Eye On Illinois: We didn’t need feds’ anti-corruption tools weakened

At this early stage, the only safe prediction about the legal fallout from Wednesday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling regarding federal corruption law is that it will be far-reaching.

According to reporting from Hannah Meisel of Capitol News Illinois, the 6-3 ruling clarifies that “the federal bribery statute – referred to as ‘Section 666’ – does not criminalize ‘gratuities’ given to a state or local public official after he or she has already performed an official act.”

In short, this makes federal prosecutors’ jobs more difficult. This is a specific challenge in Illinois, with its toxic combination of deeply entrenched corruption, comically feckless government ethics laws and an overburdened legal system.

Aside from the guilty and accused, hardly anyone in Illinois was hoping SCOTUS would lighten the toolbox of the justice department, historically the only meaningful check on the pay-to-play politics that have fueled Chicago, Springfield, city halls and county boardrooms for generations.

In response to other recent conservative majority rulings, Democrats running Illinois have acknowledged the strong likelihood of Congressional inertia and responded by doubling down on state laws to enshrine certain protections. But even if Gov. JB Pritzker or House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch found called to revamp the rules here, it’s difficult to conceive of a plausible scenario in which there is sufficient investment in the enforcement arm required to actually yield convictions.

This surpasses partisan politics. No one is clamoring to rehabilitate the career of disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who insists Wednesday’s ruling warrants a redo of his own prosecution, nor does there seem to be substantial goodwill harbored for Michael Madigan, the iron-fisted ruler whose ongoing federal trial must now be reconsidered.

If anything, the challenge is simply one of political will and resources. Passing laws is one thing, but which state’s attorney’s offices throughout Illinois are equipped to take the steps the feds have perfected? Setting up wiretaps, flipping suspects to informants, raiding offices and so forth … the FBI does decent work here, all things considered, and tying those hands doesn’t inherently free any others to pick up the slack.

The point here isn’t waving a white flag. Wednesday’s ruling doesn’t legalize corruption, and for all the justified complaints about state and federal government, both do still employ thousands who pursued their careers with a sincere heart for public service.

However, as the implications ripple through Illinois, the ruling stands as a reminder to voters to listen closely when elected officials make promises or offer ideas to solve problems: Can they get enough votes to implement their ideas? Are the punishments meaningful – or even enforceable? Which body is responsible? Does it have sufficient resources?

Expect a lot of political talking points – and be prepared to filter those arguments through learned reality.

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