Wilhour Opposes Proposed Energy Bill

The Illinois House on Thursday voted to accept changes to an ethics bill that Gov. J.B. Pritzker had requested, paving the way for it to become law once the governor signs it.

Thursday’s vote came a little more than a week after an earlier attempt fell short in the House. That happened during a late-night session Tuesday, Aug. 31, after many Democrats had left the Capitol following a one-day special session that was called mainly to reconsider a legislative redistricting plan.

Senate Bill 539 originally cleared both chambers during the spring session by overwhelming margins, 56-0 in the Senate and 113-5 in the House, even though Republicans at the time complained on the floor that it had been watered down. 

But a few weeks after it passed, on July 14, the General Assembly’s top ethics watchdog, Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope, submitted her intent to resign by Dec. 15, saying the bill would actually weaken her office by limiting the types of investigations she could conduct.

State Representative Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City) told his colleagues that a YES vote on the bill is a vote saying you are ok with business as usual in the state of Illinois. 

The State Senate is scheduled to vote on the measure on Monday.