Bill Amendment: IL SB1426 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly

NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List

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Bill Title: LEGISLATIVE ETHICS COMMISSION

Status: 2021-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SB1426 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-SB1426-Senate_Amendment_001.html

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Sen. Melinda Bush

Filed: 3/15/2019

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AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1426
AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1426 by replacing
everything after the enacting clause with the following:
"Section 5. The State Officials and Employees Ethics Act is
amended by changing Sections 25-5 and 25-50 as follows:
(5 ILCS 430/25-5)
Sec. 25-5. Legislative Ethics Commission.
(a) The Legislative Ethics Commission is created.
(b) The Legislative Ethics Commission shall consist of 8
commissioners appointed 2 each by the President and Minority
Leader of the Senate and the Speaker and Minority Leader of the
House of Representatives.
The terms of the initial commissioners shall commence upon
qualification. Each appointing authority shall designate one
appointee who shall serve for a 2-year term running through
June 30, 2005. Each appointing authority shall designate one

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appointee who shall serve for a 4-year term running through
June 30, 2007. The initial appointments shall be made within 60
days after the effective date of this Act.
After the initial terms, commissioners shall serve for
4-year terms commencing on July 1 of the year of appointment
and running through June 30 of the fourth following year.
Commissioners may be reappointed to one or more subsequent
terms.
Vacancies occurring other than at the end of a term shall
be filled by the appointing authority only for the balance of
the term of the commissioner whose office is vacant.
Terms shall run regardless of whether the position is
filled.
(c) The appointing authorities shall appoint commissioners
who have experience holding governmental office or employment
and shall may appoint commissioners who are members of the
General Assembly as well as commissioners from the general
public. A commissioner who is a member of the General Assembly
must recuse himself or herself from participating in any matter
relating to any investigation or proceeding in which he or she
is the subject or is a complainant. A person is not eligible to
serve as a commissioner if that person (i) has been convicted
of a felony or a crime of dishonesty or moral turpitude, (ii)
is, or was within the preceding 12 months, engaged in
activities that require registration under the Lobbyist
Registration Act, (iii) is a relative of the appointing

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authority, (iv) is a State officer or employee other than a
member of the General Assembly, or (v) is a candidate for
statewide office, federal office, or judicial office.
(c-5) If a commissioner is required to recuse himself or
herself from participating in a matter as provided in
subsection (c), the recusal shall create a temporary vacancy
for the limited purpose of consideration of the matter for
which the commissioner recused himself or herself, and the
appointing authority for the recusing commissioner shall make a
temporary appointment to fill the vacancy for consideration of
the matter for which the commissioner recused himself or
herself.
(d) The Legislative Ethics Commission shall have
jurisdiction over current and former members of the General
Assembly regarding events occurring during a member's term of
office and current and former State employees regarding events
occurring during any period of employment where the State
employee's ultimate jurisdictional authority is (i) a
legislative leader, (ii) the Senate Operations Commission, or
(iii) the Joint Committee on Legislative Support Services. The
jurisdiction of the Commission is limited to matters arising
under this Act.
An officer or executive branch State employee serving on a
legislative branch board or commission remains subject to the
jurisdiction of the Executive Ethics Commission and is not
subject to the jurisdiction of the Legislative Ethics

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Commission.
(e) The Legislative Ethics Commission must meet, either in
person or by other technological means, monthly or as often as
necessary. At the first meeting of the Legislative Ethics
Commission, the commissioners shall choose from their number a
chairperson and other officers that they deem appropriate. The
terms of officers shall be for 2 years commencing July 1 and
running through June 30 of the second following year. Meetings
shall be held at the call of the chairperson or any 3
commissioners. Official action by the Commission shall require
the affirmative vote of 5 commissioners, and a quorum shall
consist of 5 commissioners. Commissioners shall receive no
compensation but may be reimbursed for their reasonable
expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties.
(f) No commissioner, other than a commissioner who is a
member of the General Assembly, or employee of the Legislative
Ethics Commission may during his or her term of appointment or
employment:
(1) become a candidate for any elective office;
(2) hold any other elected or appointed public office
except for appointments on governmental advisory boards or
study commissions or as otherwise expressly authorized by
law;
(3) be actively involved in the affairs of any
political party or political organization; or
(4) advocate for the appointment of another person to

