Time to jam revolving door, watchdogs say

In 2003, reform groups and lawmakers thought they'd sealed the revolving door allowing state officials to accept high-paying private sector jobs with companies that received lucrative government contracts.

But the door is still revolving and several government watchdog organizations want to prevent that by tightening loopholes in ethics legislation enacted five years ago.

The calls for change come as former Illinois tollway Executive Director Brian McPartlin waits to see if the state ethics commission will grant him a waiver from the law.

McPartlin has been offered a job as vice president with McDonough Associates, an engineering and architectural firm that received more than $30 million in contracts from the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority.

He applied for a waiver from the ethics commission. However, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has intervened in the case and is reviewing his request. The ethics commission has approved all but one of 14 waiver requests submitted; seven were dismissed because the law didn't apply.

Jay Stewart, director of the Better Government Association, says the language of the law needs to be tightened because now officials only need to show they didn't participate "personally or substantially" in awarding contracts. That should be tweaked to include any participation, he said.

"The law is awfully thin on what's required," Stewart said. He also contends the law is too vague when it says a waiver shall be granted if an official shows their relationship with the prospective employee didn't affect any contracts.

"I don't think easy standards are the best thing when it comes to government," Stewart, said. He hopes to have legislation to revise the policy introduced next year.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=254819">A look behind the state's revolving-door policy <span class="date">[11/30/08]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>