SPRINGFIELD - Governor Bruce Rauner today discussed the changes his administration has made to create a more ethical and responsive government with the state ethics officers at the Executive Ethics Commission's Ethics Officer Conference at the University of Illinois-Springfield.
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"Reforming the reputation and effectiveness of Illinois government is due in large part to the work of our state ethics officers," Governor Rauner said. "As public servants, we must always put the interests of our citizens first. We are guarding the public trust – the tax dollars and resources – of Illinois. Government should work for the people, not for the government insiders."
Since taking office, the Rauner Administration has taken a number of steps to strengthen the ethical standards of state agencies and state employees. During the governor's first days in office, he signed Executive Order 15-09 to closed the revolving door between state agencies and lobbying, closed loopholes in the gift ban, and required additional economic interest disclosures by appointees.
Additionally, he ended the Blagojevich-era hiring system, made it easier for the public to find and identify political hires on the state's website, instituted the state's first-ever employee Code of Personal Conduct that lays out the principles of public service, and strengthened the administration's relationship with the Office of the Executive Inspector General.
At this conference last year, Governor Rauner created the Health Care Fraud Elimination Task Force to root out fraud, waste and abuse in taxpayer-funded health systems. Since its creation, the task force has already identified millions of dollars in savings.
Video of the event can be found here.
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