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 Illinois’ faces of corruption are creating a Magic Eye poster
of sorts.
Remember those, that were popular in the ’90s? The artwork featured a repeating
two-dimensional pattern, but you could see three-dimensional images if you
stared hard enough.
Corruption in Illinois is like that right now. Just open the paper, and you’re
bound to encounter picture after picture of Chicago Ald. Ed Burke, former Ald.
Danny Solis, state Sen. Martin Sandoval, former state Rep. Luis Arroyo and a
host of ComEd lobbyists on any given day.
But as the federal government widens its net, it’s been easy to lose the forest
for the trees. We’re only seeing in 2D. By focusing solely on the faces – the
ever-growing list of those who have been accused of committing wrongdoing – we
and our state are failing to address the climate that allows wrongdoing to so
easily take root.
Illinois is the second-most corrupt state in the nation, according to data from
the Harvard University Center for Ethics. Public corruption has not only
destroyed the trust that constituents placed in the lawmakers they elected to
represent them, but during the past two decades has cost the Illinois economy
roughly $550 million a year in foregone economic activity.
That estimate, by our count, is on the low end, as it tracks only corruption
convictions and does not include the economic cost of unethical but legal
activity lawmakers regularly engage in, such as not recusing themselves from a
vote in which they have a personal financial interest, or lobbying before a
different government body.
It doesn’t have to be that way. In this moment of soul searching, there is a
clear path forward.
It includes the following steps:
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A revolving-door restriction. Currently, lawmakers
could retire on Tuesday and be in the state Capitol working for a lobbying
firm by Wednesday. The lack of a cooling off period encourages lawmakers to
prioritize building relationships with special interest groups that can help
them in life after the legislature, rather than to serve constituents. To
combat this, we recommend lawmakers wait at least two years before becoming
lobbyists.
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A ban on lobbying for sitting lawmakers.
Yes, there’s an absurdity to the fact that former state Rep.
Arroyo, current Senate President John Cullerton and others are
registered lobbyists with local governments. When a state
lawmaker lobbies local government for a client, the members of
that body know the lawmaker might be voting on measures that
will affect the municipality. Furthermore, when municipal or
regulatory issues come before the General Assembly,
lawmaker-lobbyists are in the position of potentially casting a
vote to curry favor with government entities they hope to sway
to benefit their clients.
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Mandated disclosure and voting recusal.
Lawmakers are trusted, not mandated, to give notice when they’re
voting on an issue where they have a potential conflict of
interest. C’mon. We weren’t born yesterday. Public disclosure
and recusal when a lawmaker has a personal stake in a bill
should be required.
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More legislative inspector general power.
The state’s Legislative Inspector General has been described as
a “toothless tiger” – lacking the power to publish reports
without approval from an ethics commission made up of eight
legislators. This commission also grants or denies permission to
the Inspector General to open investigations or issue subpoenas.
Change won’t happen on its own – leave things to
Capitol leadership and we’ll be stuck in the same holding pattern
we’ve been in since former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s impeachment in
2009. Then, an ethics task force put together a lengthy list of
reform recommendations. Proposals for key structural reforms were
largely ignored.
Constituents need to let lawmakers know that they want this change,
that they’re sick of cringing as they read the news each day.
The makers of Magic Eye have a simple piece of advice that applies
here, too: The longer you look, the clearer and deeper the image
becomes.
Join us in the fight, and help us get to the root of corruption in
Illinois.
This editorial opinion was originally published Nov.
26, 2019, in the Springfield State Journal-Register.
Click here to respond to the editor about this article
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