Illinois Valley Times

State Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) is among those leading the charge for a new Springfield.

“With the history of corruption here in Illinois, it’s important to have laws that address these issues,” Rezin told Illinois Valley Times. “In the past, Republicans have proposed legislation that unfortunately never got called for debate or vote. Now more than ever, with the FBI corruption investigation playing out you see how important it is to have these kinds of bills put in place bills.”

Rezin is one of several GOP Senate caucus members now pushing a trio of bills aimed at reforming the system.

Senate Bill 4012 seeks to pave the way for the Attorney General to convene a statewide grand jury to “investigate, indict and prosecute bribery and misconduct by members of the General Assembly. SB 4013 grants states attorneys wiretap authority and SB 4014 seeks to give the Legislative Inspector General the power to investigate members of the Assembly without first having to receive permission from the Legislative Ethics Commission.

Rezin argues there’s nothing new about the general scope of the legislation.

“We’ve been proposing good, sound legislation dealing with ethics and corruption for years that has not been able to get out,” she said. “With everything that’s going on right now and all the pressure there is for answers, hopefully these bills will have more of a chance, though I haven’t seen any kind of serious involvement from my colleagues from across the aisle that would assure that.”

No matter what, Rezin said her resolve will remain the same.

“We will continue to push and believe there are plenty of residents out there that want us to do just that,” she said. “They fully understand that Springfield is in need of change.”