NW Illinois News

Illinois state Sen. Win Stoller (R-Germantown Hills) finds it worrisome that a new report revealed ethics complaints involving state government this year broke a record.

Stoller shared the article from Illinois Policy outlining the report's findings in a December 5 Facebook post.

"Well this is troubling," Stoller wrote in his post. 

Illinois Policy cited a report by the Office of the Executive Inspective General (OEIG) for the Agencies of the Illinois Governor. The report highlighted hiring compliance, revolving door determinations, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

According to the OEIG report, the office received a "record-high" 3,075 complaints, started 79 investigations, completed 88 investigations, 20 of which revealed wrongdoing. Nine founded reports were also brought to the attention of the Executive Ethics Commission which were made public. Illinois Policy pointed out that the number of revolving door determinations jumped by 55% to 291. Revolving door refers to when a state department administrator takes a job in the private sector. The article noted ethics laws forbid certain state employees from taking a position outside of government in an area where they had an impact as an administrator. Of the 291 state employees seeking non-public jobs, four were banned from doing so until a year after leaving their previous positions.

Stoller was first elected to the state Senate in 2021. He currently serves in the environment and conservation and senate higher education committees, according to The Illinois Senate website.