Schaumburg A.M. Rotarians welcome Lt. Governor Sheila Simon
Illinois Lt. Governor Sheila Simon highlighted her efforts to increase government transparency and accountability while addressing the Schaumburg A.M. Rotary Club at its September 18th meeting.
“I appreciate the hard work of the Schaumburg A.M. Rotary Club to make this area an even better place to live and work,” said Simon, who is a Rotarian in Carbondale. “I hope to enlist this Rotary Club as a strong partner in my office's work to increase government transparency.”
Simon spoke about her work to increase government transparency through her efforts to require the Illinois Department of Revenue to provide a taxpayer receipt to each Illinois individual income tax filer who filed an electronic income tax return. The taxpayer receipt should help taxpayers understand the state's growing pension obligations and the strain that places on other areas such as Medicaid and the state's backlog of unpaid bills. Simon is also working on legislation to improve the financial disclosures filed by thousands of elected officials, high-ranking staff and candidates each year.
Simon also discussed her ongoing push for a revised disclosure form, known as a Statement of Economic Interests, which must be filed with the secretary of state's office or postmarked annually by May 1. The revised form would require filers to list outside sources of income, lobbyist relationships and loans made or accepted on terms not available to the general public, for the first time. It also closes loopholes that allowed filers to answer “not applicable” to almost all of the questions on the current version of the form introduced 40 years ago.
Membership in Rotary runs the spectrum from young professionals to retired seniors looking for opportunities to make a difference in their community. Schaumburg A.M. Rotary, a multi-generational group of men and women, meets every Wednesday morning at 7:00 am at the Bridges of Poplar Creek Country Club in Hoffman Estates. For more information visit www.schaumburgamrotary.org.