State government needs more reforms

March 27, 2003

The U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago and a federal jury have done their part toward cleaning up Illinois state government. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald indicted and tried Scott Fawell, a former aide to George Ryan. And last week the jury convicted Fawell of racketeering and mail fraud for what amounted to a host of governmental misdealings.

But Fawell wasn't the only ethically challenged guy drawing a paycheck from the state of Illinois, as we hope Fitzgerald and other federal prosecutors continue to prove in court. Falwell's malfeasance is just the tip of a dirty iceberg that has been growing for decades but really seemed to soar during Ryan's time in the capital.

It's said that the winds of change have blasted Springfield and that the state government may be ready for reform. Good. Let's see it.

Gathering just in both House and Senate committees are two identical pieces of legislation, promoted by the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, that would take a few more baby steps toward an open and ethical state government. They certainly wouldn't guarantee a clean state government - all the laws in the world couldn't do that - but they would be an unmistakable message to state officials and state employees that the days when corruption and graft were tolerated and winked at are gone.

Senate Bill 1871 (sponsored by, among others, Sen. Rick Winkel, R-Champaign) and House Bill 3046 would make a series of relatively minor changes to Illinois law, all of which are aimed at preventing Fawell-type misdeeds. These proposals would prohibit state employees from doing political work on state time and would require employees who split their time between state and campaign duties to file weekly timesheets that would be available for public inspection. They'd also bar public funds from being used to broadcast television ads that promote any state constitutional officer (such as State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka's and the College Illinois program). They'd require groups running so-called "issue ads" to disclose the source of their funds and also would create two state ethics boards that would have the power to investigate claims under various state ethics laws and to recommend punishments for violators.

But both bills are stuck in committee, despite lots of noble talk from Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Attorney General Lisa Madigan and numerous lawmakers about the need for reform. Let's see some action.