Shakedown Street

by Cal Skinner

While I was out getting the withheld-since-February, now released sweetheart contract the McHenry County College Board so generously financed out of something approaching $300,000 of our tax dollars, I noticed this bumper sticker on an older car with a round baby walker-rocker in back.

It was so, so appropriate to a new type of fund raising committee working its way through the legislative process in Springfield.

It's called a “constituent services committee.”

People like State Rep. Jack Franks regularly spend more money on their district office operations than provided by their office allowances. Campaign fund money pays for the rest.

Skip Saviano once told me his whole district office operation was financed with campaign money.

By using campaign money, legislators can operate overtly politically.

After all, campaign money is for running campaigns.

You read the definition of such a committee below and tell me if there any political restrictions:

“'Constituent services committee' means a political committee organized by an elected public official to accept contributions and make expenditures solely to defray the costs related to constituent services and upkeep of that official's office.”

The process is ripe for abuses.

“Sorry, Mam, we can't help you if you don't contribute to our constituent services committee.”

I am not suggesting that skillful politicians like Franks or Saviano would do that, but don't be surprised if you see such a scandal after this law takes effect.

If Congressmen have such a creature, a long-time congressional aide was not aware of it.

Friday in a last minute switcheroo, Franks has been made House Speaker Mike Madigan's first chief co-sponsor on this House Bill 7.
Posted first at McHenry County Blog, open for business this session weekend.

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Recall returns, other reforms coming

By Bethany Jaeger and Jamey Dunn
The legislature continues to advance measures that would try to prevent the alleged wrongdoing by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich from going on long enough for a federal indictment to intervene.


Rep. Jack Franks, a Woodstock Democrat and longtime Blagojevich critic, revived his effort to change the state Constitution so voters could “recall” elected officials. The effort failed last year. This time, however, he’s calling for a constitutional amendment that would only focus on allowing voters to recall the governor, not other statewide officeholders or legislators.

Franks called it a first step and said that recall should only be used in extreme situations, describing recall authority as a “nuclear option” to remove corrupt or inept officials. He pointed to 18 other states that have some version of a recall provision, but it’s only been used twice in recent history, the most recent in California in 2003.

The bill is scheduled for a committee hearing tomorrow morning. We’ll have more then.

Sen. Susan Garrett, a Lake Forest Democrat, also is sponsoring a measure to increase transparency in the way the governor appoints people to boards and commissions. While Gov. Pat Quinn’s office already published a Web site listing all appointments, Garrett’s bill, SB 1602, would aim to increase transparency, prevent conflicts of interest and “ensure the process isn’t dominated by political insiders.” She referred to several Blagojevich appointments involved in the ongoing federal investigation of using public office for private gain.

Both Franks and Garrett said the legislature continues to advance reform measures not addressed by Quinn’s Illinois Reform Commission. Franks said the panel did good work, “but by no means is it all inclusive or the only reasonable voice.”

The commission did not make a specific recommendation, for instance, about whether to let voters recall elected officials. Commissioner Patrick Collins previously said the group only gave recommendations that received unanimous support, and recall was not unanimous but deserved additional consideration.

One area the commission did make specific recommendations was campaign finance. While last week’s attempt to debate so-called contribution limits soured, another attempt could be made as soon as tomorrow. Sen. Don Harmon, an Oak Park Democrat, went as far to say he expects some form of contribution caps to pass both chambers tomorrow. The process is expected to start with a Senate committee hearing in the afternoon.

Harmon has been negotiating a compromise with lawmakers and the Illinois Reform Commission. He said there is “if not broad agreement, at least broad acceptance” of $5,000 contribution limits for individual donors. That’s a more lenient limit than the $2,400 cap recommended by the commission. But the bigger sticking point, according to Harmon, is whether to limit the amount statewide political parties can donate to their candidates.

But a statement from House Speaker Michael Madigan today made it seem as though that issue may be close to a resolution among Democrats.