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an appointed or elected office or position or actively
participate in any campaign for any elective office.
(f-5) No commissioner who is a member of the General
Assembly may be a candidate for statewide office, federal
office, or judicial office. If a commissioner who is a member
of the General Assembly files petitions to be a candidate for a
statewide office, federal office, or judicial office, he or she
shall be deemed to have resigned from his or her position as a
commissioner on the date his or her name is certified for the
ballot by the State Board of Elections or local election
authority and his or her position as a commissioner shall be
deemed vacant. Such person may not be reappointed to the
Commission during any time he or she is a candidate for
statewide office, federal office, or judicial office.
(g) An appointing authority may remove a commissioner only
for cause.
(h) The Legislative Ethics Commission shall appoint an
Executive Director subject to the approval of at least 3 of the
4 legislative leaders. The compensation of the Executive
Director shall be as determined by the Commission. The
Executive Director of the Legislative Ethics Commission may
employ, subject to the approval of at least 3 of the 4
legislative leaders, and determine the compensation of staff,
as appropriations permit.
(i) In consultation with the Legislative Inspector
General, the Legislative Ethics Commission may develop

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comprehensive training for members and employees under its
jurisdiction that includes, but is not limited to, sexual
harassment, employment discrimination, and workplace civility.
The training may be recommended to the ultimate jurisdictional
authorities and may be approved by the Commission to satisfy
the sexual harassment training required under Section 5-10.5 or
be provided in addition to the annual sexual harassment
training required under Section 5-10.5. The Commission may seek
input from governmental agencies or private entities for
guidance in developing such training.
(Source: P.A. 100-588, eff. 6-8-18; revised 10-11-18.)
(5 ILCS 430/25-50)
Sec. 25-50. Investigation reports.
(a) If the Legislative Inspector General, upon the
conclusion of an investigation, determines that reasonable
cause exists to believe that a violation has occurred, then the
Legislative Inspector General shall issue a summary report of
the investigation. The report shall be delivered to the
appropriate ultimate jurisdictional authority, to the head of
each State agency affected by or involved in the investigation,
if appropriate, and the member, if any, that is the subject of
the report. The appropriate ultimate jurisdictional authority
or agency head and the member, if any, that is the subject of
the report shall respond to the summary report within 20 days,
in writing, to the Legislative Inspector General. If the

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ultimate jurisdictional authority is the subject of the report,
he or she may only respond to the summary report in his or her
capacity as the subject of the report and shall not respond in
his or her capacity as the ultimate jurisdictional authority.
The response shall include a description of any corrective or
disciplinary action to be imposed. If the appropriate ultimate
jurisdictional authority or the member that is the subject of
the report does not respond within 20 days, or within an
extended time as agreed to by the Legislative Inspector
General, the Legislative Inspector General may proceed under
subsection (c) as if a response had been received. A member
receiving and responding to a report under this Section shall
be deemed to be acting in his or her official capacity.
(b) The summary report of the investigation shall include
the following:
(1) A description of any allegations or other
information received by the Legislative Inspector General
pertinent to the investigation.
(2) A description of any alleged misconduct discovered
in the course of the investigation.
(3) Recommendations for any corrective or disciplinary
action to be taken in response to any alleged misconduct
described in the report, including but not limited to
discharge.
(4) Other information the Legislative Inspector
General deems relevant to the investigation or resulting

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recommendations.
(c) Within 30 days after receiving a response from the
appropriate ultimate jurisdictional authority or agency head
under subsection (a), the Legislative Inspector General shall
notify the Commission and the Attorney General if the
Legislative Inspector General believes that a complaint should
be filed with the Commission. If the Legislative Inspector
General desires to file a complaint with the Commission, the
Legislative Inspector General shall submit the summary report
and supporting documents to the Attorney General. If the
Attorney General concludes that there is insufficient evidence
that a violation has occurred, the Attorney General shall
notify the Legislative Inspector General and the Legislative
Inspector General shall deliver to the Legislative Ethics
Commission a copy of the summary report and response from the
ultimate jurisdictional authority or agency head. If the
Attorney General determines that reasonable cause exists to
believe that a violation has occurred, then the Legislative
Inspector General, represented by the Attorney General, may
file with the Legislative Ethics Commission a complaint. The
complaint shall set forth the alleged violation and the grounds
that exist to support the complaint. Except as provided under
subsection (1.5) of Section 20, the complaint must be filed
with the Commission within 12 months after the Legislative
Inspector General's initiation of an investigation 18 months
after the most recent act of the alleged violation or of a

