State Employee Fined $100,000 For Ethics Lapse

A former director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services has been fined $100,000 for violating the ethics act for state employees.

The Executive Ethics Commission approved a settlement Wednesday between the Illinois Attorney General and former Healthcare and Family Services Director Barry Maram. 

Maram agreed to pay the state $100,000 to settle charges that he violated "revolving door provisions.'' Those are rules that apply to conflicts of interest in government contracts. 

A May 2012 Executive Inspector General report found Maram violated state law by accepting a job with a law firm that had been awarded a state contract worth at least $25,000.

Maram says he's ``never compromised'' his integrity or the public's trust.