Associated Press: Financial disclosure a target of lawmakers’ ethics quest

More than 26,000 state employees must annually file a statement of economic interest comprising eight questions designed to identify financial involvement that could intersect with state business.

Often mocked as “None Sheets” for the answers they habitually produce, critics say the process falls short. For example, it requires disclosing monetary gains without identifying the transactions that yielded them. It compels identifying lobbyists with whom the filer has a “close economic relationship,” but provides no definition.

“The narrowly-tailored questions seem to provide plenty of opportunity to shield relationships, say by routing funds through an intermediary,” said Jay Young, executive director of Common Cause Illinois.

The statement re-emerged as an issue with the federal bribery charge against former Chicago Democratic Rep. Luis Arroyo, who allegedly tried to buy a senator’s support for legislation on an issue about which he was simultaneously lobbying Chicago city officials. Other federal inquiries have spotlighted lobbyists, such as in subpoenas for information from Exelon, parent company of power giant ComEd.