Every day Dave Diersen of DuPage County puts together a compilation of articles about Illinois politics at GOPUSA Illinois. That’s where I got the idea for this story. (You can subscribe to his daily email here.) Today’s email pointed me to an Illinois News Network story, which stimulated this piece.

Bill Cunningham

Chicago Democratic Party State Rep. Bill Cunningham has come up with a half-good idea. He seems like a qualified enough guy. He used to be Director of Communications for Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart.

He wants to require statewide elected officials to disclosed their income tax forms for five years prior to the immediately before the election.

He is motivated by the Republican Governor Bill Brady’s limited release and the refusal of his Lieutenant Governor running mate Jason Plummer to show anything and is even willing to mention Democrat Scott Lee Cohen.

But, what about the other people running for office?

What about state legislators?

What about judicial candidates?

Wouldn’t you like to know if such candidates would get paid more for the office they are seeking than they earned in the private sector?

Wouldn’t you like to know if you candidate had even worked in the private sector?

Wouldn’t you be interested in where they got their income?

Some people might be.

Not that the bill has a chance of passing, but it would be a better bill, I think, if the sponsor had included himself and his colleagues in the jurisdiction of the legislation.

The bill’s number is House Bill 278.

Rep. Cummingham can be reached by phone at 773-445-8128.  No email addresses are provided on the General Assembly web site.