Eye On Illinois: Quinn’s ethics proposals are detailed, but don’t address punishment

Often when activists demand “government ethics reform” they are short on details.

That thankfully is not the case with former Gov. Pat Quinn who, despite lacking a skeleton-free closet, visited Springfield Tuesday to discuss a letter demanding a special session to take up his eight recommendations for cleaning up state government. The letter (tinyurl.com/QuinnIdeas) seizes on the recent guilty verdict in the federal ComEd bribery trial to rehash some of his established talking points: expanded power for citizen referendum, strengthening the legislative inspector general, campaign contribution restrictions, pension reform and addressing the lawmaker-to-lobbyist pipeline, among others.

Quinn’s letter is going nowhere, as the General Assembly is plenty consumed with the regular business of budget approval and other legislation, but he’s not a crackpot and some of his proposals deserve fair consideration once the regular session concludes.

That said, where’s the hammer?

Perpetually absent from debate about government ethics is the suggestion to place anything considered an abuse of public office and make it a felony punishable by a mandatory prison sentence. When politicians abuse privilege to line their wallets, if the only punishment is making them give back some of the money, is that a sufficient deterrent?

“Perpetually absent from debate about government ethics is the suggestion to place anything considered an abuse of public office and make it a felony punishable by a mandatory prison sentence. When politicians abuse privilege to line their wallets, if the only punishment is making them give back some of the money, is that a sufficient deterrent?”

—  Scott T. Holland

Even federal prison isn’t a deterrent, which is how we got Rod Blagojevich right after George Ryan, both of whom were alive to understand the plights of Dan Walker and Otto Kerner. Further, state lawmakers can’t force federal judges to do anything, and most political corruption reaches that level. Plus, as a restorative justice advocate, I’m not actually beating the “more prison” drum for anyone.

Still, it’s clear punishments remain insufficient. Effective reform must address that component.

WILDCAT ANNIVERSARY: May 11, 1894, is significant in Illinois history as the launch of the 4,000-worker wildcat strike by employees of Pullman Palace Car Co. Significant on its own as a labor action, concurrent with a lengthy national railroad boycott, the Illinois government angles are fascinating, from federal intervention in defiance of Gov. John Altgeld to the 1898 Illinois Supreme Court opinion ordering the company to divest ownership of its town, now a National Historic Park.

For a deep, academic dive, I commend the writing of recently retired history professor Richard Schneirov, accessible through Northern Illinois University at digital.lib.niu.edu/illinois/gildedage/pullman.

YOU’RE ON THE LIST: The State Board of Elections is seeking email addresses of anyone considering running for public office in 2024. “As we get closer to the filing period, we will be sending out helpful information on how to run for office, as well as notifying you of when our Candidate’s Guide is available and of upcoming important dates. We will also notify you of any upcoming webinars to address your questions.” Visit tinyurl.com/24CandidateInfo to register.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media. Follow him on Twitter @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.