Illinois Senate Bill SB1815

Illinois 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/6/25
• Refer: 2/6/25
• Refer: 2/18/25
• Refer: 4/11/25

Caption

ETHICS-REVOLVING DOOR

Summary

SB1815 amends the Illinois State Officials and Employees Ethics Act to add an explicit prohibition on employers knowingly offering employment, compensation, or fees for services to a person when that person is barred by the Act’s revolving-door restrictions from accepting that work. In practical terms, the bill extends the ethics rules beyond the former public official or employee and places direct responsibility on the prospective employer as well. The bill also gives the Executive Ethics Commission and the Legislative Ethics Commission authority to enforce this new employer-side prohibition. Those commissions could investigate violations and impose an administrative penalty of up to three times the total annual compensation that was offered in violation of the law. The measure incorporates this new rule into the existing ethics framework governing post-employment restrictions, procurement-related conflicts, and lobbying-related cooling-off periods.

Impact

SB1815 would change the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act by adding employers to the list of parties subject to revolving-door enforcement. It amends Sections 5-45, 20-5, 25-5, and 50-5 to give both ethics commissions jurisdiction over employers who make prohibited offers and to authorize substantial administrative fines tied to the value of the offer. The bill would therefore expand enforcement tools and potentially deter private entities from recruiting former officials or employees in violation of post-employment restrictions.

Sentiment

No committee transcript or vote record is available for SB1815, so there is no documented debate or recorded legislative sentiment in the materials provided. Based on the bill text and caption, the measure appears to be a targeted ethics and anti-conflict-of-interest proposal focused on strengthening revolving-door restrictions. The absence of recorded opposition or support means sentiment cannot be assessed from hearings or votes.

Contention

The main policy issue is whether the state should penalize employers, not just former public officials or employees, for revolving-door violations. Supporters would likely view the bill as closing an enforcement gap and making ethics rules more effective, while critics could argue that the new standard may be difficult to administer because it hinges on whether an employer “knowingly” made a prohibited offer and on whether the prospective hire was in fact barred. The size of the penalty—up to three times annual compensation—may also be a point of contention because it is a significant financial sanction.