10 Ethics Questions for Senator Bill Brady

TOP TEN ETHICS QUESTIONS FOR GOP GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE,
SENATOR BILL BRADY
Transparency in the executive branch cannot be on a ‘need to know’ basis

For Immediate Release

Contact: Ben Young
816.223.8258
May 27th, 2010

SPRINGFIELD – It is essential that candidates for our state government’s highest office possess the best judgment on ethical issues and are willing to demonstrate transparency to the people of Illinois. For this reason, we, the Illinois Democratic County Chairmen’s Association, believe that Senator Bill Brady should clarify his stance on certain issues.

Unfortunately, Senator Bill Brady’s record on ethics is murky, at best. For example, just this week, a Chicago Tribune investigation discovered that Senator Brady voted - on three separate occasions - for bills that could impact his personal business interests and presented a clear conflict of interest.

To ensure the highest level of transparency and service in the executive branch, we propose the following questions for Senator Brady:

1. Do you think a sitting Governor or immediate family members should be allowed to accept a salary from their private business interests during their tenure?

2. What role should a sitting Governor play in his/her private businesses during their tenure? How should a Governor ensure that there are no conflicts of interest between their personal business interests and the interests of the citizens of Illinois?

3. Do you believe that legislators receiving salaries from the state should be allowed to use losses from private holdings to reduce the tax burden on their taxpayer-funded salary?

4. Should candidates for Governor and Lt. Governor freely and openly release their tax returns and other documents to allow voters to evaluate their potential conflicts of interest?

5. How do you think the Legislature should handle members that vote for legislation from which they directly stand to benefit?

6. Are there individuals/groups from which gubernatorial candidates should not accept campaign donations?

7. Do you believe that transparency in campaign donations is important? At what dollar level, do you believe candidates should disclose information about their donors?

8. Do you think there should be limits on campaign contributions?

9. Do you think you should have skipped this year’s vote on the Sunshine Commission Act, which would identify waste in state programs and save taxpayers money?

10. Do you believe there should be a minimum percentage of votes during session that legislators must cast to receive their taxpayer-funded salary?

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For more information, please contact Ben Young, 816.223.8258