Inspector general idea up in air
Possible compromise would create post for each constitutional officer
By MAURA KELLY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO - Gov. Rod Blagojevich and some statewide officers have been at odds for months over his proposal to create an inspector general who could investigate allegations of fraud, corruption or abuse of power in their offices.
Blagojevich has said the post of "executive inspector general" is critical to strengthening state ethics laws, but recently he indicated he will back away from the post if other reforms are made.
Constitutional officers take issue with giving authority to an appointee of the governor to investigate them.
The post is part of an ethics reform package Blagojevich proposed when he issued an amendatory veto on an ethics bill earlier this year.
Negotiations on the issue, which might be considered in the veto session that begins Tuesday, have produced a compromise that would create an inspector general for each constitutional officer.
The debate plays out against the state's checkered history with inspectors general - especially those who report to the head of the office they are charged with investigating.
"The role (of inspector general) historically has not been that of a vigorous office," said Rep. John Fritchey, D-Chicago, who had pushed for the executive inspector general. "For too long, we had a situation with the fox guarding the henhouse, and the henhouse was not a very ethical place."
The state still is recovering from a scandal involving Dean Bauer, former inspector general in the secretary of state's office under George Ryan, who later served one term as governor.
Bauer was sent to prison for obstruction of justice. Prosecutors say he thwarted investigations, covering up seven years of bribery and other scandals to save Ryan from political embarrassment.
Scott Fawell, Ryan's former chief of staff, was convicted in March after a seven-week trial at which witnesses said he largely dismantled Ryan's inspector general's office to head off investigations of Ryan's fund-raising.
Bauer, however, is not the only inspector general questioned for his actions - or inaction - in Illinois.
The state's child welfare agency has an inspector general who looks into death cases and other issues, but the agency is weighted down by a lingering problem of keeping track of children and has been criticized for cases of abuse and neglect.
And federal investigators are looking into whether government employees at state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka's office were used for political work, despite the office having an inspector general.
Roland Malan, executive director of the Association of Inspectors General based in Philadelphia, said he believes inspectors general serve an important function but that their role can be limited depending on whether their recommendations are followed.
"They don't solve the problems but they ... certainly help the image of government," he said. Often, work done by inspectors general leads to charges brought by prosecutors.
The ethics reform package Blagojevich proposed would affect existing inspectors general in Illinois, including one Blagojevich created for his office. It would establish an ethics commission that would require quarterly reports from inspectors general.
"We're confident that that oversight will provide a safeguard that's been missing in the past, which is what led to a Dean Bauer-type situation," said Fritchey, who supports the package. "A constitutional officer would still have the technical ability to disregard the findings of the inspector general but would know he or she is subject to being taken to task by the ethics commission."
Other reforms the governor proposed include a $75 daily limit lobbyists can spend on food or drinks for a lawmaker or state employee, and a ban on public service announcements that feature the image, voice or name of constitutional officers or lawmakers.
Blagojevich hired former federal prosecutor Zaldwaynaka L. Scott in April to serve as inspector general in his office. Scott and her 15-member staff have investigated 400 complaints ranging from theft to political activity at work, but she will not discuss case outcomes.
Scott reports only to the governor but insists she is independent.
"I give the governor a summary of our activities. I don't take direction from the governor," Scott said.
Some question how far her independence can go without another check, such as the proposed ethics commission.
"There's no magic in just establishing the position. The real test for this governor or any other elected official is whether he's willing to support his internal policing operation even if it means some political supporters go to prison," said Mike Lawrence, associate director of the Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University.
Former state comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch points to the proposed ethics reforms, which she worked on, as a way to prevent problems.
"There's nothing for sure that makes it absolutely impossible we could have a corrupt inspector general again," she said. "But we've got so many safeguards built in, so much structure, it seems to me highly unlikely that could happen again."