Even though he was convicted of taking bribes in June of last year, former Ald. Jesse Evans continued to serve on the Chicago City Council for four months before resigning last fall.
But in the future, elected officials in Illinois would have to give up their seats immediately upon being convicted of, or pleading guilty to, major criminal offenses under a measure that passed the state Senate on Tuesday.
Sen. Walter Dudycz (R-Chicago) argued that it is “only right” that a convicted public servant should turn over the people’s business to someone else.
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“We had this case where the alderman refused to vacate his seat,” Dudycz said. “We want to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Sen. Robert Molaro (D-Chicago) raised questions about the proposal, saying: “If someone is found guilty, that’s a finding of guilt. It’s not a judgment being entered. There can still be motions for a new trial. The judge can still set aside the verdict. If that happens and the mayor has already appointed a new alderman, then you have a problem.”
But supporters of the measure were not swayed and sent the bill to the House by a 45-2 vote, with Molaro and Sen. Denny Jacobs, (D-East Moline) dissenting, and Sen. William Shaw (D-Dolton) voting present.
State law currently allows officials convicted of such crimes to remain in office until sentencing, sometimes creating awkward situations. Evans, for example, cast a vote in favor of an ethics reform ordinance in the period between his conviction in June of 1997 and his sentencing to 41 months in prison last October.
The Senate also approved several other criminal justice proposals on Tuesday, including a proposal to revise the Truth-in-Sentencing law. The 1995 law, which requires that murderers serve all of their sentence, was declared unconstitutional last month by an appellate court in the state capital and earlier in March by another appellate court in Elgin.
The courts ruled that the law improperly included an unrelated provision pertaining to not-for-profit hospitals. The new measure drops that provision, but is otherwise identical to the previous stricken law.
In other action, the Senate voted to make permanent a pilot program that allows those convicted of a second or subsequent charge of driving under the influence of alcohol to retain their driving privileges if they have their cars equipped with so-called “ignition interlock” devices.
The devices, costing as much as $1,000, can make it impossible for motorists to start their cars if alcohol is detected on their breath.
The House, meanwhile, also passed 115-0 criminal justice legislation that would force motorists convicted of reckless homicide to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences.
Currently, those serving reckless homicide sentences receive day-for-day time off for good behavior.
The average sentence in Illinois for reckless homicide is eight years, with most people serving only three, according to the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mary Lou Cowlishaw (R-Naperville).
“I don’t think that is sufficient punishment,” she said.
The legislation comes more than five months after three Waubonsie Valley High School students were killed by an alleged drunken driver. All three girls lived in Cowlishaw’s district.
The legislation, a key initiative this spring for the group Mothers Against Drunk Driving, now advances to the Senate.