Whenever there’s a big story, a
calamity of some sort, an outrage, or some type of disaster, you
can bet that a lobbyist or special-interest group will try to take
advantage of the situation to push some kind of legislation in
Springfield. That’s pretty much what’s
happening in the wake of the George Ryan conviction. The Illinois
Campaign for Political Reform is calling for changes in the way
Illinois politics is conducted. Comptroller Dan Hynes is also
touring the state, touting his own package of ethics reforms, which
is backed by ICPR and a handful of legislators. Some editorial
boards have spoken out in favor of the reforms. Even so, nothing proposed so far would have
stopped George Ryan’s corruption. Indeed, no legislation, no
law, no penalty would have prevented that from happening. It would
be like outlawing rain before Hurricane Katrina. Ryan and his
minions would have found a way around anything that was thrown at
them. And remember: It was Ryan who introduced the first
comprehensive lobbyist-registration reforms in years, back when he
was secretary of state. For a while, he touted himself as a
reformer and received high praise for his work. Ryan’s former chief of staff and
convicted felon Scott Fawell once told me that Illinois voters have
a much higher tolerance for corruption than the voters just about
any other state. Getting things done, he said, was infinitely more
important to this state’s voters than how the sausage was
made. And even though Ryan eventually proved Fawell
wrong, Ryan may have been the exception that proves the rule. About
70 percent of Democratic primary voters went with Gov. Rod
Blagojevich last month, as did several newspaper editorial boards,
even though at least six different federal, state, and local
investigations of his administration are being conducted and he has
been labeled “Public Official A” in a federal
corruption plea. Still, Blagojevich was able to skate through the
primary almost without ever having to answer any tough questions
about alleged wrongdoing in his administration. Some of the proposals from ICPR and Hynes are
good. A ban on state contractors’ contributing campaign money to the people who
approve their contracts is probably long overdue. Opening up the
inspector general offices to public scrutiny is also a common sense
reform that needs to be made as soon as possible. Blagojevich’s office has cynically said
the governor will only support a supercomprehensive reform package,
which the governor undoubtedly knows has little or no chance of
passage. Legislative leaders don’t seem too anxious to do
anything, either, and most rank-and-file members have barely
murmured a peep. So nothing of substance may be done in the waning
days of the overtime session. The only “reform” bill that
appears to be moving right now is legislation that would force
legislative-caucus political committees to identify themselves in
any communications that mention a candidate or a “public
policy position.” This is a House Democratic bill essentially
designed to put the House Republicans on the defensive for an
ill-advised “robocall” scheme that targeted some
Democrats a few weeks ago on the pension issue. It’s mainly
just a press pop. If ICPR and Hynes can use the current Ryan
situation to their advantage and get something done by the end of
the spring session, more power to them. But even if a major reform
package passes, we shouldn’t kid ourselves: Any reforms will
merely treat the symptoms, not the disease. Until voters and media
leaders begin to hold accountable all officials who exude the rank
smell of corruption, then nothing will ever change in this state. Former Gov. Jim Edgar constantly quoted the
late, great U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis’
statement about “sunshine being the greatest
disinfectant” whenever the corruption issue emerged. He was
flat wrong. Opening up the books only works if participants can be
shamed by what is publicized, and Ryan clearly demonstrated that
there is precious little shame in this system. If ICPR, Hynes, the
editorial boards, and the columnists truly want to change the way
business is done, they need to start playing hardball. The fear of
political death is the only disinfectant that ever really works.
This article appears in May 4-10, 2006.
