Chicago Tribune Editorial: Smoldering reform
Chicago Tribune Editorial: Smoldering reform
Copyright by The Chicago Tribune
Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune
6:22 p.m. CST, February 25, 2010
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-reform-20100225,0,4348580,full.story
This time last year, the state Capitol was on fire with talk of government reform.
Gov. Pat Quinn, the Boy Scout who replaced bad boy Rod Blagojevich, had commissioned a blue-ribbon ethics panel to draw up an agenda for reform. House Speaker Mike Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton had formed a joint committee to propose and pass improved ethics laws. Republicans were complaining about being underrepresented in the effort. It was a five-alarm call.
What did we have to show for it when the smoke cleared? Not much. Most of the roadblocks to good government were left standing. Some were so well protected that they suffered no damage at all. Here and there, the embers of reform were left smoldering for the next session. And now we think it's best to abandon this metaphor, before we get to the part about the hose.
Instead we'll just point out that it's February — late February — and lawmakers have shown little interest in finishing what they barely started last year. Let's review the "Six Steps to Clean Up State Government" that made up the Tribune's reform agenda:
•Unravel government secrecy. We cheered a rewrite of the state's Freedom of Information Act, even though it left in place some vexing exemptions, notably the ones that protect the General Assembly from operating in the sunlight. Lawmakers started dismantling the improved law almost as soon as the ink was dry. One of the first bills to pass in the new session was a measure shielding teacher performance evaluations from the prying eyes of the parents who pay their salaries. Half a dozen other bills have been filed this year, meant to restore the obstacles that allow governments to hide from their citizens. This one's moving backward.
•Expand anti-corruption powers. More than a dozen bills designed to provide prosecutors with enhanced tools to ferret out public corruption were held "for further study." They're still going nowhere.
Regulate campaign finance. Democratic leaders probably chuckle under their breaths when they think about how they scammed the public by passing the state's "first-ever" limits on campaign contributions. Those limits don't apply to contributions from political parties. So they've bestowed a huge advantage on themselves and chalked it up as a landmark reform. It's a big win for incumbents, but a travesty for voters. The government watchdogs who clawed their way to this compromise promised to fight for the rest of the package this year, but they've already hit the wall. Cullerton is personally guarding the door to the Senate subcommittee where two follow-up bills are stuck, and Madigan has planted his heel on House Republican leader Tom Cross' version.
•Reform the pension system. All talk, no walk. With the state teetering on bankruptcy, fixing the pension system is perhaps the single most important challenge facing lawmakers this session. It's also the one that will require the most backbone. Let's see if they duck it again.
•Give citizens power to recall. A plan to let voters fire state executive officers or legislators was buried in committee. As a token gesture, lawmakers substituted a constitutional amendment — it's on the November ballot — that would allow the recall of the governor only.
•Encourage competitive elections. More than anything, this means creating fair and representative districts instead of meandering blobs designed to corral a carefully selected group of incumbent-friendly voters. Why in the world would the powers-that-be want to make that change? Reformers are lobbying hard to revamp the once-a-decade remapping process that will follow the 2010 U.S. Census headcount. Quinn's ethics commission recommended the computer-driven model that works like a charm in Iowa, but it fell on deaf ears.
Now government watchdog groups are pushing the Illinois Fair Map amendment, under which the new districts would be drawn by a commission instead of by lawmakers. Cross and Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno want to get that proposal onto the ballot via the General Assembly, but the reformers aren't holding their breaths. They're collecting signatures to put it on the ballot by citizen petition, bypassing the lawmakers who have a vested interest in killing it. You can find information on their plan at ilfairmap.com.
Senate Democrats have a proposal that still would allow lawmakers to draw the maps. A "special master" chosen by two Supreme Court justices from opposing parties would take over if the lawmakers couldn't agree.
We'll have more to say soon about these competing proposals. But they could all be hosed: Madigan says changing the redistricting process is a low priority in the House.
•••
A year ago, nearly two-thirds of those responding to a Tribune poll said Illinois was among the most corrupt states in the nation. We don't think the smattering of half-measures passed so far would change that impression, even if Blagojevich isn't around to throw gasoline on the fire.
