Legislation to terminate taxpayer-funded fliers passes Senate

SPRINGFIELD, IL - A trio of bills that will rein in taxpayer-funded abuses of office, thanks to the efforts of State Sen. Michael Connelly (R-Wheaton) passed the Illinois Senate on April 23.

“The Saturday before the local election I found in my mail a promotional piece touting the College of DuPage. The notion that a government body sees no issue with mailing a taxpayer-funded mail piece, a mere 3 days prior to this month’s election is absolutely ridiculous,” Connelly said. “Taxpayer funds should never be used to either explicitly or implicitly influence an election.”

Senator Connelly successfully advanced Senate Bill 914, which bans all units of local government from sending any promotional materials from Jan. 1 to the date of the consolidated election. The measure is similar to already long-established bans that are in place for Illinois constitutional officers and legislators.

If local government officials, employees, or contractors engage in the behavior, they could face termination from their jobs and be charged with a Class 4 felony.

Connelly also passed two bills that stem from a recent scandal at Northern Illinois University. NIU recently agreed to pay for the legal fees of three former employees who were subsequently convicted of criminal theft from the university.

Senate Bill 1102 bans state and local public entities from providing representation for or indemnifying any State or local employee in any criminal proceeding arising out of that employee’s employment with the State or local public entity.

Senate Bill 1145 applies the bans to Illinois public universities. The legislation affects the University of Illinois, Southern Illinois University, Chicago State, Illinois State, Eastern, Western, Governor’s State, Northeastern Illinois, and Northern.

The trio of bills now await consideration by the House of Representatives.