Macon Reporter

Veteran state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Chambana) is leading the charge among Republican lawmakers insisting that an ethics reform bill now headed to the desk of Gov. J.B. Pritzker doesn’t go far enough in bringing about the level of change that’s needed in Springfield.

“I think the problem we have is that this bill has been exposed for what it is and the five of us who voted against it are kind of vindicated,” Caulkins told The Center Square.

The bill is designed to end the so-called revolving door of legislators leaving Springfield and later returning to lobby the same body they once served as members of. The push for such reform comes at a time when Springfield continues to be the subject of a far-reaching federal corruption probe where former longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan has already been implicated and ultimately forced to step down.

Caulkins and his colleagues are now calling on legislators from both sides of the aisle to work on what they view as real ethics reforms, such as giving the Legislative Inspector General (LIG) more independence, increasing the time after serving in the General Assembly that someone can register as a lobbyist and including nonpartisan citizen representation on the Legislative Ethics Commission.

LIG Carol Pope recently tendered her resignation, citing that the most recent legislative session had little ambition for ethics reform.

Senate Ethics Commission chairwoman Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) has pledged Republicans “will continue to send a meaningful ethics reform package to the governor.”