Springfield…House committees have approved three bills which will strengthen the state’s ethics laws against corruption and fraud and increase government transparency, according to state Rep. Sid Mathias (R-Buffalo Grove), chief sponsor of the bills.

“Following the removal of Gov. Blagojevich from office, Illinois residents sent a clear message that they were ready for increased transparency in state government and stronger ethics laws,” said Mathias. “The three bills approved by House committees address those very issues, and are part of the immediate solution to get Illinois back on the right track to restore confidence in state government.”

The first bill, House Bill 4727, creates the offense of improper use of public funds and states that a person commits the offense when he or she knowingly misappropriates, misuses, or unlawfully withholds or converts to his or her own use or to the use of another any public grant funds made available through the state.

Additionally, any individual convicted of a felony violation of improper use of public funds will be ineligible to receive any grant or contract from the State of Illinois.

“From what we’ve seen, executive agencies rarely pursue any legal action against recipients of state grants, even in instances where an agency actually has documentation that the recipient has improperly spent the grant funds,” said Mathias. “The purpose of creating this offense is to provide a deterrent for such actions in the future.”

Another bill, House Bill 6263, aims to create the offense of theft of public funds. It states that a person commits the offense when he or she:

• Embezzles, steals, illegally obtains, or without authority sells, or disposes of, anything of value of the State of Illinois or any department or agency of the State, or of any other unit of government; or

• Receives, conceals, or retains the property of the State of Illinois or any department or agency of the State, or of any unit government.

“The offense of theft of public funds does not currently exist in law,” said Mathias. “This bill will help to protect taxpayer funds from corrupt practices, and make Illinois law match federal law in scope regarding corruption offenses.”

House Bill 6271 would require the Department of Central Management Services to establish and maintain a free access database, known as the Illinois New Employee Portal. On this website, information about persons entering State employment after the effective date of the bill would be searchable. The following information would be made available to the public:

(1)   Name;

(2)   Employing State agency and division;

(3)   Title or option;

(4)   Employment position number;

(5)   County of employment location;

(6)   Compensation, on both monthly and annual bases;

(7)   Rutan status;

(8)   Status of position as subject to collective bargaining, subject to merit compensation, or exempt under Section 4d of the Personnel Code;

(9)   Employment status as probationary, trainee, intern, certified, or exempt from certification; and,

(10)  Status as a military veteran.

“Alleged wide-spread violations of State employment laws, including veterans’ preference, Rutan exempt positions and manipulating testing procedures are among the activities under investigation by federal law enforcement agencies,” said Mathias. “Currently, information regarding hiring transactions must be obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests. By making information regarding all hiring transactions publicly accessible, it will act as a deterrent to circumventing state hiring laws and regulations.”

Having been approved by committee, House Bills 4727, 6263 and 6271 will now be considered for a full vote by the House.