No. 3-2003 Creating the Office of Inspector General and an Ethics Hotline
No. 4-2003 Banning Retaliation Against Whistle Blowers
No. 5-2003 Mandating Ethics Training for All State Employees
Creating the
Office of Inspector General and an Ethics Hotline
WHEREAS, it is critically important that State officers,
employees and appointees discharge their duties and responsibilities in a
lawful and ethical manner; and
WHEREAS, there is no office in the Executive Branch charged
with the comprehensive responsibility of receiving and investigating complaints
of violations of any law, rule or regulation or abuse of authority or other
forms of misconduct by officers, employees and appointees of each department,
office, board or commission (hereinafter called "agency") directly
responsible to the Governor; and
WHEREAS, there is a compelling State interest in remedying
the current absence of an appropriate means to receive and investigate
complaints regarding alleged violations of any law, rule, or regulation, or
other forms of misconduct by the State officers, employees and appointees under
my jurisdiction; and
WHEREAS, the State has a compelling interest in encouraging
all citizens of the State of Illinois to report acts of public corruption and
misconduct;
THEREFORE, I hereby order the following:
1. Creation of Office of Inspector General
There is hereby created the Office of Inspector General,
which shall be headed by an Inspector General to be appointed by the Governor.
The Inspector General shall have the power and duty to receive and investigate
complaints regarding alleged violations of law, rule or regulation, or other
forms of misconduct as described below. In consultation with the Director of
the Department of Central Management
Services, the Inspector General shall determine the appropriate level of
staffing to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the Office of
Inspector General as described herein. The Department of Central Management
Services is hereby directed to allocate from its budget the necessary funds to
operate the Office of Inspector General, unless and until such time as the
Office shall be funded by a separate appropriation in the State Budget.
2. Powers and Duties
The Inspector General shall have the following powers and
duties:
(a) To receive and investigate complaints
concerning incidents of possible misconduct, misfeasance, malfeasance or
violations of laws, rules, or regulations by any officer, employee or appointee
in any agency directly responsible to the Governor.
(b) To investigate the performance of governmental officers, employees, appointees, functions and programs under my jurisdiction in order to detect and prevent misconduct within the programs and operations of any agency directly responsible to the Governor. Such investigation may be conducted either in response to a complaint or on the Inspector General's own initiative.
(c) To promote integrity in the
administration of the programs and operations of agencies under my jurisdiction
by reviewing agency programs, identifying any potential for misconduct therein,
and recommending to the Governor policies and methods for the prevention of
misconduct.
(d) To report to the Governor
concerning results of investigations undertaken by the Office of Inspector
General.
3. Creation of an Ethics Hotline
As soon as practicable after appointment of the Inspector
General, the Inspector General is directed to create and maintain a toll-free
"Ethics Hotline" for the purpose of receiving citizen and employee
reports of public corruption and misconduct. The identity of any individual
placing a call to the Ethics Hotline shall be kept confidential during and
after the investigation of any complaint made by the caller, unless the caller
consents to disclosure of his or her name or disclosure of the caller's identity
is otherwise required by law.
4. Investigation Reports
Upon conclusion of an investigation the Inspector General shall issue a summary report thereon. The report shall be delivered to the Governor, and may be filed with the head of each agency affected by or involved in the investigation, if appropriate. The report shall include the following:
(a) A description of any
complaints or other information received by the Inspector General pertinent to
the investigation.
(b) A description of any
misconduct discovered in the course of the investigation.
(c) Recommendations for
correction of any misconduct described in the report, including any
recommendations for disciplinary action with respect to any officer, employee
or appointee, including but not limited to discharge.
(d) Such other information as
the Inspector General may deem relevant to the investigation or resulting
recommendations.
The summary report shall not mention the name of any
informant, complainant or witness unless required by law or with the consent of
such informant, complainant or witness. The summary report shall not mention
the name of any officer, employee or appointee being investigated, except in
circumstances where the report recommends disciplinary action against such
officer, employee or appointee or as otherwise required by law.
5. Investigations Not Concluded Within Six Months
If any investigation is not concluded within six months
after its initiation, the Inspector General shall notify the Governor of the general
nature of the complaint or information giving rise to the investigation and the
reasons for failure to complete the investigation within six months.
6. Cooperation In Investigations
It shall be the duty of every officer, employee and
appointee in every agency directly responsible to the Governor (including any
existing inspector general serving in a particular agency) to cooperate with
the Inspector General in any investigation undertaken pursuant to this
Executive Order. The statutory duties and responsibilities of any existing
inspector general serving in any particular agency shall be unaffected by the
terms of this Executive Order.
