McHenry Times

Sen. Dan McConchie (R-Lake Zurich) is encouraging Democrats to help in ethics reform to help combat corruption in the state.  

McConchie is hoping that a proposed bill will go a long way in alleviating corruption, which is why he is calling for bipartisan support for ethical standards and procedures in the state’s government.

McConchie said that dishonesty in Illinois is wrong, unjust and against American values.  

"Right now the trust between the public and this building is broken," he said.

McConchie is urging Gov. Pritzker and Democratic lawmakers to review anti-corruption measures that were recently introduced in the Senate, including Senate Bill 4, which would amend the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. 

"Ethics should not be a partisan issue, plain and simple," McConchie said during a May 17 Senate Republican Caucus news conference. "We all have the common goal to make the system better to serve the people of Illinois, and there's no reason to not bring Republican ideas forward."

After longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan resigned amid a swirl of bribery allegations, Republican lawmakers are frustrated that Democrats don't seem as enthused about ethics reform as they are. 

McConchie added that Illinois' corruption thwarts the state's attorney general from effectively doing his job.

“It is about more than politicians taking bribes or breaking rules,” he said. “It's about a legislation that does not fundamentally allow self-policing.” 

McConchie is annoyed that, despite his 2020 State of the State address where he vowed that corruption should be weeded out in both parties, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has been unresponsive to ethics-related legislation this year.