From The Daily Southtown:

Ethics reform: Late, but still necessary

Monday, May 13, 2002

Illinois needs tougher legislation governing political contributions by public employees and solicitation by public officials. The fact that such regulations have not been put in place earlier is not a valid argument against implementing them now.

Attorney General Jim Ryan is calling for legislation that would ban state and local government workers from soliciting or accepting political contributions for any state or local campaign. He also would prohibit employees from contributing to the elected official who heads their agency or office.

Those are worthwhile reforms that ought to be implemented. Ryan also called for creation of a strike force in the state police department to investigate allegations of corruption and refer its findings to the state's attorney or attorney general, and creation of inspectors general for state agencies that currently do not have them. We think those are good ideas as well.

These proposals come months into Ryan's campaign for governor and years after his election as attorney general, and would have been welcome long ago, as Democratic candidate Rod Blagojevich was quick to point out.

But they are worthwhile reforms, nonetheless. Blagojevich dismissed them as "too little, too late." That's the expected political response. But the reforms are needed if Illinois taxpayers are ever going to have confidence in their government.

Does the proposal go far enough? No, we don't think so. For example, it ought to bar contributions by state workers to any state campaign, not just to their boss's.

Of course, the real test will be whether the Legislature will approve any reforms, and whether the next governor will work to pass the measures. He should, and that's not changed by the fact that such reforms should been passed long ago.