A public TV program called Illinois Lawmakers reported that Madigan said he and Senate President John Cullerton have come to an agreement on capping the amount of money political parties can transfer to candidates’ campaign committees. Both leaders have withheld their support of the idea in the past.

“We are moving in the right direction.” Madigan said. “There should be caps on contributions. There should be caps on transfers between committees.”

FOIA rewrite advances
One area where lawmakers did strike a compromise with competing versions is strengthening the Freedom of Information Act and the Open Meetings Act.

The Illinois Press Association and the Illinois Attorney General expressed disappointment with a watered down version last week, but both enthusiastically supported the version that won House approval today. “This bill did not have everything we wanted, but we were very happy with this bill,” said David Porter, spokesman for the Illinois Press Association.

Senate Bill 189 would increase the standard for public bodies to proving a requested document is exempt from the law. It also would shorten the time public bodies would have to respond to requests from seven business days to five.

One major change is that a certified “public access counselor” would have authority to review and determine whether documents should have been released under the FOIA, and he or she would be able to subpoena documents. The counselor could go as far as issuing binding opinions to resolve disputes and sue to enforce those opinions.

We’ll have much more in the next few days.

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If not today, Thursday?

By Bethany Jaeger and Jamey Dunn
The day that was supposed to be “Ethics Day” in the General Assembly came and went with confusing and dramatic developments that sent lawmakers and reformers back to the drawing table, with less than nine days left in the legislature’s regularly scheduled spring session.

And the legislature took Memorial Day weekend off, returning to Springfield Tuesday. And they still hope to adjourn May 29, although the actual deadline isn’t until the 31st.



Gov. Pat Quinn started the day by saying he doesn’t intend to sign a $26 billion infrastructure program until the legislature sends him an operating budget and a series of government reform measures. But movement on a significant portion of the reform measures is delayed until the day before Senate President John Cullerton hoped to adjourn.

Campaign contribution limits, for instance, were supposed to be debated today in the Senate. But a string of misunderstandings and tension-ridden conversations resulted in no action.

The Senate did agree with the House and approved two of House Speaker Michael Madigan’s measures. If signed by the governor, they would revamp the way the state buys products and services and shine more light on investigations into corruption within state government. Senate Bill 51 addresses procurement, while Senate Bill 54 addresses state employee ethics laws and lobbyist registration. The Senate did not, however, approve Madigan’s “fumigation” bill to terminate up to 750 employees appointed by former Govs. Rod Blagojevich and George Ryan.

Enforcement
The governor’s Illinois Reform Commission did present the first of its major proposals, which also happened to be a rather complex and controversial topic of state-level prosecution of public corruption cases. Only one of nine provisions won Senate approval today.

A visibly frustrated Collins held an impromptu news conference after a Senate hearing. “That’s not the process that we were promised,” he said after the votes. “We did not get enforcement reform today.”

According to Collins, the package was designed to give state prosecutors more ‘tools” to investigate corruption. The commission also sought greater penalties for such crimes. The amendment that met the most opposition would have expanded state’s attorneys’ authority to record conversations, including giving them power to wiretap telephones, with a judge’s approval.

Collins also advocated for making it harder for someone convicted of public corruption to get off with just probation, unless he or she cooperated with the investigation.

One attorney opposed the idea because he said it would take sentencing powers away from judges. Attorney Robert Loeb joined the Illinois Bar Association in opposing all of the commission’s the ideas because he said they would create extreme penalties for some minor offenses. He added that many aspects of the proposals already are covered by existing law.

Sen. Bill Haine, an Alton Democrat who voted “present” on all of the proposals, said that he was hesitant to greatly expand the powers of state’s attorneys because they are elected rather than appointed and might use political power to target opponents.

Sen. Kwame Raoul, a Chicago Democrat, said he worried about giving greater eavesdropping powers to state’s attorneys because there are 102 of them throughout the state, challenging consistency in training and enforcement.

The only provision that won approval was crafted by Sen. Dan Kotowski, a Park Ridge Democrat. It had no opposition.

