From the Kankakee Daily Journal:
Gov. warns of McCain gain in ethics action
09/20/2008, 10:25 pm   By Andrea Zelinski, Springfield Bureau 
GOP legislators see different spin
SPRINGFIELD -- Approving a long-awaited Illinois ethics bill could give political ammunition to Republican presidential candidate John McCain, according statements Gov. Rod Blagojevich made on Friday.
With two proposals on the table in Springfield this week, Blagojevich said voting for the one the governor opposes could make Barack Obama look soft on ethics.
"What I'm afraid of is that this is a Republican trap and they're setting Barack Obama up by using this ethics issue in Illinois," Blagojevich said in Chicago on Friday.
"Sometime in October in those battleground states, you'll be seeing TV ads that ... will start accusing Sen. Obama of coming back to Illinois to help his old friends in the Illinois General Assembly."
Republicans don't buy it.
"This governor will twist and manipulate and put words into play that don't have anything to do with the real issue just to get his way," said state Sen. Gary Dahl, R-Granville.
This is the latest move in the fight to pass ethics reform in Illinois. One bill is awaiting final approval in the Senate while the governor's preferred bill sits far from passage in the House.
"I think it doesn't have any reflection on Obama whatsoever," said state Rep. Shane Cultra, R-Onarga. "I think he's just trying to pressure some Democrats in Illinois that might not be leaning to vote for his bill."
After political prodding earlier this week, Obama called Illinois Senate President Emil Jones, urging him to address ethics legislation as soon as possible. Just after Jones announced he would call them in, Blagojevich did the same, calling both chambers back to Springfield to address one of his own bills.
His bill would accomplish across-the-board ethics reform, Blagojevich said, prohibiting members of the General Assembly from holding most local government jobs, requiring legislators who lobby to reveal their clients and revamping the pay raise approval system.
"I don't think he has any intention to fully untie the knot between contributions and contracts," said Cindi Canary, executive director for the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform who backed the pay-to-play bill awaiting a vote in the Senate. "This is an effort to kill that bill."
The original legislation bans businesses that have or want more than $50,000 in state contracts from making campaign contributions to the state officer they are doing business with.
The bill was aimed at Blagojevich, whose office is under investigation for its hiring practices and is known to accept donations from state contractors who later won contracts or board appointments.
The governor denies the practice and has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
"Why would you take the ethical advice from a guy that's under so many investigations, a guy that has a 13 percent approval rating," Canary said. "That's just dumb."
The Legislature also is to consider action on other measures, including funding child care social workers whose jobs are imperiled by Blagojevich cuts and funding for state parks and historic sites he has ordered closed.
~ The Associated Press contributed 
to this report