Ethics omnibus fails to pass in Springfield
The Chicago Tribune spoke to RFI Executive Director Alisa Kaplan about stalled ethics legislation in Springfield, which included a provision that would have quashed Senate President Don Harmon’s State Board of Elections case. Harmon’s campaign committee is accused of accepting millions in contributions over the typical limits.
“I thought I’d seen everything, but I was shocked to see it in the bill,” she said. “It clearly would have changed the law, but it was framed as just a clarification of existing rules so it would apply retroactively to Harmon’s case….Just a breathtakingly cynical use of legal language and procedure.”
She added, “It’s bad enough that legislative leaders regularly abuse the self-funding loophole. We should be closing the loophole, not blowing it wide open for even more opportunities for pay-to-play politics and corruption.”
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