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series of alleged violations except where there is reasonable
cause to believe that fraudulent concealment has occurred. To
constitute fraudulent concealment sufficient to toll this
limitations period, there must be an affirmative act or
representation calculated to prevent discovery of the fact that
a violation has occurred. If a complaint is not filed with the
Commission within 6 months after notice by the Inspector
General to the Commission and the Attorney General, then the
Commission may set a meeting of the Commission at which the
Attorney General shall appear and provide a status report to
the Commission.
(c-5) Within 30 days after receiving a response from the
appropriate ultimate jurisdictional authority or agency head
under subsection (a), if the Legislative Inspector General does
not believe that a complaint should be filed, the Legislative
Inspector General shall deliver to the Legislative Ethics
Commission a statement setting forth the basis for the decision
not to file a complaint and a copy of the summary report and
response from the ultimate jurisdictional authority or agency
head. The Inspector General may also submit a redacted version
of the summary report and response from the ultimate
jurisdictional authority if the Inspector General believes
either contains information that, in the opinion of the
Inspector General, should be redacted prior to releasing the
report, may interfere with an ongoing investigation, or
identifies an informant or complainant.

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(c-10) If, after reviewing the documents, the Commission
believes that further investigation is warranted, the
Commission may request that the Legislative Inspector General
provide additional information or conduct further
investigation. The Commission may also refer the summary report
and response from the ultimate jurisdictional authority to the
Attorney General for further investigation or review. If the
Commission requests the Attorney General to investigate or
review, the Commission must notify the Attorney General and the
Legislative Inspector General. The Attorney General may not
begin an investigation or review until receipt of notice from
the Commission. If, after review, the Attorney General
determines that reasonable cause exists to believe that a
violation has occurred, then the Attorney General may file a
complaint with the Legislative Ethics Commission. If the
Attorney General concludes that there is insufficient evidence
that a violation has occurred, the Attorney General shall
notify the Legislative Ethics Commission and the appropriate
Legislative Inspector General.
(d) A copy of the complaint filed with the Legislative
Ethics Commission must be served on all respondents named in
the complaint and on each respondent's ultimate jurisdictional
authority in the same manner as process is served under the
Code of Civil Procedure.
(e) A respondent may file objections to the complaint
within 30 days after notice of the petition has been served on

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the respondent.
(f) The Commission shall meet, at least 30 days after the
complaint is served on all respondents either in person or by
telephone, in a closed session to review the sufficiency of the
complaint. The Commission shall issue notice by certified mail,
return receipt requested, to the Legislative Inspector
General, the Attorney General, and all respondents of the
Commission's ruling on the sufficiency of the complaint. If the
complaint is deemed to sufficiently allege a violation of this
Act, then the Commission shall include a hearing date scheduled
within 4 weeks after the date of the notice, unless all of the
parties consent to a later date. If the complaint is deemed not
to sufficiently allege a violation, then the Commission shall
send by certified mail, return receipt requested, a notice to
the Legislative Inspector General, the Attorney General, and
all respondents the decision to dismiss the complaint.
(g) On the scheduled date the Commission shall conduct a
closed meeting, either in person or, if the parties consent, by
telephone, on the complaint and allow all parties the
opportunity to present testimony and evidence. All such
proceedings shall be transcribed.
(h) Within an appropriate time limit set by rules of the
Legislative Ethics Commission, the Commission shall (i)
dismiss the complaint, (ii) issue a recommendation of
discipline to the respondent and the respondent's ultimate
jurisdictional authority, (iii) impose an administrative fine

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upon the respondent, (iv) issue injunctive relief as described
in Section 50-10, or (v) impose a combination of (ii) through
(iv).
(i) The proceedings on any complaint filed with the
Commission shall be conducted pursuant to rules promulgated by
the Commission.
(j) The Commission may designate hearing officers to
conduct proceedings as determined by rule of the Commission.
(k) In all proceedings before the Commission, the standard
of proof is by a preponderance of the evidence.
(l) Within 30 days after the issuance of a final
administrative decision that concludes that a violation
occurred, the Legislative Ethics Commission shall make public
the entire record of proceedings before the Commission, the
decision, any recommendation, any discipline imposed, and the
response from the agency head or ultimate jurisdictional
authority to the Legislative Ethics Commission.
(Source: P.A. 100-588, eff. 6-8-18.)".