McLean County Times

Rep. Keith P. Sommer (R-Morton) earlier this month provided a link on his website to the state GOP caucus' observations about the beginning of the 102nd Illinois General Assembly.

Sommer provided the link on a page posted to his website Jan. 10. The caucus' observations include news on the ongoing pandemic, the minimum wage, continued delays in appointing a new inspector general and redistricting.

Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) | senatorjiltracy.com/

Sommer, who has served in the Illinois House since 1999, began representing the 88th District in 2012. His House committee appointments include Adoption &  Child Welfare, Economic Opportunity & Equity, International Trade  & Commerce, and Insurance.

This year's legislative session is expected to be shortened, adjourning in April rather than in May, because of COVID and because 2022 is an election year with early primaries.  

"This pandemic is not over," House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch (D-Hillside) said in a statement issued last month. "We must take necessary precautions to mitigate the spread of the virus, reduce the burden on our health care systems and keep each other as safe as possible."

Lawmakers are expected to concentrate mainly on getting a budget out for fiscal 2022-2023 but the GOP caucus' observations about the session's beginning was much more broad.

In particular, the caucus observed continued delays in replacing the last Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope, who stepped down in July and said her position was and is "essentially a paper tiger."  

Pope had been appointed to succeed former assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Porter, who was herself appointed on an interim basis in 2018 to deal with a backlog of 27 ethics complaints against lawmakers in the General Assembly. The seat had been vacant for about three years prior and Porter's appointment followed sexual harassment allegations against now-disgraced former Sen. Ira Silverstein.

The General Assembly's Democratic majority is behind the continued vacancy, Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy), who chairs the Legislative Ethics Commission (LEC), said in the caucus' observations.

"Confirming a candidate before LIG Pope left has always been my top priority," Tracy said. "It is unfortunate that my goal was not shared by some of the Democrat members of the (LEC) who did what they could to stall and circumvent the selection process,"

The delay isn't for lack of candidates.

"Our search committee interviewed multiple candidates and recommended two qualified candidates, and we should have been able to fill this position in a timely manner," Tracy said. "But several Democrat members of the LEC did not commit to seeing the process through, and we find ourselves without a qualified LIG to address legislative ethics complaints."