The Illinois Committee for Honest Government was founded in August 1986 by a group of individuals who sought to improve Illinois election proceedures. This occured in the aftermath of the fiasco of the 1986 Democratic Primary, when unknown followers of Lyndon Larouche with plain-sounding names upset George Sangmeister (who later became a Congressman from the Joliet area) for Lieutenant Governor and Aurelia Pucinski (who later became Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County and is now a Circuit Court Judge) for Secretary of State.
In addition to seeking various reforms and improvement in election laws and procedures (a battle that has raged ever since), the founders of the ICHG also agreed to seek increased responsiveness in all levels and branches of government, and to seek the the prosecution of election frauds in Illinois.
The ICHG began issuing endorsements to candidates in the 1986 General Elections, and has been active in providing recommendations of candidates in elections ever since. The ICHG has not sought out to be a partisan agent in its endorsements. Rather, it has sought to support the best candidates possible, regardless of party label. In these endorsements, the ICHG has maintained a goal of seeking to support those who are willing to work with others, as the Committee does not believe that any one party or faction has a monopoly on good ideas.
Beginning in April 1987, when a delegation of Committee officials travelled to Springfield, Illinois to testify before a committee hearing of the Illinois House on proposed election law reforms, the ICHG has presented and issued testimony before governmental bodies on numerous occasions. Besides the Illinois General Assembly, the ICHGhas also testified on various matters before the US House Veterans Affairs Committee, the Chicago City Council, the Cook County Board, the Chicago Transit Authority, the Regional Transportation Authority and the Chicago Cable Commission.
Beginning in 1987, the ICHG began holding its "Distinguished Service Award" Receptions. Each of these receptions held to date has featured a bipartisan mix of officials, from every level of government.
In October 1990, the ICHG began its involvement as program producers on the Chicago Access Network (CAN-TV). In the 18 years since that inaugural broadcast, the ICHG has had hundreds of elected officials, candidates for office and a wide variety of civic and cultural dignitaries on its programs.
Around the start of this decade, the ICHG (which had been hosting it Cable-TV programs only on a live, call-in format airing in the City of Chicago) branched out to produce taped interview programs that could be sent to cable staions outside of Chicago, as well as to the candidates being interviewed for their own use. In the past three years, ICHG-produced progams have also been placed on the Internet, allowing anyone with computer access to the World Wide Web to watch these programs from anywhere at anytime.
Not all of these programs have been limited to issues of government and politics. Over the years, the ICHG has been pleased to host numerous programs on veterans issues, religious and cultural activities in the Chicago area, and a great many programs related to the hobby of philately (stamp collecting; ICHG co-founder and current Secretary/Treasurer Randall Sherman is a leading philatelist in the Chicago area, including serving as Secretary of the nation's oldest stamp club, the Chicago Philatelic Society).
