Galesburg Reporter

State Sen. Win Stoller (R-Germantown Hills) is pushing Senate Bill 3636 as the kind of reform Springfield needs to restore its credibility.

“For far too long Illinois has been synonymous with public corruption and unethical behavior from its elected officials,” Stoller said in a post to his website. “The people of Illinois are sick and tired of corruption within our state and demand true reform that holds our public officials accountable for their actions. I am proud to join my fellow Senate Republicans and co-sponsor legislation that will combat corruption and begin the process of winning back our public’s trust.”

SB 3636 would prevent spouses and other close family members who reside with a General Assembly member from engaging in lobbying if they accept compensation. Beyond that, the measure seeks to prevent legislators from negotiating for employment with lobbying entities while holding public office and “gives state's attorneys the power to use wiretaps to investigate crimes of public corruption, and allows the state's attorney to use a statewide grand jury pool to investigate, indict and prosecute cases of bribery, official misconduct, solicitation misconduct and other issues.”

The Senate Republican Caucus is also promoting SB 3030, a measure that would require legislative ethics commission meetings be open to the public.