Rock Island Today

State Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) wonders when Springfield will ever really get serious about ethics reform.

“Many of you remember an ‘ethics reform bill’ was passed the last day of session,” McCombie posted on Facebook. “This bill passed with most voting yes, but in no way did it go far enough.”

McCombie insists she’s not surprised to see Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope deciding to walk away.

In her resignation letter, Pope charges “This last legislative session demonstrated true ethics reform is not a priority. The LIG has no real power to effect change or shine a light on ethics violations; the position is essentially a paper tiger.”

A former prosecutor and judge, Pope was ushered into power in Springfield in 2019 amid much fanfare, marking the first permanent inspector to be appointed in the post in four years. Her installation came at a time when Springfield was being rocked by the contents of an open letter circulated through the Illinois Capitol demanding an end to a culture of disrespectful treatment of women.

Pope, who said she plans to make her departure official on Dec. 15, said she finds an ethics reform bill that now sits on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk to be counterproductive “by requiring the filing of a complaint before the LIG can undertake an investigation.”

Senate Bill 539 would also prohibit the LIG from having the ability to launch an investigation based solely on public allegations raised in the news media, another factor that led Pope into thinking now is the time to go.

“For the last 12 years, the LIG has been able to open an investigation based on public allegations in the media,” she said, adding that she views such change a “throwback” to legislation from more than a decade ago.

With a recent University of Illinois-Chicago report detailing how the state now tops the country in federal public corruption convictions by judicial district over the last four decades, McCombie is among the GOP lawmakers pushing their Reimagine Illinois campaign as the start of change. The campaign centers on a plan of anti-corruption laws, fiscal responsibility, community safety and job growth.