Collins said while the legislators complained about not having enough time to consider the commission’s proposals, they approved Kotowski’s provision the same day it was filed.

Kotowski designed the measure to strike at the heart of Blagojevich’s alleged wrongdoings: his political campaign fund. The measure, which won Senate approval this afternoon and now heads to the House, would punish an individual who was convicted of public corruption the same as if he or she were a convicted drug dealer. The person would be subject to forfeiting property, assets or political funds.

“If you commit the act of corruption and graft, you’re going to lose your property, you’re going to lose your campaign fund, you’re going to lose anything that you acquired as a result of that,” Kotowski said.

Kotowski added that the commission’s enforcement provisions include rather far-reaching reforms that could take time to educate legislators and the public. “I’m not giving up on this stuff,” he said, adding that the ideas could be negotiated and brought up during the legislature’s annual fall session. “It’s not everything that we want to accomplish, not by any stretch. But it’s a really good first step, and I am excited about that.”

Campaign finance
The debate about campaign contribution limits has been bumped back to May 28 at the request of Collins, who said he needed time to negotiate an agreement between competing bills. “We’re at different places,” he said during his second Statehouse news conference of the day.

The commission proposes limiting individual donations at $2,400, while other proposals would limit them to $5,000 or $10,000. The commission also wants to limit large transfers of money from statewide political parties to their candidates. A Democratic proposal would not limit such transfers.

“Hopefully we can close that gap in the next few days,” Collins said. “And if we don’t, we’ve been assured many different ways with a lot of witnesses that we will get an up-or-down vote on the [commission’s] bill.”

Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno has sponsored two different versions (a $10,000 limit and a $2,400 limit on behalf of the commission), none of which have been called for debate. She said it sounded as if Democratic leaders were trying to “run out the clock” on campaign finance limits. “I think there are people who want the status quo to continue, and those would be the people who have the majorities in this institution right now, the Democrats. They don’t want to change it.”

Senate President John Cullerton disagreed and said leadership was trying to five the commission’ time to negotiate bills. “These issues are not simple black and white issues. They require a lot of nuance.”

FOIA
Efforts to strengthen the understanding and enforcement of the Freedom of Information Act are still in the works, although the Illinois Press Association and attorney general’s office expressed dissatisfaction with some water-downed versions. The Illinois Reform Commission is still trying to negotiate and could try to advance a revised measure Thursday, as well.

FYI: Here's the Illinois Reform Commission's full report.

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Procurement, ethics, employee reforms sail to Senate

By Bethany Jaeger
The House overwhelmingly approved three measures to shield state contracts from political influence, to shine a light on the secretive process of investigating ethical violations and to “fumigate” the state of political appointees of former Govs. George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich.

The measures, all sponsored by House Speaker Michael Madigan, now head to the Senate, where more government reforms are expected to be debated tomorrow.



Madigan focused on procurement, employee ethics and political appointees. They received near-unanimous support. Republican Rep. Bill Black of Danville said, “These bills are some of the most important bills we’ve discussed in a long, long time.”

Procurement, SB 51
The speaker’s proposal would not go as far as preferred by Gov. Pat Quinn’s Illinois Reform Commission when changing the way the state purchases products and services. But Madigan’s goal mirrors that of the commission’s. “This was designed to shut the door on misuse of procurement and to isolate the procurement process and the procurement people from undue influence, especially from the office of the governor,” Madigan said on the House floor.

Rather than create one “procurement czar” in a new state procurement agency, as the commission wanted, Madigan proposed hiring a series of independent procurement officials in a "six-level system" of oversight:

• Chief procurement officers would oversee procurement for the Capital Development Board, the Illinois Department of Transportation and higher education. The rest would be placed with the state’s main purchasing arm, Central Management Services.
• Procurement compliance monitors would oversee the procurement process in real time and be able to recommend changes or expose abuses.
• Independent internal auditors would be placed in their respective agencies, reversing a Blagojevich decision to consolidate them all into Central Management Services.
• One executive procurement officer in the governor’s office would advise the governor and the procurement officers. The position would end in January 2011, either when Quinn started his first full term as governor or when a new governor took office.
• The Procurement Policy Board would be strengthened so it could review contracts or bidder information and make recommendations for the chief procurement officers regarding conflicts of interest.

