Introduces aggressive ethics reform agenda

When Pat Quinn appointed a political operative to a $160,000-per year state job at the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority a month after he lost his election last year, state Senator Julie Morrison was furious. She vowed to introduce legislation to prevent future governors from engaging in last-minute patronage.

Her plan extends beyond the ISFA to include the directors of any state agency with a member appointed by the governor.

“It seems like every governor finds new and creative ways to give away high-paying jobs to underqualified political allies,” Morrison said. “I’m sick of it. I know all the taxpayers are sick of it. I’m going to do my part to make it stop.”

The legislation, Senate Bill 1369, is only part of Morrison’s effort to reform state government. She’s also introduced plans to prevent legislators from becoming lobbyists until at least one year after they leave office and to create term limits for the House speaker and Senate president.

“The Senate president and the House speaker wield a lot of power over the entire state of Illinois, but they’re only directly accountable to a few hundred thousand people,” Morrison said. “If the people don’t approve of the governor, they can vote him out. If they have a problem with the speaker or president, there’s not a lot they can do. In a democracy, that’s not right.”

To round out her ethics agenda, Morrison has called for open primaries and introduced legislation that will require local governments to post all information they publish in newspapers on their websites.

“I realize some of these ideas aren’t very popular in Springfield,” Morrison said. “But if we want to have ethical, transparent, accountable democratic government, we need them.”