Investigations into misconduct by Illinois lawmakers should be confidential and free of oversight, particularly from legislators themselves, the General Assembly’s watchdog said Thursday.
Carol Pope, the current legislative inpsector general, and two of her predecessors testified before a bipartisan commission studying ethics reform after a string of high-profile bribery and embezzlement charges against sitting legislators.
Pope said the integrity of the process was compromised because the Legislative Ethics Commission, which is composed of lawmakers, must approve opening a case. Julie Porter also repeated allegations that the commission had buried reports that confirmed misdeeds against legislators instead of publishing them.
Tom Homer was the first inspector appointed in 2004. Since he left in 2014 with an open letter calling the job a “toothless tiger,” critics have complained the inspector general, identified as “independent” in state law, is too weak to matter.
