker is also sponsoring House Joint Resolution 87, which would “create a nine-member task force to identify areas of concern, review current ethics laws and propose additional legislative solutions to ensure that Illinois is holding public officials accountable.”

Brady is also a part of a throng of lawmakers pushing for stiffer penalties for legislators found to be in violation of existing ethics laws. House Bill 361 increases fines for engaging in restricted activities and for violating rules of conduct. 

All the proposed changes come in the wake of a flood of federal corruption probes that have found a rising number of current state lawmakers to be at the center. Just last month, longtime state Rep. Luis Arroyo (D-Chicago) was forced to step down in the 3rd District after being arrested on federal bribery charges, and before that veteran state Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago) was pressured into resigning as chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee after being implicated in an ongoing kickback scheme

“We are sent to Springfield to work for the benefit of our constituents, not business clients or our own bank accounts,” Brady said. “Together, these measures will hold members of the General Assembly accountable and help reform Illinois’ unfortunate reputation for public corruption.”