The Sincerest Form of Flattery?
So I think that it's great that almost everybody is finally jumping on the ethics bandwagon. And maybe I'm being too proprietary, but it would be refreshing if they didn't all act like they invented the concept. Two days ago, you couldn't pick up a newspaper without reading about Judy Baar Topinka's 'ethics proposal. Funny thing is the proposal looks awfully similar to an initiative of Comptroller Dan Hynes that I introduced last year.House Bill 4073 (Fritchey-Black) is the bill that would end pay to play in Illinois. The bill has the support of good government groups from around the state and has bipartisan support in both chambers. Not only should it be embraced by every candidate for Governor (and our current Governor), it should have been passed already. But that's a story for another day.
I have also recently filed legislation to impose improved revolving door restrictions on executive branch and legislative branch officers and employees. I think that the bill number is HB5765, but it's not on the system yet.
Anyway, the point of my venting is that it borders on being disingenuous for all of the candidates to talk about their 'great revelations' on how to fix the system. If they want to yell and scream that the pending bills should be passed, fine by me. But don't act like you reinvented the wheel.
posted by Rep. John Fritchey @ 2/22/2006
8 comments
8 Comments:
Took a peek at your HB5765. Great idea! The one-year time-delay on the revolving door seems pretty modest, but a necessary first step. Does it also cover legislative staffers who go to work as liaisons for executive agencies, or just private sector lobbying firms?
If you want ethics then put term limits on State Representatives and State Senators.
I haven't seen any better ethics in Missouri yet--when can I expect it to happen anonymous 9:47?
John -
Pardon me, but didn't the federal government and about 24 other states already end the revolving door problem.
Therefore, under your "definition", did you plagiarize?
And, how many bills have House Dems "borrowed" from the House GOP this year. It happens all the time on both sides of the aisle.
Stop the partisan bickering and focus on the issue which acually is important.
Anon 9:12:
Rep. Fritchey has been talking about ethics for a long time, campaign years and non-campaign years, when it is popular with leadership and when it is unpopular with leadership.
Judy, Rod, and many others only talk about it during campaign season (and only if there is a scandal) and then promptly forget about it after the election is over.
9:12, there is nothing on the books that deals with the issues that I address in HB5765, so your comment in simply misplaced. If candidates in Illinois were talking about enacting some law here that is in place somewhere else, that's great.
But my only point was that these bills are already pending HERE, have been the subject of a LOT of work by a lot of people, and I just think it's a little disingenuous for people to act as if they have come up with some great idea on their own. Not a huge deal by any means, but I just felt like getting it off my chest.
Here's what I dont get - we've all seen the bullet points claiming what Topinka's ethics laws will do, but where's the bill? I dont think anything's been proposed. The campaign doesnt seem to know if language has even been drafted. How can you stand up and say you're for tougher laws if you dont have the language you want to propose online or available to the public?
Fritchey - I love your ideas and I hope they get heard.
To the 7:00 poster, warnings are done and play time's over. Just remember, you're creating problems for your friend moreso than yourself.
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