Blagojevich stiffens ethics bill, irks Democrats
August 27, 2003
BY DAVE MCKINNEY

Sun-Times Springfield bureau

SPRINGFIELD--Picking a new fight with the Democratic-led Legislature, Gov. Blagojevich Tuesday rewrote a government ethics bill from top to bottom in a move one leading Democrat called a constitutional power grab.
Following up a pledge he made in June, Blagojevich moved to reinstate several anti-corruption initiatives dropped from the legislation before it reached him. Blagojevich said the bill that landed on his desk was inferior to ethics laws in other states.
"This amendatory veto represents my best effort to correct these flaws and provide a truly strong and coherent ethics reform," Blagojevich said in a 23-page letter to lawmakers laying out his differences.
Blagojevich's changes, which must be approved by legislators, would set up a commission to punish ethics lapses by state officials, create a high-level inspector general to investigate wrongdoing in all statewide offices, and ban the use of tax dollars on public service commercials that feature politicians.
The unusual breadth of Blagojevich's changes triggered criticism and condemnation from Senate Democrats, who were chiefly responsible for crafting the bill that reached Blagojevich. It failed to include an ethics commission or high-level inspector general with subpoena authority.
"Although we haven't had a chance to examine the governor's changes closely, we question whether he's exceeding his authority with this extensive rewrite," said Cindy Davidsmeyer, spokeswoman for Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago).
The governor is already at odds with Jones and House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) over partial vetoes of death penalty reform legislation and spending limits imposed on Secretary of State Jesse White and other constitutional officers. Madigan and Jones have said they will attempt to block those moves this fall.
House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego) and Sen. Susan Garrett (D-Lake Forest), the ethics bill's lead sponsors, said they favored the changes the governor wanted to impose.
"The bulk of what he's done is what we were after," Cross said. "The bigger issue is going to be whether the speaker will allow the bill to be called."
Madigan spokesman Steve Brown declined to say whether the speaker would permit a vote to approve Blagojevich's changes or attempt to block the governor, saying only that negotiations would be held toward a compromise.
Blagojevich has substantial capital riding on the outcome of the ethics debate, which was inspired by the corruption scandal under George Ryan that led to criminal convictions of a top aide and Ryan's campaign fund and limited Ryan to one term.
If lawmakers don't accept the governor's changes, the Blagojevich administration has dropped numerous hints, including again on Tuesday, that he is prepared to keep the General Assembly in Springfield through the December holidays to get an ethics bill he likes.
"They'll not want to spend all Christmas there," a key administration official said.