Illinois state Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) wants to see Springfield get serious about stamping out corruption and instilling serious ethics reform.
The first-term lawmaker recently voted No on two Democrat-sponsored ethics bills he insists did not go far enough in addressing the problem.
“The first bill, SB 1639 dealing with statements of economic interest, was introduced in the middle of the night and then changed in the Democrat Caucus before it came to the House for a vote,” Bailey said in a press release. “This is not a transparent process."
Illinois state Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia)
As for the second bill, House Joint Resolution 93, Bailey added that a new ethics commission is hardly what the state needs right now.
“The HJR 93 that establishes a task force is not truly bipartisan because one party will have a supermajority of members making the recommendations on ethics reform," Bailey said. "This task force will accomplish nothing meaningful and the report will not be provided until after the March primary when there may very well be more indictments.”
Overall, Bailey said that Republicans have recently introduced as many as 30 ethics reform bills, only to see the overwhelming majority of them rebuffed by the Democratic ruling class. Meanwhile, Illinois taxpayers continue to learn more details about several ongoing corruption investigations focused on high-ranking Democrats in state government.
“They’re returning to their typical playbook and it’s a complete disservice to the people of Illinois,” Bailey said. “That’s why I voted No to adjourn on because we shouldn’t leave the capital until real ethics reform is accomplished.”
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