BLOWING THE WHISTLE A LITTLE LOUDER

I have written a number of blogs in support of whistle blowers and a number of blogs castigating those who decry whistle blowers. My basic philosophy is that without whistle blowers, vast amounts of corruption in government would not have been, and continue to be, exposed and those who consider whistle blowers as “snitches” obviously have something to hide themselves!


Probably 99% of the people who have information to expose corruption are afraid of backlash. Even though Illinois has whistle blower protection laws in both the governmental and private sector, there are still ways for employers to circumvent the law and punish the person who, even though they spoke the truth, suffer consequences.

State Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) has introduced Illinois House Bill 6906 to make it easier for citizens to report allegations of fraud in government. He is calling for a simple amendment to the Illinois State Auditing Act by adding a new section. The synopsis of the bill is:

“Amends the Illinois State Auditing Act. Requires the Office of the Auditor General to operate a toll-free telephone hot line for the public to report allegations of fraud in the executive branch of State government. Authorizes the Office to conduct audits concerning alleged fraud and to refer allegations of fraud to the appropriate law enforcement authority or other governmental entity with jurisdiction over the alleged fraud. Effective immediately.”

One problem with whistle blowing is that many times it is reported, but nothing is done. Franks’ bill gives authority for an audit to be conducted and the information turned over to law enforcement. Once so many agencies are involved in the process, a cover-up of the allegations will be harder to pull off.


Franks said, “The culture of corruption in our state cannot continue. If we are going to change it, we must take the necessary steps to make information more available to citizens and provide citizens with the means to hold their government accountable. The government must be returned to the people and transparency is the first step toward that goal.”

He has more bills that he has introduced to clean the smudges off the window of Illinois government.

Prompted to action by the Department on Aging’s poor decision to lease new office space earlier this year, Franks also pushed legislation to add oversight to state agency leasing agreements. House Bill 1450 will require all leases to be filed with the Comptroller and the Procurement Policy Board. It also gives the Board the power to reject proposed leases within 30 days of their receipt.

“Our state is buried in a man-made financial crisis, yet our government continues to make decisions which perpetuate our bad spending habits,” Franks said. “The lease contracted by the Department on Aging is a good example of poor financial decision making, but it is just one example of a much larger problem. Adding more oversight to state government leasing agreements is a smart move for the financial health of our state.”

HB 1450 passed the House yesterday and now moves to the Senate for consideration.

Transparency and oversight of state government are great vehicles in exposing the corruption in Springfield. If passed, this legislation might be one small step by a Woodstock man, but it will be a giant leap for Illinois.