Each procurement officer, compliance monitor and internal auditor would serve a five-year term, pending Senate confirmation. And they couldn’t be fired without a public hearing that determined cause for removal.

The use of sub-contractors would have to be disclosed, CORRECTION: but a provision that would have strengthened the so-called pay-to-play ban so that businesses holding state contracts of $25,000 (instead of the current $50,000) would be banned from donating to the officeholders' political campaign didn't make it into the final version. The $50,000 threshold remains.

“The bill is laced with transparency requirements,” Madigan said. “Our whole intent was two-fold: open up the process — make it more transparent — and insulate the process from undue influence, especially coming out of the governor’s office.”

Employee ethics, SB 54
Blagojevich enacted a law in 2003 that created inspectors to root out corruption or improper political donations from state contractors. But the process of investigating allegations lacked teeth and was cloaked in secrecy, with no way for the general public or legislators to know whether a corruption allegation was investigated or addressed.

“In the past, a lot of this work has been done in the dark,” Madigan said.

So his measure would allow reports of the inspectors to be public record if they found wrongdoing and either suspended or terminated an employee. Some of the information could be blacked out if it would jeopardize an ongoing investigation. And it would change the law so the inspectors could start an investigation based on anonymous tips.

It also would strengthen the so-called revolving door ban to prevent high-ranking officials from accepting jobs with private companies that received significant state contracts from the agency where the official worked. Agencies would have to list all of the employees who would be affected by the ban.

Stricter lobbying regulations would require people who lobby state boards, commissions or retirement boards to register as lobbyists, and all lobbyists would have to abide by stricter disclosure requirements. They’d also pay a higher fee of $1,000, as opposed to the current $350, which is how the state would pay for two inspectors to oversee lobbying activities. Madigan said he would consider reducing the fees for smaller nonprofit lobbying groups down the road.

Employee “fumigation,” SB 1333
At the request of the governor, Madigan reduced his original attempt to force Quinn to fire up to 3,000 employees or commissioners appointed by Ryan or Blagojevich. His measure now would apply to about 750 agency directors and their assistants, who can be hired or fired based on their political affiliations. He also would give the governor 90 days instead of 60 to review each of those employees before they would automatically be terminated.

Also at Quinn’s request “on a very personal level,” Madigan removed a provision that would have fired one of the governor’s longtime friends, John Filan. But that’s with the understanding the Filan would resign as the executive director of the Illinois Finance Authority July 1. “I took the governor at his word,” Madigan said. Filan was Blagojevich’s first-term budget director and former chief operating officer who played an integral role in several of Blagojevich’s controversial budget proposals, including floating $10 billion in pension obligation bonds and skipping $2.3 billion in state contributions in fiscal years ’06 and ’07.

Even without the provision to fire Filan, the bill drew concerns about the separation of powers because the legislature would fire people appointed by the executive branch. “We are, if not blurring those lines, we may actually be crossing those lines,” Black said.

Rep. Will Davis, a Chicago Democrat who voted present on the measure, said: “If [Quinn] wants to fire employees, he should do that and not come to the General Assembly to ask us to do that for him. … It certainly appears like maybe they’re doing him a favor.”

Madigan said the legislature has changed boards and commissions that were appointed by the executive branch before, including when the legislature twice revamped the Illinois State Board of Education and the Health Facilities Planning Board. Madigan added that Quinn “agreed to the bill.”

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End-of-session preview 2009

The legislature is preparing for a two-week push to accomplish three major issues — the state operating budget, a major construction program and a government reform initiative — for a potential May 29 adjournment. That’s the goal, according to Senate President John Cullerton.

All four legislative leaders met behind closed doors this afternoon to talk about a major capital construction program, which is expected to roll out next week. Earlier in the day, House Republicans held an unprecedented open-door meeting (caucuses usually meet behind closed doors and don’t invite the media) to talk about government reforms with Patrick Collins, chairman of the Reform Commission.



