No legislator wants to admit that he or she enabled Rod Blagojevich.  But many of them have.  They’ve kept our ethics laws loose – the better to protect their powers – and last year denied you a vote on whether to add a recall provision to your state constitution.  We expect voters to see lists of self-protecting legislators often in the 2010 election cycle.  Holding Illinois legislators accountable for what they do or don’t do to toughen the rules, the laws, in our State of Corruption is every citizen’s job – now more than ever.

Chicago Tribune editorial, April 3, 2009

Ken Dunkin has been the ultimate Blagojevich enabler.  He was one of only three legislators to not vote to impeach our now indicted former governor.  He was the only member of the House (out of 110) to vote “no” on a bill to stop Blagojevich from using taxpayer dollars to put his name on signs all over the state.  Ken also voted against the recall bill mentioned by the Tribune above.

If David is elected to the General Assembly he will make ethics reform one of his top priorities. David will propose the following ethics reform measures when he gets to Springfield:

• Allow the voters to recall corrupt elected officials
• Overhaul the procurement process to undercut “pay for play” politics
• Establish greater transparency in all aspects of government
• Require ethics training for all state employees
• Reduce the number of patronage positions in state government
• Strengthen Illinois’ weak Freedom of Information Act
• Enact comprehensive campaign finance reforms (see separate issue tab)