Voters demanded reform, and lawmakers promised it. We're still waiting for them to deliver.
Copyright by The Chicago Tribune
Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune
6:22 p.m. CST, February 25, 2010
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-reform-20100225,0,4348580,full.story
This time last year, the state Capitol was on fire with talk of government reform.
Gov. Pat Quinn, the Boy Scout who replaced bad boy Rod Blagojevich, had commissioned a blue-ribbon ethics panel to draw up an agenda for reform. House Speaker Mike Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton had formed a joint committee to propose and pass improved ethics laws. Republicans were complaining about being underrepresented in the effort. It was a five-alarm call.
What did we have to show for it when the smoke cleared? Not much. Most of the roadblocks to good government were left standing. Some were so well protected that they suffered no damage at all. Here and there, the embers of reform were left smoldering for the next session. And now we think it's best to abandon this metaphor, before we get to the part about the hose.
Instead we'll just point out that it's February — late February — and lawmakers have shown little interest in finishing what they barely started last year. Let's review the "Six Steps to Clean Up State Government" that made up the Tribune's reform agenda:
•Unravel government secrecy. We cheered a rewrite of the state's Freedom of Information Act, even though it left in place some vexing exemptions, notably the ones that protect the General Assembly from operating in the sunlight. Lawmakers started dismantling the improved law almost as soon as the ink was dry. One of the first bills to pass in the new session was a measure shielding teacher performance evaluations from the prying eyes of the parents who pay their salaries. Half a dozen other bills have been filed this year, meant to restore the obstacles that allow governments to hide from their citizens. This one's moving backward.
•Expand anti-corruption powers. More than a dozen bills designed to provide prosecutors with enhanced tools to ferret out public corruption were held "for further study." They're still going nowhere.
Regulate campaign finance. Democratic leaders probably chuckle under their breaths when they think about how they scammed the public by passing the state's "first-ever" limits on campaign contributions. Those limits don't apply to contributions from political parties. So they've bestowed a huge advantage on themselves and chalked it up as a landmark reform. It's a big win for incumbents, but a travesty for voters. The government watchdogs who clawed their way to this compromise promised to fight for the rest of the package this year, but they've already hit the wall. Cullerton is personally guarding the door to the Senate subcommittee where two follow-up bills are stuck, and Madigan has planted his heel on House Republican leader Tom Cross' version.
•Reform the pension system. All talk, no walk. With the state teetering on bankruptcy, fixing the pension system is perhaps the single most important challenge facing lawmakers this session. It's also the one that will require the most backbone. Let's see if they duck it again.
•Give citizens power to recall. A plan to let voters fire state executive officers or legislators was buried in committee. As a token gesture, lawmakers substituted a constitutional amendment — it's on the November ballot — that would allow the recall of the governor only.
•Encourage competitive elections. More than anything, this means creating fair and representative districts instead of meandering blobs designed to corral a carefully selected group of incumbent-friendly voters. Why in the world would the powers-that-be want to make that change? Reformers are lobbying hard to revamp the once-a-decade remapping process that will follow the 2010 U.S. Census headcount. Quinn's ethics commission recommended the computer-driven model that works like a charm in Iowa, but it fell on deaf ears.
Now government watchdog groups are pushing the Illinois Fair Map amendment, under which the new districts would be drawn by a commission instead of by lawmakers. Cross and Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno want to get that proposal onto the ballot via the General Assembly, but the reformers aren't holding their breaths. They're collecting signatures to put it on the ballot by citizen petition, bypassing the lawmakers who have a vested interest in killing it. You can find information on their plan at ilfairmap.com.
Senate Democrats have a proposal that still would allow lawmakers to draw the maps. A "special master" chosen by two Supreme Court justices from opposing parties would take over if the lawmakers couldn't agree.
We'll have more to say soon about these competing proposals. But they could all be hosed: Madigan says changing the redistricting process is a low priority in the House.
•••
A year ago, nearly two-thirds of those responding to a Tribune poll said Illinois was among the most corrupt states in the nation. We don't think the smattering of half-measures passed so far would change that impression, even if Blagojevich isn't around to throw gasoline on the fire.
Voters demanded reform, and lawmakers promised it. We're still waiting for them to deliver.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 2:10 AM
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