Illinois Valley Times

State Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) is leading the charge in the fight against corruption in Springfield.

“We have an obligation to the people that we serve to protect the integrity of these institutions,” Demmer said in a video posted to YouTube. “We cannot write off repeated indictments for corrupt acts as just the wayward acts of a few bad apples. Ethics reform should be at the forefront of our discussions. Will we take responsibility for the culture that exists in this capital?”

Demmer worries that corruption has become such a big part of Springfield, acts of it hardly draw attention.

“There was an indictment brought forward by federal prosecutors against a person that is a familiar face of this dome, an officer of this House,” Demmer added. “You’d think in most states a single indictment would shake the halls. In Illinois, it’s happened again and again and again. Lobbyists, officers, elected officials, this is more than just a few bad apples. This is a culture that’s been created here, a culture that we share responsibility for maintaining.”

Demmer is challenging lawmakers to turn things around.

“Will we be proactive to rebuild and re-earn the trust of the people that we serve or will we wait again for the next indictment, for the next prosecution, for the next investigation, for the next shoe to drop,” he said. “We must enact meaningful ethics reform that people outside this building would have the right to be proud of. We have to re-earn the trust of the people of Illinois.”

Republican lawmakers are pushing a plan they argue is aimed at doing just that.

Reimagine Illinois is a campaign promoting anti-corruption legislation, fiscal responsibility, job growth and community safety. It is championed by several House Republicans including Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis), who joined state Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Rock Falls) in a May 7 IL House GOP video to discuss the campaign and what it hopes to solve.

"For too long, Illinois as a state has been stuck in a rut," Windhorst said to explain the importance of the campaign. "It's easy for our citizens to think, 'this is the way it has to be because this is the way it always has been.' Reimagine Illinois is telling us that we can have a different state if we change the direction of the state.