Ethics commission member expresses some reservations

SPRINGFIELD - If the sweeping ethics reform proposals put forth by a governor's commission had been dropped on Duane Noland's state Senate desk, he says he couldn't support the entire plan.

"Would I vote for the whole thing? Probably not," the central Illinois Republican recently told the Daily Herald.

As the only member of the reform commission assembled by now-Gov. Pat Quinn ever to serve in the General Assembly, Noland has a unique perspective on the realities of getting laws passed.

For instance, he said, with the state facing a nearly $12 billion deficit, he couldn't vote were he a lawmaker to use taxpayer dollars to fund campaigns, as suggested in the commission's report.

Noland served in the Illinois House and then Senate from 1990 to 2003, representing a section of central Illinois near Decatur. His home territory was combined with that of fellow Republican Frank Watson in the 2002 remapping of legislative districts.

Noland chose not to challenge Watson and is now president and CEO of the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives.

Noland said the two most important things he thinks lawmakers could do to truly change the state's political culture would be to overhaul how General Assembly districts are redrawn after each census and enact campaign finance limits.

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