The Senate will come back Sunday evening, while the House is scheduled to return to the Capitol Monday evening. Here's where things stand, as of Friday evening:

Budget
Preparation to negotiate details of an operating budget, which is projected to have a deficit between $9 billion and $12 billion, is expected to start in earnest early next week. The process could be a little different than previous years in an attempt to increase transparency, but we’ll have more on that later.

Capital plan
By Jamey Dunn
The four legislative leaders seem to be nearing an agreement on revenue sources for a major infrastructure program. A vote could come next week.

Cullerton said that the money for the plan would come from several proposals and that no one source would dominate. “It’s a combination — it’s a potpourri — of funding sources for the capital bill.”

We wrote about some revenue ideas earlier this week. Cullerton said some of the details could change. He said that beer and not just wine and spirits, as previously mentioned, could be included in a liquor tax increase. He added that a proposal to sell lottery tickets online would have to be cleared with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno said that legalizing video gaming and taxing it as a revenue source could actually reduce the number of video poker consoles in the state. She said the legislative Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability estimated about 65,000 machines could be operating throughout the state, while one proposal would reduce that to about 45,000. However, the actual number of existing machines is unknown, according to the commission.

“I think the idea is to limit them, not to have them on every street corner,” Radogno said. “I mean, they’re already out there, and we want to make sure that the state’s getting the revenue that we could get from the activity that’s already going on.”

Rep. Frank Mautino, a Spring Valley Democrat, already has a video poker measure advancing through the legislature.

That’s the revenue side. The spending side invites a whole new set of complications. “We want to be sure that everyone’s comfortable with the spending before we vote for the revenue side of it,” Radogno said. “So, there’s a lot of detail that has to be worked out there. There’s not gong to be any hidden allocations. No lump sums.”

She said that the leaders have been talking about funneling a large potion of the money through existing programs with established criteria in an attempt to take some of the bickering out of the highly political process.

Ethics
By Bethany Jaeger
Legislation drafted by Gov. Pat Quinn’s Illinois Reform Commission is expected to be ready for debate later next week, and campaign finance limits likely are in the mix.

Sen. Don Harmon, an assistant majority leader from Oak Park, has been working with Patrick Collins, chairman of the commission and former assistant U.S. attorney. While some items such as Freedom of Information Act reforms are expected to sail through the legislative process, more controversial items likely would be introduced in competing bills and debated.

Campaign contribution limits are one example. Lawmakers would debate various proposals and take up-or-down votes on each, according to Harmon.

The Reform Commission recommended capping individual donations at $2,400 and corporate or political organizations’ donations at $5,000. But Harmon said the controversy is “not whether there should be campaign contribution limits — but the size.” Some legislators think that a $2,400 cap is too low and that it would require them to spend too much time raising campaign cash in smaller increments.

A $10,000 limit per calendar year, on the other hand, may be a more comfortable level for many legislators, Harmon said. Some Senate Democrats don’t like basing the limit on a calendar year, but, Harmon said, “We need limits that are meaningful, and the calendar year seems to be an understandable measurement and could enhance the likelihood of enforcement.”

Here are some of the contribution limit bills waiting for action:

• Radogno has proposed SB 1548, a $10,000 limit for individuals, corporations, unions and clubs or political organizations.
• Chicago Democratic Sen. Kwame Raoul, however, would limit individual donations to $7,500 and corporate donations to $20,000, under SB 2257.
• Democratic Rep. Harry Osterman of Chicago introduced HB 24, which resembles the Illinois Reform Commission’s recommendations to mirror federal limits: $2,400 for individuals and $5,000 for political organizations.
• Sen. Heather Steans, a Chicago Democrat, is behind SB 1768, which would establish limits for individuals and political action committees, but it also would cap the amount statewide political campaigns could transfer to candidates at $30,000.

