When the Legislature passed a watered-down version of ethics reform in 2021, leading Democrats from both chambers promised it was just a first step, and that more work needed to be done. Those words rang hollow this year when the Senate Ethics Committee failed to hold even one meeting.
Despite the 22-count public corruption and racketeering indictment against former Speaker of the House Mike Madigan, and news last week that yet another Statehouse Democrat was under federal investigation for political wrongdoing, exactly zero ethics reform bills were heard this year.
Senate Republicans pushed forward with their commitment to ensure an ethical and corruption-free state government this year by filing a robust package of ethics reform bills. The Senate Republicans’ package would have empowered officials to better investigate, indict, and prosecute cases of political corruption, and would have strengthened lobbying laws.