Sen. Brian Stewart has taken his Democratic counterparts to task for not passing meaningful ethics reforms. | Photo Courtesy of Brian Stewart
Sen. Brian Stewart has taken his Democratic counterparts to task for not passing meaningful ethics reforms. | Photo Courtesy of Brian Stewart
Republican lawmakers in Illinois are becoming frustrated at what they deem is Democrats' inaction on corruption in the executive government that they helped create, Chicago Business reported.
A tweet from the state GOP account put the blame solely across the aisle.
“Democrats created our corruption mess and they're not interested in cleaning it up,” IL Republican Party tweeted.
State Sen. Brian Stewart (R-Freeport) has gone on record saying that meaningful ethics reforms are needed to combat government corruption; however, Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope didn't believe it would happen and resigned from her position as a result, ABC7 reported.
In a letter to the Legislative Ethics Commission announcing she will resign from her post by the end of the year, Pope states her desire to bring about true ethics reform, and expresses her disappointment that her efforts were not as successful as she hoped.
“When I took this job as the Legislative Inspector General, I thought I might be able to make a difference working from the inside,” Pope said wrote. “I thought I could be useful in improving the public’s view of the legislature and help bring about true ethics reform. Unfortunately, I have not been able to do so. This last legislative session demonstrated (that) true ethics reform is not a priority.”
Stewart, who is also a member of the Legislative Ethics Commission, said in a release on his site that Pope worked meticulously to pass meaningful ethics reform; however, the blocking of significant reforms from majority legislative leaders was gut wrenching.
House Speaker Chris Welch had previously told the Chicago Sun Times that “the legislature (was) going to be a check on the executive branch” when he took office January.
Illinois Rising Action said in a tweet that Democratic leaders say the correct things in public, only to not follow through when legislation arrives.
"Welch, along with Gov. J.B. Pritzker and others sounded the right notes, publicly declaring their commitment to reform,” IL Rising Action said. “Words, though, are cheap. Only actions would show politicians' true willingness to clean up Illinois politics."
Alerts Sign-up