Bill Text: IL HB4558 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. Provides that the Legislative Inspector General shall not initiate any investigation without giving notice of the allegations involved to each member of the Legislative Ethics Commission. Provides that the Legislative Inspector General shall not require the advance approval of the Commission to initiate an investigation, but the Legislative Inspector General shall not investigate matters that are beyond the scope of, or are unrelated to, the initial complaint upon which the investigation was founded, without the advance approval of the Commission. Allows the Legislative Inspector General to issue subpoenas without the advance approval of the Legislative Ethics Commission. Provides that if the Legislative Inspector General makes a finding that wrongdoing has occurred, he or she may make available to the public any other summary report and response of the ultimate jurisdictional authority or agency head or a redacted version of the report and response. Allows the Legislative Inspector General (currently, Legislative Ethics Commission) to redact specified information in the investigation summary report, and make the documents available for review prior to publication.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 3-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-06-23 - Rule 19(b) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB4558 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-HB4558-Introduced.html

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101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2019 and 2020 HB4558 Introduced , by Rep. Jonathan Carroll SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
5 ILCS 430/25-20
5 ILCS 430/25-52
Amends the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. Provides that the Legislative Inspector General shall not initiate any investigation without giving notice of the allegations involved to each member of the Legislative Ethics Commission. Provides that the Legislative Inspector General shall not require the advance approval of the Commission to initiate an investigation, but the Legislative Inspector General shall not investigate matters that are beyond the scope of, or are unrelated to, the initial complaint upon which the investigation was founded, without the advance approval of the Commission. Allows the Legislative Inspector General to issue subpoenas without the advance approval of the Legislative Ethics Commission. Provides that if the Legislative Inspector General makes a finding that wrongdoing has occurred, he or she may make available to the public any other summary report and response of the ultimate jurisdictional authority or agency head or a redacted version of the report and response. Allows the Legislative Inspector General (currently, Legislative Ethics Commission) to redact specified information in the investigation summary report, and make the documents available for review prior to publication.
LRB101 15361 RJF 64566 b
A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The State Officials and Employees Ethics Act is
amended by changing Sections 25-20 and 25-52 as follows:
(5 ILCS 430/25-20)
Sec. 25-20. Duties of the Legislative Inspector General.
In addition to duties otherwise assigned by law, the
Legislative Inspector General shall have the following duties:
(1) To receive and investigate allegations of
violations of this Act. Except as otherwise provided in
paragraph (1.5), an investigation may not be initiated more
than one year after the most recent act of the alleged
violation or of a series of alleged violations except where
there is reasonable cause to believe that fraudulent
concealment has occurred. To constitute fraudulent
concealment sufficient to toll this limitations period,
there must be an affirmative act or representation
calculated to prevent discovery of the fact that a
violation has occurred. The Legislative Inspector General
shall have the discretion to determine the appropriate
means of investigation as permitted by law.
The Legislative Inspector General shall not initiate

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any investigation without giving notice of the allegations
involved to each member of the Legislative Ethics
Commission. The Legislative Inspector General shall not
require the advance approval of the Commission to initiate
an investigation, but the Legislative Inspector General
shall not investigate matters that are beyond the scope of,
or are unrelated to, the initial complaint upon which the
investigation was founded, without the advance approval of
the Commission.
(1.5) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the
contrary, the Legislative Inspector General, whether
appointed by the Legislative Ethics Commission or the
General Assembly, may initiate an investigation based on
information provided to the Office of the Legislative
Inspector General or the Legislative Ethics Commission
during the period from December 1, 2014 through November 3,
2017. Any investigation initiated under this paragraph
(1.5) must be initiated within one year after the effective
date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly.
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,
the Legislative Inspector General, through the Attorney
General, shall have the authority to file a complaint
related to any founded violations that occurred during the
period December 1, 2014 through November 3, 2017 to the
Legislative Ethics Commission, and the Commission shall
have jurisdiction to conduct administrative hearings

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related to any pleadings filed by the Legislative Inspector
General, provided the complaint is filed with the
Commission no later than 6 months after the summary report
is provided to the Attorney General in accordance with
subsection (c) of Section 25-50.
(2) To request information relating to an
investigation from any person when the Legislative
Inspector General deems that information necessary in
conducting an investigation.
(3) To issue subpoenas, with the advance approval of
the Commission, to compel the attendance of witnesses for
the purposes of testimony and production of documents and
other items for inspection and copying and to make service
of those subpoenas and subpoenas issued under item (7) of
Section 25-15.
(4) To submit reports as required by this Act.
(5) To file pleadings in the name of the Legislative
Inspector General with the Legislative Ethics Commission,
through the Attorney General, as provided in this Article
if the Attorney General finds that reasonable cause exists
to believe that a violation has occurred.
(6) To assist and coordinate the ethics officers for
State agencies under the jurisdiction of the Legislative
Inspector General and to work with those ethics officers.
(7) To participate in or conduct, when appropriate,
multi-jurisdictional investigations.

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(8) To request, as the Legislative Inspector General
deems appropriate, from ethics officers of State agencies
under his or her jurisdiction, reports or information on
(i) the content of a State agency's ethics training program
and (ii) the percentage of new officers and employees who
have completed ethics training.
(9) To establish a policy that ensures the appropriate
handling and correct recording of all investigations of
allegations and to ensure that the policy is accessible via
the Internet in order that those seeking to report those
allegations are familiar with the process and that the
subjects of those allegations are treated fairly.
(10) To post information to the Legislative Inspector
General's website explaining to complainants and subjects
of an investigation the legal limitations on the
Legislative Inspector General's ability to provide
information to them and a general overview of the
investigation process.
(Source: P.A. 100-553, eff. 11-16-17; 100-588, eff. 6-8-18.)
(5 ILCS 430/25-52)
Sec. 25-52. Release of summary reports.
(a) Within 60 days after receipt of a summary report and
response from the ultimate jurisdictional authority or agency
head that resulted in a suspension of at least 3 days or
termination of employment, the Legislative Ethics Commission

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shall make available to the public the report and response or a
redacted version of the report and response. If the Legislative
Inspector General makes a finding that wrongdoing has occurred,
he or she The Legislative Ethics Commission may make available
to the public any other summary report and response of the
ultimate jurisdictional authority or agency head or a redacted
version of the report and response.
(b) The Legislative Inspector General Ethics Commission
shall redact information in the summary report that may reveal
the identity of witnesses, complainants, or informants or if
the Legislative Inspector General Commission determines it is
appropriate to protect the identity of a person before
publication. The Legislative Inspector General Commission may
also redact any information it believes should not be made
public. Prior to publication, the Legislative Inspector
General Commission shall permit the respondents, Legislative
Ethics Commission Inspector General, and Attorney General to
review documents to be made public and offer suggestions for
redaction or provide a response that shall be made public with
the summary report.
(c) The Legislative Ethics Commission may withhold
publication of the report or response if the Legislative
Inspector General or Attorney General certifies that
publication will interfere with an ongoing investigation.
(Source: P.A. 96-555, eff. 8-18-09.)