Issue Position: Cleaning Up State Government

Issue Position

In the wake of scandals in the administrations of former Governors George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich, the General Assembly worked in 2009 to pass a sweeping set of government reform bills -- the most comprehensive and far reaching ethics overhaul in state history. Representative DeLuca supported measures that:

1. Strengthen the state's Freedom of Information Act to make it easier for citizens and journalists to gain access to government documents
2. Impose reforms on the state procurement system to prevent pay-to-play politics that rip off taxpayers
3. Overhaul the operations of the state pension systems to protect taxpayers and retirees and prevent scams
4. Make it harder for legislators to approve their own pay increases, block 3% cost-of-living salary increases for elected officials, and require lawmakers to take 12 unpaid furlough days to balance the budget
5. Broaden the state Ethics Act to protect whistle blowers, impose tougher revolving-door prohibitions, and create tougher disclosure requirements for lobbyists
6. Allow voters to recall the governor in the middle of a term

In addition, a new law that went into effect on January 1, 2009 bans political contributions by those with contracts greater than $50,000 to the constitutional officer who awarded the contract. Coupled with other reforms passed, this law drives a stake through the heart of the pay-to-play apparatus constructed by former Governor Rod Blagojevich.

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