Whenever there's a big
story, a calamity of some sort, an outrage, or some type of disaster, you can
bet that a lobbyist or special interest group will try to take advantage of the
situation to push their own legislation in Springfield.
That's pretty much what's
happening in the wake of the George Ryan conviction. The Illinois Campaign for
Political Reform is calling for changes in the way Illinois politics is
conducted. Comptroller Dan Hynes is also touring the state touting his own
package of ethics reforms, which is backed by ICPR and a handful of
legislators. Some editorial boards have spoken out in favor of the reforms.
Even so, nothing proposed
so far would have stopped George Ryan's corruption. Indeed, no legislation, no
laws, no penalties would have prevented that from happening. It would be like
outlawing rain before Hurricane Katrina. George and his minions would have
found a way around anything that was thrown at them. And, remember, it was Ryan
who introduced the first comprehensive lobbyist registration reforms in years,
back when he was secretary of state. For a while, he touted himself as a
reformer and received high praise for his work.
Ryan's former chief of
staff and convicted felon Scott Fawell once told me that Illinois voters have a
much higher tolerance of corruption than just about any other state. Getting
things done, he said, was infinitely more important to this state's voters than
how the sausage was made.
And even though George
Ryan eventually proved Fawell wrong, Ryan may have been the exception that
proves the rule. About 70 percent of Democratic primary voters went with Gov.
Blagojevich last month, as well as several newspaper editorial boards, even
though there are at least six different federal, state and local investigations
of his administration and he has been labeled as "Public Official A"
in a federal corruption plea. Still, Blagojevich was able to skate through the
primary almost without ever having to answer any tough questions about alleged
wrongdoing in his administration.
Some of the proposals from
ICPR and Hynes are good. Banning state contractors from contributing campaign
money to the people who approve their contracts is probably long overdue.
Opening up the Inspector General offices to public scrutiny is also a common
sense reform that needs to happen as soon as possible.
Gov. Blagojevich's office
has cynically said the governor will only support a super-comprehensive reform
package - which the governor undoubtedly knows has little to no chance of
passage. Legislative leaders don't seem too anxious to do anything either, and
most rank-and-file members have barely murmured a peep. So nothing of substance
may be done in the waning days of the overtime session.
The only
"reform" bill that appears to be moving right now is legislation that
would force legislative caucus political committees to identify themselves in
any communications that mention a candidate or a "public policy
position." This is a House Democratic bill essentially designed to put the
House Republicans on the defensive for an ill-advised "robocall"
scheme that targeted some Democrats a few weeks ago on the pension issue. It's
mainly just a press pop.
If ICPR and Hynes can use
the current Ryan situation to their advantage and get something done by the end
of the spring session, then more power to them. But even if a major reform
package passes, we shouldn't kid ourselves. Any reforms will merely treat the
symptoms, not the disease. Until voters and media leaders begin to hold
accountable all officials who exude the rank smell of corruption, then nothing
will ever change in this state.
Former Governor Jim Edgar
constantly quoted the late, great US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis about
"sunshine being the greatest disinfectant" whenever the corruption
issue emerged. He was flat wrong. Opening up the books only works if
participants can be shamed by what is publicized, and Ryan clearly demonstrated
that there is precious little shame in this system. If ICPR, Hynes, the
editorial boards and the columnists truly want to change the way business is
done, then they need to start playing hardball. The fear of political death is
the only disinfectant that ever really works.
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Rich Miller also publishes
Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter. He can be reached at
thecapitolfaxblog.com.