A longer-term proposal, on the other hand, is changing the way the legislature redraws congressional districts. Redistricting is being discussed but not lumped in as part of the end-of-session rush. Reform ideas, which include using a computerized process similar to Iowa’s, are likely to be debated in public hearings throughout this summer or, potentially, a special legislative session in September.

Another controversial issue that could be pushed back is the commission’s recommendation to grant state’s attorneys authority to wiretap conversations as part of public corruption investigations. Federal prosecutors have that power, while state’s attorneys do not (although they can wiretap for other kind of investigations).

A former state’s attorney, Democratic Sen. Bill Haine of Alton, sees red flags in the proposal. State’s attorneys are elected on a partisan basis, while federal attorneys are appointed by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Federal prosecutors also answer to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. attorney general, which Haine said provides a checks-and-balances system. “So before we vest local politically elected prosecutors with the vast powers of the United States government, we should have a clear idea of where we are going to draw the line and what the checks and balances are. Just giving wiretapping authority, warrentless wiretapping authority or additional wiretapping authority without looking at how we’re going to have checks and balances on that authority, I think, is a mistake.”

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Prepare for ethics: All or nothing?

By Hilary Russell and Jamey Dunn, with Bethany Jaeger contributing
The Illinois Senate Democrats will present their ideas about reforming state government May 18, giving them 15 days to before the legislature is scheduled to adjourn for the summer.



Members of the Illinois Reform Commission, created by Gov. Pat Quinn to recommend ways to restructure state government, today joined Senate President John Cullerton to talk about the future of the commission’s recommendations for reform. Former federal prosecutor Patrick Collins, chairman of the commission, appeared with commissioners Sheila Simon and Brad McMillan at the Statehouse.

Cullerton and Collins made it clear that controversial topics will go through the typical legislative process.

Despite providing no details, Cullerton and Collins agreed that some of the topics would be easier to pass than others. But Cullerton said he remained optimistic that both parties could agree on the reform proposals that advanced.

See the commission’s recommendations here.

Two items that are expected to advance include stricter rules about the way the state contracts with businesses to provide services, as well as increasing transparency to the process of investigating corruption allegations within state government. Both, however, focus on the executive branch, not the legislative branch.

Some recommendations that would affect the legislature, including subjecting legislative leaders to term limits and publicly financing some elections, are likely to be unpopular among lawmakers.

Bills that are not agreed upon will still get a public hearing, according to Cullerton. “There are more areas of agreement than disagreement,” he said, indicating that the four leaders could come to a compromise without dredging the commission’s proposals though the mud.

“A lot will be determined as we go forward in the next few weeks, as this body has a lot of work to do that isn’t just ethics reform,” Collins said. “But we think ethics reform should be high on the list.”

Lawmakers now wait for the commission’s proposals to be drafted into bills. Cullerton added that legislators expect to begin receiving bills from the governor’s office next week when deliberations can start in earnest.

All or nothing?
By Jamey Dunn
Collins has pushed for adoption of all the commission’s recommendations. He said that the plan is comprehensive, and removing parts of it could create loopholes that would allow corruption to slip through. He indicated today that he’s backing off from that to get as many reforms from the report passed as possible.

Collins said he and his fellow commissioners have met with legislators whenever asked , and while they are willing to compromise, there are certain aspects of the report he is not willing to abandon.

“Some have said we’re not willing to negotiate or compromise. That’s ridiculous. But, we aren’t willing to compromise on core values.”

Collins fired back at the media for characterizing the commission as overly idealistic and inflexible. “We are practical people that want results. We don’t want a document that we can hang over someone’s head. We’re not about that, and anybody who suggests otherwise doesn’t know us.”

House Minority Leader Tom Cross agrees that an all-or-nothing approach is unrealistic. “I like most everything on there, but there’s always going to be some things you don’t care for. Nothing in the world [or] in life is all or nothing.”

Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno said she is ready to compromise, “as long as the reforms are significant and not just window dressing.”

