Ethics Complaints

Filing a Complaint with the Office of the Executive Inspector General

Complaints alleging State employee misconduct, fraud, waste, etc., can be made to the Office of Executive Inspector General for the Agencies of the Governor (OEIG) by any member of the Illinois State University community. However, the complaint must relate to the official conduct of a State employee of a State agency, board, commission, public university or Illinois community college district under the jurisdiction of the OEIG or a person or entity (such as a vendor of the State) doing business with an employee or State agency under the jurisdiction of the OEIG.

Anyone who files a complaint should have a reasonable belief that the allegation being reported is true. In addition, anyone filing a complaint must provide sufficient detail concerning the allegation in order for an investigation to be initiated.

Examples of allegations of violations by State employees that may be investigated by the OEIG include (but are not limited to): fraud, abuse of authority, corruption, theft of State property, bid rigging, improper time reporting and the misuse of State property, equipment or other assets.

Complaints may be filed either orally or in writing. Written complaints may be submitted using the OEIG Complaint Form.

To report a violation you may do one of the following:

Call the OEIG’s toll-free hotline at 866-814-1113
Contact the Office via teletype at 800-524-8794 (TTY)
Send a completed Complaint Form to:
Office of Executive Inspector General
for the Agencies of the Illinois Governor
Attention: Complaint Division
32 West Randolph, Suite 1900
Chicago, Illinois 60601
Fax a completed Complaint Form to 312-814-5479
Visit the OEIG’s Springfield or Chicago office to fill out a Complaint Form

The OEIG will not investigate complaints that are unrelated to its jurisdiction, such as those generally related to city, municipal, county or federal government employees and officials, or federal or state court judges and legislators. The OEIG may also decline to investigate complaints that are more appropriately dealt with as a State agency management issue, such as a complaint from a State employee who is simply dissatisfied, without legal recourse, with a supervisor, work assignment or performance rating.

Illinois State University Employee Complaints

Complaints regarding allegations of Illinois State University employee misconduct, fraud, waste, etc., can be made to Illinois State University Ethics Office. However, the complaint must relate to the official conduct of an Illinois State University employee or a person or entity (such as a vendor of the State) doing business with an Illinois State University employee. To report a violation you may do one of the following:

Call the Office of Equal Opportunity, Ethics, and Access at 309-438-3383
Send a completed Complaint Form to:
Written complaints may be submitted using the ISU Ethics Complaint Form.

Whistleblower Protection

If you are a State employee and you . . . .

Disclose or threaten to disclose to your supervisor or any public body an act or omission that you reasonably believe to be a violation of law, rule or regulation by another State employee, or
Provide information to or testify before any public body conducting an investigation, hearing or inquiry into a violation of law, rule, or regulation, or
Assist or participate in a proceeding to enforce the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act,

Then a State agency cannot take retaliatory action such as . . . .

Reprimand, discharge, suspension, demotion, denial of promotion or transfer, or change the terms or conditions of employment of any State employee that occurs in retaliation for an employee’s exercise of any one of the three protected activities, above. Nor may the employer, within or without the workplace, take action materially adverse to a reasonable employee in retaliation for engaging in a protected activity. Further, the employer may not threaten any employee with any act or omission if that act or omission would constitute retaliation against the employee under the Ethics Act.

Remedies if retaliation occurs may include . . . .

Employee shall be made whole;
Reinstatement;
Two times back pay;
Interest on back pay; and/or
Payment of reasonable costs and attorneys’ fees.

The employee would need to pursue a civil action in order to attempt to receive some or all of the remedial relief listed above. The State circuit courts have jurisdiction to hear cases brought under the Whistle Blower protections of the Ethics Act.

See State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, 5 ILCS 430/15-5 et. seq.

Confidentiality of Those Who File Complaints

Although the OEIG and EOEA do accept complaints that are filed anonymously, the identity of all who file complaints with the OEIG and EOEA will be kept confidential to the extent possible under the law. There may however be circumstances under which a complainant’s identity must be revealed by law.