State Ethics Legislation
(5 ILCS 430/) State Officials and Employees Ethics Act
(5 ILCS 420/) Illinois Governmental Ethics Act.
Summary of the Act: Relevancy to SIU
I. Key elements relevant to Southern Illinois University:
1. Includes University employees and members of the Board of Trustees in the category of “state employees.”
2. Amends previous Gift Ban provisions by reducing the number of exceptions.
3. Introduces restrictions on activities such as:
a. Political activities during work
b. Lobbyist activity and service on boards and commissions
c. Employment by outside vendors of ex-State employees who formerly were involved in procurement decisions
4. Strengthens protection for "whistle blowers"
II. Ethics Training
The law requires that each employee complete, at least annually beginning in 2004, the ethics training program conducted
by the
university.
The training program can be internet based.
III. Personnel Policies
The University must have personnel policies in place that control the documentation of work time, compensation, and the
earning/accrual of State Benefits.
IV. Specific Policies
1. Employees of Southern Illinois University can not perform work for an outside vendor for one year after leaving the
university’s employ if he/she participated personally and substantially in decisions to award contracts to that vendor
that exceeded $25,000.00. This prohibition can only be waived by the State Ethics Commission.
2. University employees shall not intentionally perform any prohibited political activity during any compensated time,
other than vacation, personal, or compensatory time off).
3. University employees may not intentionally misappropriate any State property or resources by engaging in any
prohibited political activity for the benefit of any campaign for elective office or any political organization.
4. University employees may not require other persons in the employment of the state to participate in prohibited political
activities. (Prohibited political activities are defined to include: planning or holding a political meeting, rally, etc.;
distributing campaign literature; soliciting or making campaign contributions; managing or working on a campaign;
campaigning itself; conducting political polls or surveys for a specific campaign or political organization; and soliciting
votes on behalf of a candidate, political organization, or referendum question.
5. No University employee may solicit or accept a gift from a prohibited source. Prohibited sources are defined to include
any person or entity that does business or seeks to do business with the university, or persons who are registered
lobbyists. Exceptions to the gift ban include: anything for which the recipient pays the “market value”; items from one
prohibited source during one calendar year with a cumulative value<$100.00; food and refreshments catered or
consumed on premises not exceeding $75.00 per day; intra-governmental and inter-governmental gifts, which are gifts
from persons within or between these groups: General Assembly members, Constitutional officers, and employees of State
agencies; lodging, transportation or other benefits resulting from outside business employment activities that are
customarily provided to others in similar circumstances.
6. The recipient of a gift that is included in the ban always has the option of returning the gift to the source or giving the gift
or an amount of money equal to the gifts value to the SIU Foundation.
7. For the purpose of the ethics bill, members of the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees are considered
employees of the university and, therefore, state employees.
8. Upon appointment to the Board of Trustees of the university, an appointee must file with the Secretary of State, a
disclosure of all contracts the person or his or her spouse or immediate family members living with the person have with
the state and all contracts between the state and any entity in which the appointee, (or spouse or immediate family
member living with the appointee) have a majority financial interest.
9. In addition to the prohibited conflict of interest stated in article 8, it is unlawful for an appointed member of the Board of
Trustees (or spouse or immediate family members living with the appointee) to have or acquire a contract or have or
acquire a direct pecuniary interest in a contract with the state that relates to the Board of Trustees during and for one
year after the conclusion of the person’s term of office.
10. A person required to be registered under the Lobbyist Registration Act, their spouse, and/or their immediate family
members living with that person may not serve on the Board of Trustees.
11. Retaliatory action is prohibited against any University employee because that employee engaged in the following
activity:
i. Discloses or threatens to disclose to a supervisor or public body an activity, policy or practice the employee
reasonably believes violates a law, rule or regulation.
ii. Provides information to/testifies before any public body conducting an investigation, hearing, etc into any violation of
a law, etc.
iii. Assists or participates in a proceeding to enforce the Whistle Blower Protection statute.
12. Southern Illinois University shall designate an ethics officer.
13. Southern Illinois University shall designate a campus contact person to assist that ethics officer, provide ethics training
to the campus, and answer questions regarding Public Act 93-617.
14. A University employee who intentionally violates the State’s ethics bill is subject to discipline or discharge by the
appropriate authority within the university administration.
15. The State Ethics Commission may levy an Administrative fine of up to $5000.00 against any person who:
i. Violates the Act
ii. Intentionally obstructs or interferes with investigations conducted under the Act by an Inspector General.
iii. Intentionally makes a false, frivolous or bad faith allegation.
16. The criminal penalties for intentional violations of the State’s Ethics Act consist of either a Class A felony or business
offense.
17. Any person who intentionally makes a false report alleging a violation of the Act to an Ethics Commission or other
specified law enforcement officials is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
Ethics Office
1205 West Chautauqua, MC 6823
Carbondale, IL 62901
Phone: (618) 453-8645
Fax: (618) 453-5009
This site is maintained by the Office of the Vice President for Financial and Administrative Affairs and Board Treasurer and Ethics Office of Southern Illinois University. The documents and information on this website are made available on the Internet as a public service. We will make all reasonable efforts to ensure that the information is accurate and up to date but cannot guarantee the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of any information obtained from this website and may not be held liable for any losses caused by any person's reliance on such information.
Copyright © 2005, Board of Trustees, Southern Illinois University
Last Updated: 09/12/2007
