Carbondale Reporter

House Republican lawmakers in Illinois have put forward legislative proposals aimed at addressing ethics reform in the statehouse. This move is intended to rebuild public trust and tackle corruption, which has been a persistent issue. State Representatives Patrick Windhorst from Metropolis, Dave Severin from Benton, and David Friess from Red Bud emphasized the ongoing challenges posed by corruption, including cases involving former Speaker Michael Madigan.

Representative Dave Severin highlighted the need for more efforts to regain public confidence. "Rep. Windhorst and I were both here when Mike Madigan was still in control of this place," said Severin. He noted changes such as COVID-19 and political arrests but pointed out that issues like House Rules remain unchanged. "I am proud of the work that my fellow Southern Illinois House Republicans have done to try to clean up this mess."

Patrick Windhorst, a former prosecutor and current member of several committees, is advocating for multiple ethics reform bills, including HB 2413, which seeks to prevent legislators and Constitutional officers from lobbying locally. "While Democrat politicians were arrested, indicted, charged, convicted, and incarcerated, we waited for action," said Windhorst. He expressed disappointment with the lack of action from Democrats on public corruption but stressed that Republicans are actively pursuing legislative reforms.

David Friess spoke about the numerous indictments as a compelling reason for urgent ethics reform. "Today is our final day to pass house bills out of committee…and how many of our ethics reform bills have made it out of committee to even be considered on the House floor? Zero," stated Friess.

The House Republicans' objective includes preventing legislators from becoming lobbyists, closing revolving doors between government positions and lobbying roles, and stopping campaign funds from being used for defense against public corruption charges.