We pay for the Illinois Legislative Ethics Commission. We fund the Legislative Inspector General's office. And right now, a completed investigation into former state Rep. Harry Benton's alleged misconduct is sitting in a drawer, sealed, while the public gets nothing. That's not how accountability is supposed to work.
Legislative Inspector General Mike McCuskey confirmed this week that the Ethics Commission has full authority to release that report — and that nothing is stopping them. Benton already resigned from the Illinois House. There's no ongoing proceeding to protect, no due process argument that holds water. The only thing keeping this report hidden is a decision by the Commission not to act. When a public official is investigated for misconduct using public resources, the public has a right to see what was found. Keeping it sealed doesn't protect anyone — except maybe the people who'd rather this go away quietly.
I'm asking you to call on the Legislative Ethics Commission to vote to release Inspector General McCuskey's completed report on Harry Benton's alleged misconduct. If the Commission won't act on its own, I want you to publicly demand that it does — and to support any legislative fix that makes future reports like this one automatically public when an official resigns under investigation. Transparency isn't a partisan issue. It's the bare minimum we should expect from the people we elect.
Please push the Legislative Ethics Commission to release this report now.
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