With Mike Madigan gone from the Speaker’s seat for almost a year, recent fundraising reports give us some hints about what’s changed and what’s stayed the same in a post-Madigan era. What’s the same. Legislative leaders are still abusing the…
Read MoreThe recent revelation that an FBI sting caught a Cook County Board of Review employee counting thousands of dollars in alleged bribes in his car, saying he was going to “split [the cash] up between everybody” is a cinematic example…
Read MoreYesterday was the deadline for Illinois political committees to submit their quarterly reports detailing campaign contributions and expenses. They give us a picture of where the party committees, legislative leaders, and candidates in contested races stand with just under a…
Read MoreGovernor Pritzker should use his amendatory veto power to demand stronger measures Yesterday, Carol Pope announced she was resigning as Illinois’ Legislative Inspector General, the position charged with investigating ethics violations in the General Assembly. Citing the legislature’s lack of commitment to…
Read MoreThe Illinois primary elections are one year away today, but some candidates have already starting building their war chests. We took a look at two races that have attracted big money: the campaigns for governor and secretary of state. The…
Read MoreIn Governor Pritzker’s State of the State address last year, he committed to fighting for a series of meaningful ethics reforms to address our endless corruption scandals and begin rebuilding Illinoisans’ shattered trust in their state government. The ethics bill the legislature passed…
Read MoreOn Monday, the General Assembly passed SB539, a long-awaited ethics omnibus bill. After endless scandals and indictments, we had hoped for comprehensive reform that would help restore Illinoisans’ confidence in their government. While SB539 takes some steps in the right direction, we…
Read MoreThis week, the Illinois legislature passed a bill with two of Reform for Illinois‘ top priorities: making it easier to vote by mail with a “permanent vote by mail list” and improving voting access for people with disabilities. Reform for Illinois has been advocating for these measures…
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Reporter Dean Olsen interviewed Reform for Illinois Executive Director Alisa Kaplan for a State Journal-Register article on the new ethics law passed by the General Assembly. Kaplan pointed out that the state’s new revolving door prohibition is much shorter than the…
Read MoreLast week, Republicans in the Illinois Senate introduced an amendment to SB1350 containing a package of ethics reforms that would make some significant changes to the status quo in Springfield. The new bill is not perfect, but it improves on…
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