The Senate sits on ethics reform

From The Chicago Tribune:

The Senate sits on ethics reform

Published May 4, 2002

If ever there has been a blazing sign that the Illinois General Assembly can't afford to ignore ethical standards in government, it is the 42 convictions obtained so far in the federal Operation Safe Roads investigation and the indictment of Gov. George Ryan's 1998 campaign committee.

It's not every day that you see a political committee dubbed a "criminal enterprise." That's the wording used in the indictment, which alleges, among other things, that state employees drew their government salaries for time spent working on the campaign and that an attempt was made to hide the fraud through the creation of large piles of shredded records.

The indictment was announced just days shy of the first anniversary of the passage of an ethics bill by the Illinois House. The bill would, among other things, prohibit state workers from soliciting campaign funds and impose clearly defined limits on gifts to state officials.

Now, anniversaries can be splendid events, but not when you're dealing with prospective laws. The ethics bill was passed one year ago by the House, but it remains parked in the Rules Committee of Senate President James "Pate" Philip (R-Wood Dale) with no indication that it's going anywhere.

This is an effort to revive the best intentions of the 1998 state Gift Ban Act, which was overturned by a Will County judge who ruled it was too vague and too full of exemptions to be enforceable. Philip has said the legislature should wait for the Illinois Supreme Court to provide an ultimate ruling on the 1998 law before moving on another proposal.

The new bill, though, in several ways is an improvement on the 1998 law, which was a prime example of how legislating can resemble sausage-making. The law was, indeed, vague in many places. It had loopholes galore.

Example: The 1998 law ambiguously directed state lawmakers not to accept any gift with more than "nominal value." The bill passed last year by the House would set a limit of $100.

Although many state officials have pledged to abide by the guidelines of the 1998 law while its fate is decided by the courts, the long legal process has, in effect, given politicians a pass.

The Senate has reasonable legislation before it to clarify the ambiguities of the 1998 law and require a higher ethical standard in government and politics. It is a legitimate effort to curb the kinds of abuses that have plagued Illinois politics for decades.

No more anniversaries, please. Pass the bill.