A question of ethics for the legislature

THE THREE so-called "Political Honesty" amendments proposed for the legislative article of the Illinois Constitution will apparently be on the November 2 ballot. They were filed on April 30 with a reported 630,000 signatures (approximately 375,000 were required), and it seemed unlikely that anyone could discredit enough signatures to lead the State Board of Elections to invalidate the gargantuan petition.

If adopted, the amendments would forbid legislators to (1) accept compensation from any other governmental entity; (2) vote on a bill on which they have a conflict of interest resulting from a personal, family or financial interest; and (3) receive prepayment of their salaries in advance of performance of duties. The legislators moved during May to pass a bill which would provide for future payment of their salaries on a monthly or semimonthly basis, thus seeking to eliminate the need for the last of the three amendments.

But a taxpayer's suit was filed May 28 to get the amendments off the ballot. Six delegates and one staff member of the Constitutional Convention filed the suit in Cook County Circuit Court asking for a court order to restrain the State Board of Elections and other election officials from spending any funds to place the "Political Honesty" initiative on the November ballot. Their contention is that Article IV, section 3 of the 1970 Constitution is limited to initiative action changing only legislative structural and procedural subjects, and that the proposed amendments do not fall into the limited category.

The plaintiffs in the case are former Constitutional Convention delegates Elmer Gertz of Chicago, Thomas McCracken and Lucy Reum of suburban Cook County, Louis Perona of Spring Valley, Maurice Scott of Springfield, Elbert Smith of Decatur, and Con Con research assistant Ann Lousin of Chicago.

The proposal with respect to legislators drawing compensation from different governments was analyzed in the May issue of this magazine ("Double-Dipping: Should lawmakers have to give up their second public jobs?" p. 3). So far, there have been no mass resignations of legislators who are also officers or employees of local governments. ž

July 1976/ Illinois Issues/ 27


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