Will County Gazette

Republican Congressional candidate Rick Laib isn’t opposed to the ethics reforms now being proposed by Democrats in Springfield; he just wonders if any of the measures are enough to do what needs to be done.

“These appear to be healthy proposals, but alone will not change a culture,” Laib, who is running against U.S. Rep. Bill Foster in the 11th District, told the Will County Gazette. “Some of the simplest ethics reforms that any institution can take is to expand on transparency and establish accountability.”

With longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) now entangled in a widening federal corruption probe centered on utility giant ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme, some Democratic legislators are now pushing a package of nine reform measures they insist will quickly lead to the kind of culture change most agree is critically needed in Springfield.

Topping the list of proposals are measures that would ban legislators from becoming lobbyists, require greater financial disclosures, establish a censure process, make the legislative inspector general more independent, and institute term limits.

Laib argues the time to strike is now.

“There is no other discipline or institution that deals with public trust that we would allow for a stay when dealing with known ethical issues,” he said. “We expect institutions to police themselves so they do not need to be policed by others. It would seem to me that the state should hold themselves to the same level of excellence and accountability.”

Laib isn’t shy about offering up advice to Gov. J.B. Pritzker when it comes to how he thinks he should deal with the whole Madigan situation.

“With openness,” he said. “He should use his office to ensure that anyone needing to be held accountable is held accountable, just as would be appropriate for any elected official.”