7. Retaliation Prohibited
No officer, employee or appointee in any agency under my
jurisdiction shall retaliate against, punish, or penalize any person for
complaining to, cooperating with, or assisting the Inspector General in the
performance of his or her office. Any officer, employee or appointee who
violates the provisions of this section shall be subject to disciplinary
action, including but not limited to discharge.
8. Reports and Referrals Of Investigations
Upon making a preliminary determination that alleged
misconduct may involve possible criminal conduct, the Inspector General, in
consultation with my General Counsel, shall refer complaints regarding such
misconduct to the appropriate law enforcement authority.
9. Each director or agency head shall cause a copy of this
Executive Order to be distributed to each officer, employee and appointee in
the agency.
WHEREAS, in 1987 the Illinois General Assembly enacted the Whistle
Blower Protection Act, 5 ILCS
395/0.01, et seq., which protects the anonymity of any employee of any
Constitutional Officer of this State who discloses information which the
employee reasonably believes evidences (1) a violation of any law, rule, or
regulation, or (2) mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, abuse of authority,
or a substantial and specific danger to the public health or safety; and
WHEREAS, the Whistle Blower Protection Act further provides
that no disciplinary action shall be taken against any such employee for the
disclosure of any alleged prohibited activity under investigation or for any
related activity; and
WHEREAS, the State has a compelling interest in deterring
retaliatory conduct against whistle blowers, and in providing penalties for
such conduct when it does occur;
THEREFORE, I hereby order the following with respect to all
officers, employees and appointees in all agencies, departments, offices,
boards, and commissions directly responsible to the Governor (which agencies,
departments, offices, boards, and commissions are hereinafter referred to as
"agency"):
1. Any officer, employee or appointee of any agency is
banned from retaliating against, attempting to retaliate against, or in any
manner interfering with a whistle blower for reasons arising out of the whistle
blower's activities as described in the Whistle Blower Protection Act.
2. Any officer, employee or appointee of any agency who
knowingly violates the provisions contained in this Order shall be subject to
disciplinary action, including but not limited to discharge.
3. Each director or other agency head shall cause a copy of this Executive Order to be distributed to each officer, employee and appointee in the agency.
Executive
Order No. 5 - 2003
Mandating
Ethics Training For All State Employees
WHEREAS, officers, employees and appointees in agencies, departments, offices, boards and commissions (hereinafter referred to as "agencies") directly responsible to the Governor need to be fully prepared to address the ethical issues and questions that arise in discharging their duties and responsibilities to the citizens of Illinois; and
WHEREAS, there are a number of laws and Executive Orders in
effect in the State of Illinois which establish ethical standards and provide
penalties for their violation, including, without limitation, the Solicitation
Misconduct Act (Public Act 92-0853), the State
Gift Ban Act, 5 ILCS 425/1, et seq., the State
Employees Political Activity Act, 5 ILCS 320/0.01, et seq., and certain
provisions of the Illinois Election Code, 10 ILCS 5/9-1, et seq., as well as
various Executive Orders issued over the past twenty years by the governors of
the State of Illinois; and
WHEREAS, the State of Illinois has a compelling interest in
insuring that State officers, employees and appointees are fully aware of their
ethical duties and responsibilities to the citizens of this State; and
WHEREAS, it is the purpose and intent of this Executive
Order to educate State officers, employees and appointees as to their ethical
duties and responsibilities by instituting an Ethics Awareness Training
Program;
THEREFORE, I hereby order the following:
The General Counsel to the Governor is directed to research
and make recommendations regarding the nature and scope of an Ethics Awareness
Training Program for all officers, employees and appointees of agencies under
the jurisdiction of the Governor that would appropriately address the range of
ethical issues that such employees and officers face in the discharge of their
duties.
Within six months of establishment of the Ethics Awareness
Training Program, all officers, employees and appointees in agencies directly
responsible to the Governor shall attend and complete this Program. Once the
Ethics Awareness Training Program is established, all new officers, employees
and appointees in agencies directly responsible to the Governor shall attend
and complete the Program within two months of their date of hire.
Once the Ethics Awareness Training Program has been
established, the Ethics Officer for each agency under my jurisdiction is hereby
charged with the responsibility to implement this Program. This duty to
implement the Ethics Awareness Training Program shall be in addition to the
duties imposed on the Ethics Officer by the provisions of the Gift Ban
Act, 5 ILCS 425/1, et seq., and shall not be in contravention of any of the
duties imposed on Ethics Officers by said Act.
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