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If the flame is extinguished- UPDATED

By Jamey Dunn
Quinn is sticking to his back-up plan of tackling ethics issues at the ballot box if the legislature does not approve substantial reforms by the end of this session. However, the state Constitution limits the issues voters can petition to get on the ballot.





“If things don’t go exactly according to plan, there is a process in Illinois that exists that allows people to go to the ballot box,” Quinn said outside his Statehouse office this morning. “And I haven’t been a stranger to that over the years, and we certainly will examine that, if necessary. But, I hope it isn’t.”

Despite Quinn’s generally optimistic and cooperative tone, Quinn essentially said if the legislature fails to make major changes in the way state government operates, he would look to the voters to do it for them.

He’s tried to do that in the past. However, the proposals were blocked from the ballot by the Illinois Supreme Court in 1976, when it ruled the initiatives did not fall under the limited scope set by the Constitution. The state charter limits voters from changing anything other than the section that deals with the legislature. And any proposed changes have to pertain to “structural and procedural subjects.”

The governor said he would like to broaden the way voters can amend the Constitution by allowing them to also consider initiatives related to ethics, which he said would “give the voters ongoing power to enact ethics wherever needed.”

Quinn backs other changes that were not recommended in the report, including recall of elected officials and extending public financing beyond judicial races to the other branches of government. He said that he hopes to get a recall amendment on the ballot in 2010. UPDATED: Lawmakers are considering several recall amendments. Some would grant voters the power to recall executive officers only, and some would apply to the legislative and judicial branches, as well.

Commissioners said they could not reach a unanimous decision on whether to recommend a recall amendment, so the report lists “recall” as needing further consideration.

Quinn said that because many of the proposed ethics reforms have been discussed for years, the General Assembly should be able to make decisions on them by the end of session. “The people of Illinois are impatient, and they feel it shouldn’t take long at all to enact good government and clean government.”

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Forty days and 40 nights

That cliché of the day indicates the number of days state legislators have to negotiate major spending and revenue proposals before they’re scheduled to adjourn their spring session May 31. With ethics reforms, health care negotiations and construction projects in the mix today, alone, lawmakers have a ton of work to do in the next five and a half weeks.




Government reforms
By Bethany Jaeger
Today marked the first time that Gov. Pat Quinn’s Illinois Reform Commission directly interacted with the joint legislative committee on government reform, both of which are working separately on some of the very same topics.

Today, however, the commission was asked to narrow its testimony to state procurement and contracting practices. The focus conveniently skipped over one of the commission’s most controversial proposals: limiting campaign contributions. So-called contribution limits topped the commission’s first set of recommendations late last month.

It’s hard to avoid the link between campaign contributions and state procurement decisions, said Commissioner David Hoffman, inspector general for the City of Chicago, particularly when repeated investigations reveal that public funds flow through contracts to the same companies that shovel large amounts of money into candidates' political campaigns. “You’ve got to get to both sides of the equation, the pay side and the play side,” he said.

But the commission abided by the committee’s request and focused on ideas for state procurement reforms. The commission’s recommendations are intended to improve transparency and insulate the process from political influence, preventing such alleged scandals as requiring state contractors to go through political fundraiser Bill Cellini. Commissioner Patrick Collins, a former assistant U.S. attorney, said Cellini was not a state employee, but prosecutors allege that he exercised significant influence over which firms received state business.

“We are entering a critical period in the next 40 days,” Collins said. “The state will learn much about itself. This is a gut-check time. … The nation is watching.”

The Illinois Reform Commission suggests creating a new department to house all state procurement officers, making them independent from the state agencies and from the governor’s office. A new procurement monitor also would oversee and review contracts.

The state already has a Procurement Policy Board to oversee contracts; yet, Hoffman said because members are appointed by the governor and the legislative leaders, they’re powerless to resist political pressure. Hoffman said the goal is not to change the procurement rules but to change whom the procurement officials report to.

Legislators and some state officials aren’t fully on board with the commission’s idea to consolidate procurement officers into a new department because needs are so different when hiring companies for road construction, power supply or higher education material.

