ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – In order to promote government transparency and ethical representation, state Rep. Mark Walker, D-Arlington Heights, is supporting legislation that would end the practice of paying legislators for a full month of work, regardless of when they resign.
“The people of Illinois should not have to pay politicians for time that they don’t spend working in their community’s interest,” Walker said. “This bill is a step in the right direction for more ethical government practices.”
The Walker-backed House Bill 4131 closes the pay loophole that allows legislators to be paid for a full month, even if they resigned on the first day of the month. Additionally, it adjusts pay to a prorated system that all legislators get paid for the amount of days that they work. This change would save valuable taxpayer dollars and promote ethical governing.
Walker has stood as a champion for ethics reform in the state. Walker backed Senate Bill 1639, which takes the first step toward ethics and lobbying reform by requiring lobbyists to disclose which units of government they lobby, any elected or appointed positions they hold and any sub-lobbyists they contract to lobby on their behalf. In addition, the bill also requires the Secretary of State to create a publicly searchable database that would bring together information from lobbyist disclosures and campaign contributions, as well as statements of economic interests of state officials.
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