Reboletti: Time to End “Pay to Play” Politics

August 03, 2007

Springfield …State Representative Dennis Reboletti (R-Elmhurst) calls on Senate President Emil Jones & Governor Blagojevich to support bipartisan legislation which would strengthen current ethics laws and end the current “pay to play” culture in Springfield.

“The Governor has been hit by numerous scandals surrounding state contracts that were doled out to businesses that had contributed to his campaign fund. This bipartisan legislation would ensure that state contracts are awarded based on the quality of the proposed bid and not by the amount of the political contribution,” Reboletti said.

House Bill 1, co-sponsored by Reboletti, would include the following provisions:
• Prohibit businesses that have a bid under consideration for $25,000 or more in state contracts from making political contributions.
• All bids for state contracts worth over $10,000 would be required to disclose all political contributions over $500 made within the previous 2 years to the officeholder that awarded the contract.
• Businesses bidding on state contracts would have to disclose contributions made by the bidding entity as well as any affiliated entities or persons, including executive employees, their spouse or minor children, subsidiaries or any political committee formed by the bidding entity. Only the contributions of the winning bidder will be made public.

“The bill received unanimous support in the House and 46 out of 59 senators have signed on as co-sponsors to this bill in the Senate,” Reboletti said. “House Bill 1 is a great piece of legislation that will ensure that the awarding of government contracts is open and honest. I call on Senate President Jones to allow this bill to come to a vote on the Senate floor.”

For additional information, Rep. Reboletti can be contacted at (630) 530-2730.