Prairie State Wire

Illinois House Republicans are calling for a special session to discuss ethics reform.

House Reps. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst), Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) and Grant Wehrli (R-Naperville) said at a recent news conference that ethics reform needed to be a key focus in a special session due to the recent allegations against House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago).

Wehrli said in the fall veto session that a blue-ribbon panel to discuss ethics reform was put together.

"I'm honored to serve on that panel," Wehrli said. "We met several times since that panel was put together and had a report due March 31 but in light of COVID we missed that deadline."

Wehrli said Democrats have used COVID-19 as an excuse not to even meet via Zoom or a tele-town hall meeting.

"They’ve abandoned this work of ethics reform that is desperately needed," Wehrli said. "Now we see why."

Wehrli addressed Gov. J.B. Pritzker, saying that in January, the governor said in his State of the State address that now is not the time to sit idly by when it comes to ethics reforms. Wehrli urged Pritzker to take the lead and call them back into session.

"Let's address ethics collaboratively in a bipartisan manner," Wehrli said. "To my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, you should be demanding that we address this. We have a massive conflict, a breach of trust in government and we need to address it. Your silence is corruption."

Wehrli said corruption is a systemic problem that needs to be fixed.

Mazzochi said when former Rep. Luis Arroyo was arrested and charged with bribery and then when former State Sen. Marty Sandoval was charged with bribery in January, Democrats had a chance to make real change, but decided not to do so.

"We got silence," Mazzochi said. "They knew about federal raids for documents. They knew about this — these are public findings."

Mazzochi said legislators have had more than enough time to consider ethics legislation to stop corruption.

"This is flat wrong," Mazzochi said. "The silence is deafening. Your silence is corruption and it needs to end."

Ugaste said during the Arroyo incidents, Republicans brought forth several ethics bills.

"Why weren’t any of those bills heard?" Ugaste said. "Why was a toll bridge more important than ethics reform? One reason, the speaker stopped those bills from being heard. This needs to come to an end."

Ugaste said the people of Illinois deserve better. He echoed that silence is corruption.

Wehrli urged those who were running for offices or had run for offices to stop taking Madigan's money.

"That is how he controls you," Wehrli said. "That’s also how he gets unknown participants to run. We need a fair and just process to elect people."

Wehrli said lawmakers should do better and should be held to higher standards 

Mazzochi said it would take 60 votes to remove Madigan from his position of power.

"Are the Democrats going to have the courage to go against their patron all these years?" Mazzochi said. "The burden is on them."