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Time to live by your own standards
Governor’s appointees fail to file ethics disclosures required by the much-touted Ethics Act
CHICAGO – With much fanfare, Governor Rod Blagojevich hailed passage of the Ethics Act on November 19, 2003 saying “we have taken a huge step forward in restoring honor to public service in Illinois.” Yet the governor’s administration has once again fallen short with the ethics law that he so proudly boasts of as one of his signature achievements.
Part of the Act requires that all appointees to state boards and commissions must disclose all contracts they have with the state by filing a “Disclosure of Appointee Interest in State Contracts” with the Secretary of State
[REF: 5 ILCS 420/3A-30(a)] . The practice is meant to ensure transparency, as appointees must disclose whether they or any immediate family living with them have contract with the state or have a majority interest in an organization doing business with the state. The form itself was created on June 10, 2005.
Since then, 66 of more than 400 new gubernatorial board and commission appointees have failed to file the form.
“As usual the Blagojevich administration has been strong on rhetoric but fails to live up to its self-proclaimed high standards,” said Jay Stewart, Executive Director of the Better Government Association.
Those that failed to file were appointed to 40 different boards and commissions including the Illinois Workforce Investment Board, the Advisory Commission on Pension Benefits, and the Prisoner Review Board. Notably absent are the filings of Cabinet members and high-ranking Blagojevich staffers, including:
- John Filan - Chief Operating Officer
Advisory Commission on Pension Benefits
- Carol Adams - Director of the Department of Human Services
Illinois Workforce Investment Board
- Sheila Nix - Deputy Governor
Illinois Workforce Investment Board
“Clearly, the intent of the law is to assure the public that the appointees to very powerful boards and commissions are setting state policy for the common good, not some hidden interest in a state contract,” added Stewart. “But the law has to be followed, in order for it to work. Otherwise, it resembles many Blagojevich initiatives; it looks good but is of no substance.”
In one instance, Niranjan S. Shah, appointed to the State Police Merit Board in 2006, failed to file the requisite form. Had he done so, it would have revealed his majority ownership stake in Globetrotters Engineering, a firm doing millions of dollars in state business. Shah also has served on the University of Illinois Board of Trustees since 2003.
“Not only does the Governor fail to deliver a budget in a timely fashion but he can’t even make sure his appointees fill out a one page form on time. Illinois deserves better than this,” said Stewart. “The conviction of former Governor George Ryan demonstrates what can happen when elected officials put petty power politics above ethical conduct.”
“The situation is probably even worse than our research indicates” said Stewart, “the list of appointees is kept by the Secretary of State seems to be very out of date in places. There may be appointees whom we aren’t aware of because they aren’t on the list. We tried to get the most recent list from the Governor’s office but they just passed the buck to Secretary of State Jesse White” said Stewart.
Stewart added that “Secretary White in turn has exacerbated the situation by taking a very passive and weak approach in enforcing the law. White feels the filing requirement is voluntary for those with no state contract and that may feed the perception that the law is toothless. This bureaucratic and strained view of the disclosure requirement severely restricts the usefulness of the law.”
Despite the Secretary of State’s misguided approach to the law, the Governor is the one who should ensure maximum compliance with it, as he makes the bulk of appointments to state boards and commissions. Indeed, his office confirms that the filing is to be considered mandatory for all appointees – except, of course, for his close advisors – claiming they’re “ex-officio” board members.
“That’s a nonsensical argument, plain and simple” Jay Stewart says. “Anyone appointed to a board needs to file these disclosures. And even if exceptions like those existed, they would not even apply to the Governor’s close advisors who never filed their disclosures, as they would not be considered ‘ex-officio’ members.”
“The BGA calls upon Governor Blagojevich to take a break from his tantrums and power plays with the General Assembly and do what the citizens of Illinois elected him to do, uphold the law,” said Stewart.
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Research for this investigation was conducted by BGA Executive Director Jay Stewart, Chief Investigator Dan Sprehe, and staff, including Ray Bogenrief, Katie Chor, Julia Gray, and Bryan Tomlin. The results of this investigation come from a thorough review of documents provided by the Secretary of State’s office, as well as other public records and disclosures.
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