U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk this afternoon called for additional federal resources to stem corruption in the state and especially Northern Illinois.
Kirk, a Republican, is proposing a bill called the Public Integrity Anti-Corruption Act, that would authorize $25 million more to the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute public corruption.
Although Kirk voted against President Barack Obama's federal stimulus plan, he said he supports the use of stimulus dollars for his proposal. He said that while federal officials did not request additional support, the bill would help the state overcome its reputation for double-dealing.
"The land of Honest Abe has become the land of corruption, with Illinois taxpayers paying the price," Kirk said during a press conference today. "We need to give the FBI and federal prosecutors the tools they need to crack down on corruption and restore integrity to the state of Illinois."
Kirk, who is running for the U.S. Senate, dismissed the notion that his proposal was an election ploy.
He instead tied the timing to the upcoming trial of impeached and indicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Kirk spoke to reporters inside a courtroom at the Dirksen federal building, where Blagojevich will be tried this summer.
Kirk said his congressional office analyzed data that compares public corruption convictions across the 50 states, as well as specifically within Northern Illinois.
According to his office, if just the northern part of the state were its own state, it would rank ninth highest in the nation for corruption.
Kirk said official misconduct is hurting job creation in Illinois and making it less competitive economically with neighboring states such as Indiana and Wisconsin.
Republican Matt Murphy, the state senator and recent candidate for lieutenant governor, said the bill will attract more businesses to the state by helping Illinois shed its image as a "shakedown" economy.
"Above all else, the people of Illinois desperately need jobs," Murphy said. "This measure will improve our jobs climate by sending a mesage to job creators that we are ending the old way of doing business in Illinois and that they can invest in Illinois without being shaken down."
During the press conference, Kirk also addressed recent allegations from U.S. Senate rival Alexi Giannoulias.
Giannoulias' campaign today estimated that Kirk has taken $21,600 for his Senate campaign from employees at Goldman Sachs, the financial-services firm sued last week by the U.S. federal government.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is accusing Goldman of fraud by selling investment products that the firm itself bet against. The firm has denied fraudulent behavior, and its lawyers have argued that clients were well aware of potential risks.
Some, including the Giannoulias campaign, assert that deals such as Goldman's precipitated the economic crisis during 2008.
"Wall Street reform is vital to ensuring that the meltdown that continues to cripple our economy never happens again," Giannoulias campaign spokesman Matt McGrath said in a statement this afternoon.
"We are calling on Congressman Kirk to explain why he voted against Wall Street reform and reining in exorbitant CEO bonuses last year, and we are challenging him to give back his tainted Goldman Sachs campaign contributions."
In light of the suit, Kirk said he will "err on the side of caution" and refund all money to his Senate campaign from Goldman employees. He did not immediately specify the amount he would refund or a timeline for refunding all such contributions.