Time for state to end pay-to-play

The Illinois House passed by a vote of 114-0 a new state ethics plan dealing with contributions from state contractors. Considering that the House often cannot agree on what day of the week it is, this was an outstanding accomplishment.

In short, the bill accomplishes the following:

1. Prohibits companies with state contracts in excess of $50,000 from donating to political committees of the state executive officer awarding the contract. The prohibition would remain in effect until the incumbent officeholder who awarded the contract left office, or for two years after the contract expired.

2. Requires said state contractors to electronically register with the State Board of Elections, and for such information to be available in a searchable database with other campaign finance information.

3. Vendors violating the law would be subject to a "3 strike" rule. Any company violating the law three times within 36 months would have all their state contracts voided, and would be prohibited from bidding on other state contracts for three years from the last violation.

4. Any political committee that received money in violation of the law would have to return it within 30 days of the notice of violation. The contributions would then go into the state's general revenue fund.

The time has come to end pay-to-play in Illinois. I urge Gov. Blagojevich to sign the bill-now!

Fred Spitzzeri

Naperville Township Trustee