Illinois Reform Commission releases its recommendations

The Illinois Reform Commission (IRC) issued its 100-day
report today, recommending a wide range of ethics reforms in six key areas: campaign finance; procurement; enforcement; government structure; transparency; and inspiring better government. Since its inception, the IRC has held eight public hearings and seven town hall meetings throughout the State to hear expert testimony and receive public input relating to a host of ethics reform issues.

The Commission previously issued a preliminary report that contained its initial "pay to play" recommendations on March 31, 2009. Today’s report contains a comprehensive discussion and overview of all of the Commission’s recommendations, as well as the research and findings that support its conclusions. In announcing the IRC’s proposals today, Mr. Collins said, “I want to thank my fellow Commissioners for their focused and passionate
service to the state over these last 100 days. We have done our best to be comprehensive and objective in our review and to propose reforms that we believe will have a meaningful impact on the culture of corruption that has infected our State.” Mr. Collins added, “The baton is now passed to the Governor, the legislature, and the public to discuss, debate, and ultimately
enact meaningful ethics reform by May 31, 2009."

The Commission thanks Governor Pat Quinn for permitting it to function
independently and to bring these recommendations directly to the public.

The proposals announced today include the following:
I. Campaign Finance
To bring greater transparency to the campaign finance process and to reduce the skyrocketing costs of election campaigns in Illinois, the Commission recommends:
A. expanding disclosure requirements for campaign contributions to include:
 Year-round “real time” reporting of contributions,
 Mandatory disclosure of “bundlers” who collect contributions from others,
and
 Mandatory disclosure of large “independent” expenditures made by
individual...