Illinois state Rep. Dave Severin (R-Benton) wants to see more dedication across the board to the fight against political corruption in Springfield.
“The Democrats are claiming they have done some special thing by passing some small-time ethics bills today,” Severin recently said in a press release. “That’s not exactly what happened. I supported these bills because that is all Speaker [Michael] Madigan (D-Chicago) is going to allow for now. But, I am joining my constituents and the people of the state of Illinois in demanding more. A task force here, a small change to paperwork there. That’s not going to cut it with me.”
To that end, Severin has sponsored several bills he touts as being aimed toward cleaning up the mess once and for all.
Illinois state Rep. Dave Severin (R-Benton)
“One particular issue that has me fired up is that we’ve got state legislators serving as lobbyists to the City of Chicago,” Severin said in the release. “How can that be legal? The Democratic Senate President [John Cullerton] is a registered lobbyist for the City of Chicago, we’ve seen multiple raids and arrests and the Democrats in the House are playing footsie with changing ethics laws.”
Severin points as comparison to the more than two dozen bills he says House Republicans have introduced to bring about reform.
“The package I’ve signed on to sponsor is tough, and I’m sure that’s why the Chicago Democrats are so afraid of it,” Severin said. “I’m not going to stop sounding the alarm on the ethics issue. People are being arrested, people are going to jail, and it is because we don’t have tough laws in this state that provide adequate deterrence.”
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