Attorney General Ryan offers ethics reforms

CHICAGO -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Ryan proposed a series of ethical reforms Thursday that he said would help clean up the political process and restore the public's confidence in government.

The reforms take direct aim at a practice the licenses-for-bribes scandal has brought to light: the use of state workers to raise money for politicians.

"What their job involves is government service, not serving the political interests of the people that are elected or that they work for," Ryan said. Ryan said if elected he would push for legislation prohibiting all nonfederal government employees and their spouses from soliciting or accepting contributions for state and local political campaigns.

He also proposed prohibiting such employees and their spouses from contributing to the officials for whom they work.

Both provisions also would apply to government contractors.

Government employees would be allowed to volunteer for candidates on their own time but could not raise funds.

"There needs to be a wall between politics and government service," said Ryan, the state attorney general. "And I intend to erect that wall."

Ryan said the proposals are modeled after the Hatch Act, a federal law that bans campaign activity by government workers.