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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The conviction of former Governor George Ryan and | ||||||
| 3 | the arrest and pending trial of former Governor Rod Blagojevich | ||||||
| 4 | have caused a crisis of confidence of Illinois citizens and | ||||||
| 5 | taxpayers in their government; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Former Governor Rod Blagojevich was accused of, | ||||||
| 7 | among other things, corruption involving patronage hiring, | ||||||
| 8 | awarding of State contracts, making of board and commission | ||||||
| 9 | appointments, and other abuses of State power; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, The decisions of State government, boards, and | ||||||
| 11 | commissions were often based on the level of campaign | ||||||
| 12 | contributions and not on the best interests of the taxpayers; | ||||||
| 13 | and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, The State budget deficit is estimated at over $13 | ||||||
| 15 | billion and liabilities are estimated to total over $120 | ||||||
| 16 | billion including pension debt, yet there are varying reports | ||||||
| 17 | of how many programs the State runs, how many special funds | ||||||
| 18 | exist, and what the precise amount of the deficit is; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois ranks 48th in job growth and | ||||||
| 20 | economic vitality, has had a net loss of over 700 manufacturing | ||||||
| 21 | firms in the last year, and has had a population outflow of | ||||||
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| 1 | 735,000 people in the last decade due to loss of confidence in | ||||||
| 2 | State government; and
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| 3 | WHEREAS, A forensic audit is a thorough and evidentiary | ||||||
| 4 | audit that can identify corrupt practices that have occurred | ||||||
| 5 | and provide the basis for prosecution of those who engaged in | ||||||
| 6 | those practices; therefore, be it
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| 7 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 8 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Auditor General is | ||||||
| 9 | directed pursuant to Section 3-2 of the Illinois State Auditing | ||||||
| 10 | Act to conduct a forensic audit of all State spending, hiring, | ||||||
| 11 | procurement, and contracts awarded and the appointment of board | ||||||
| 12 | and commission officials and decisions made by boards and | ||||||
| 13 | commissions or those with procurement or hiring authority | ||||||
| 14 | during the Blagojevich administration, specifically all | ||||||
| 15 | expenditures and actions from January 1, 2001 to January 1, | ||||||
| 16 | 2010; and be it further
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| 17 | RESOLVED, That the Auditor General commence this forensic | ||||||
| 18 | audit as soon as possible and report the findings and | ||||||
| 19 | recommendations upon completion in accordance with the | ||||||
| 20 | Illinois State Auditing Act; and be it further
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| 21 | RESOLVED, That the Office of the Governor shall provide all | ||||||
| 22 | needed information and, if necessary, the Senate shall issue | ||||||
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| 1 | any needed subpoenas that the Auditor General deems necessary; | ||||||
| 2 | and be it further | ||||||
| 3 | RESOLVED, That a commission of 6 individuals equally | ||||||
| 4 | divided between Republican members (appointed by the Senate | ||||||
| 5 | Republican Minority Leader) and Democrat members (appointed by | ||||||
| 6 | the President of the Senate) shall be appointed to oversee the | ||||||
| 7 | effort; and be it further | ||||||
| 8 | RESOLVED, That the Auditor General, upon finding any | ||||||
| 9 | incident of suspected corruption, shall file a complaint to the | ||||||
| 10 | Executive Inspector General or other appropriate Inspector | ||||||
| 11 | General to be referred for further investigation and possible | ||||||
| 12 | prosecution; and be it further | ||||||
| 13 | RESOLVED, That a copies of this resolution be delivered to | ||||||
| 14 | the Auditor General and the Governor.
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