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A New Bill Proposes to Provide More Protection to Whistle-blowers in Ohio

Jo Ingles
/
STATEHOUSE NEWS BUREAU
With the support of State Reps. Kathleen Clyde (left) and Steve Dyer (right), State Rep. Jack Cera (middle) speaks about a bill he's sponsoring that provides more protection for whistle-blowers.

Some Democrats in the Ohio Legislature are sponsoring a bill that they say would provide more protections to whistle-blowers. 

Democratic Rep. Jack Cera is a sponsor of a new bill that, if passed, would provide more protections to people who report wrongdoing involving taxpayer funds. 

“No one should be silenced for fear of losing their job, being demoted or being intimidated," he said. "And these reforms we are putting forth today will make sure that no one will have to second-guess doing the right thing.”

The bill would simplify the reporting process for whistle-blowers, provide broader coverage of the types of reports that may be covered, and provide more protection against retaliation.

Sponsors say they want bipartisan support for the bill and are willing to make changes in order to win support from majority Republican lawmakers.

Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment. Jo started her career in Louisville, Kentucky in the mid 80’s when she helped produce a televised presidential debate for ABC News, worked for a creative services company and served as a general assignment report for a commercial radio station. In 1989, she returned back to her native Ohio to work at the WOSU Stations in Columbus where she began a long resume in public radio.
Karen is a lifelong Ohioan who has served as news director at WCBE-FM, assignment editor/overnight anchor at WBNS-TV, and afternoon drive anchor/assignment editor in WTAM-AM in Cleveland. In addition to her daily reporting for Ohio’s public radio stations, she’s reported for NPR, the BBC, ABC Radio News and other news outlets. She hosts and produces the Statehouse News Bureau’s weekly TV show “The State of Ohio”, which airs on PBS stations statewide. She’s also a frequent guest on WOSU TV’s “Columbus on the Record”, a regular panelist on “The Sound of Ideas” on ideastream in Cleveland, appeared on the inaugural edition of “Face the State” on WBNS-TV and occasionally reports for “PBS Newshour”. She’s often called to moderate debates, including the Columbus Metropolitan Club’s Issue 3/legal marijuana debate and its pre-primary mayoral debate, and the City Club of Cleveland’s US Senate debate in 2012.