Tells Governor to Sign Unanimously Passed Bill

PARK RIDGE, IL – State Senator Dan Kotowski helped lead the charge to pass HB 824, groundbreaking ethics reform legislation in Illinois, that bans political contributions from state contractors to state elected officials who oversee or award the contracts. The Illinois Senate and House passed this historic bill unanimously out of both chambers.

“This important bi-partisan legislation begins to restore public trust in our state government,” said Kotowski. “I campaigned on confronting corruption and improving ethics in our state. Passage of this bill sends a strong message to voters that we respect the value of transparency, accountability and a commitment to honest government.”

The pioneering legislation puts into place several key provisions to prevent corruption in the process of awarding state contracts to businesses. Any business that has contracts of $50,000 or more is barred from donating to the campaign accounts of officials who award the state contract. The Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Comptroller and Treasurer are the affected officials in the new ethics legislation; both incumbents and declared challengers are all included.

“Illinois has been plagued by pay-to-play politics for far too long. This new ban ensures that elected officials are not for sale. Governor Blagojevich should sign this bill into law immediately,” said Kotowski.



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