When I speak with constituents, they are justifiably upset about the state of our government. They have little to no faith in leadership at all levels of service, from local to state to federal. They are sick and tired of the graft, the pay-to-play politics, and politicians looking out for special interests instead of the interests of everyday people. We owe it to the residents of Illinois to restore public trust and faith in our government. We can achieve great strides in improving people’s quality of life but we are greatly hindered when our system is corrupted.
After months of hard work I am happy to say that the General Assembly, through the tremendous leadership and hard work of Representative John Fritchey and Senator Don Harmon, passed HB 824, which will help put an end to pay-to-play politics in Illinois government. The bill awaits the governor’s signature and he should sign it today. When it goes into affect, it will ban businesses with $50,000 or more in state contracts from making political contributions to elected officials who oversee the contracts.
I was proud to co-sponsor and publicly advocate for HB 824. As a candidate I campaigned on confronting corruption and improving ethics in our state. Passage of this bill offered a chance to fulfill a promise to those I serve and to send a strong message to voters throughout our state that we respect the value of transparency, accountability and a commitment to honest government.
It is obvious, however, that we need more than one tool at our disposal to change the ethical climate in our state.
