By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – It’s a rush for the ethical high ground at the Capitol, after news that one lawmaker’s accused of trying to bribe another, and that the second lawmaker expects to be charged with filing a false tax return. That follows the indictment of one senator and the raid of yet another senator’s office and home.
State Sen. Dale Righter (R-Mattoon) says rules forcing the legislative inspector general to get lawmakers’ permission to investigate lawmakers drive a reasonable person mad.
“The first and easiest step would be to give the legislative inspector general what she has asked for” — more independence, Righter told a statehouse news conference. “This is one of those issues back home, when you try to explain it to people what the process is, it’s one of those, oh, my God, are you kidding me? You guys are just covering for yourselves all the time, aren’t you!”
In a separate news conference, State Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) says it’s beyond time to separate the roles of legislator and lobbyist.
“This is a classic case, what we see with Rep. Arroyo’s case, where he was, on one hand, being paid to lobby the city of Chicago related to sweepstakes, and also engaged in legislation related to sweepstakes as a state legislator,” said Demmer.
Rep. Luis Arroyo (D-Chicago) is accused of trying to bribe a senator to support legislation that would help a lobbying client of Arroyo’s.
However, it’s not illegal for a state lawmaker to employ oneself as a lobbyist. And someone who is a legislator one day can become a lobbyist the very next.
Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].
