Former House Speaker Michael Madigan has been found guilty on federal corruption charges. It’s an important milestone in establishing accountability for the powerful. But it’s nowhere near enough to restore public trust and strengthen our democracy. Our laws and our politicians enabled Madigan’s decades-long reign, and this…
Read MoreDavid Melton, RFI’s Board President, responds to the actions taken by a “disruptive” Trump administration that has undone the FCPA and other long standing ethics norms. Trump’s actions “send a message to corrupt politicians across the country. It says the…
Read MoreOn Monday, President Trump pardoned former Governor Rod Blagojevich, while the Justice Department told federal prosecutors to drop the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. These moves were shocking in their brazen disregard of the costs of public corruption, and they could portend a retreat from such…
Read MoreThe Center Square discusses the process surrounding ethics complaints; RFI Executive Director weighs in on the flaws in the present system: “Right now, the situation is you basically have the fox watching the hen house … with legislators expected to…
Read MoreAn article by Patch details the increasing popularity of RCV in Illinois as Skokie joins Oak Park and Evanston in voting on an RCV referendum. Read the article here.
Read MoreCoverage of RCV and RFI’s efforts in Evanston featured in the Chicago Tribune. RFI Board President comments on the work done in Evanston. Reform for Illinois, an advocacy group, led a successful campaign to adopt ranked choice voting in Evanston:…
Read MoreThe Chicago Tribune details former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s trial; raises questions about the room for reform in this climate. Among the ideas getting bandied about are strengthening the legislative inspector general and the legislative ethics commission as well…
Read MoreThe Chicago Tribune highlights statewide corruption and the path towards reform; RFI Executive Director comments on the state of campaign finance. “If we don’t take care of this soon we will erase the line between independent expenditure committees and candidates,”…
Read MoreAt Issue, a podcast on WBBM, covered RFI’s push for a public campaign financing program and the blurred line separating lobbyist and lawmaker. “In more recent years, people have become interested in the equity implications of these types of programs…
Read MoreRFI Board President David Melton spoke with The Center Square about the “zombie” state boards and commissions in Illinois. “The problem is too many of these boards and commissions operate without any real action.” Read the article here.
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