Auditor General Bill Holland added that consolidation efforts under Blagojevich resulted in members of the governor’s inner circle playing key roles in selecting the companies that received state contracts. In one instance, a state contract was granted to an agency that did not yet exist. (See Holland’s 2005 audit for background.)

The commission plans to release its second set of recommendations next week, marking 100 days since the panel started holding public hearings throughout the state.

Senate President John Cullerton said the committee will consider all of the commission’s recommendations, but he also intends to speak with Quinn to find out what he wants to pursue. House Speaker Michael Madigan indicated the legislative committee and the governor’s commission would work closely together to draft legislation.

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Now there are only 4 states with unregulated campaign finance

Cross posted from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson yesterday signed into law a bill creating campaign contribution limits. They get reform. Now there are 46 states that regulate campaign contributions, and just 4 that are wide open.

And what did Illinois get yesterday? More proof that we need reform.

If you're fed up with business as usual, if the indictment of Rod Blagojevich reads like a rehash of old news, if you're mad as hell and not going to take it anymore, then here's what you can do right now to make reform happen:

* Call 1-800-719-3020. This hotline, offered by CHANGE Illinois, will patch you through to your legislator's office, where you can voice your demand for reform of Illinois' political culture.

* Make plans to attend the rally at the James R. Thompson Center this Thursday, April 9 at 10 am.

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Prosecutors target “Blagojevich Enterprise” - UPDATED

By Bethany Jaeger, with Hilary Russell and Jamey Dunn contributing
Today’s 75-page federal indictment of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and five members of his inner circle details an extensive and long-term scheme that allegedly began in 2002, before Blagojevich took his oath of office in January 2003.


U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s office is now going after what’s described as the “Blagojevich Enterprise,” which includes the office of the governor and Blagojevich’s campaign fund, Friends of Blagojevich. The entity, the feds allege, primarily existed to “exercise and preserve power over Illinois government for the financial and political benefit of Blagojevich,” as well as his family members and friends.

Read the U.S. attorney's press release here. A fact sheet is here. More context and online sources of how we got here at Illinois Issues magazine.

Blagojevich and his associates allegedly conducted a pattern of dishonest behavior designed to enrich themselves, which would violate the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, according to Andrew Leipold, a law professor with the University of Illinois’ Institute of Government and Public Affairs.

Blagojevich is charged with 16 counts of federal corruption, including racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud, extortion conspiracy and attempted extortion. They each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He also allegedly lied to the FBI, a crime carrying a maximum five-year prison sentence and another $250,000 fine. In addition to the allegations already documented in the criminal affidavit filed with his arrest Dec. 9, 2008, today’s indictment includes new details and allegations.

Who
The indictment reads less like alphabet soup because federal prosecutors in the Northern District of Illinois have identified and, in some cases, convicted individuals as part of the ongoing probe called Operation Board Games. Joining Blagojevich in the indictment include five others:

• His brother, Rob Blagojevich of Nashville, Tenn., who chaired his campaign fund since August 2008.
• John Harris of Chicago, Blagojevich’s chief of staff from late 2005 until last December, when he was arrested with Blagojevich.
• Alonzo “Lon” Monk of Park Ridge, a lobbyist and longtime Blagojevich insider and campaign manager, as well as Blagojevich’s first chief of staff upon becoming governor in 2003.
• Christopher Kelly of Burr Ridge, a Blagojevich fundraiser and previous chair of Blagojevich’s campaign fund.
• William “Bill” Cellini of Springfield, director of the Illinois Asphalt Pavement Association, who raised money for Blagojevich and allegedly influenced officials of the Teachers’ Retirement System. He also was associated with Commonwealth Realty Advisors, a real estate management firm that invested hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of TRS. He was indicted in October 2008 for “allegedly conspiring with others to obtain campaign funds for Blagojevich by shaking down an investment firm seeking a $220 million allocation from TRS.” This replaces that indictment.

What
Before Blagojevich even became governor, he, along with Monk, Kelly and Tony Rezko, allegedly started scheming to use the governor’s office for financial gain that would be split among them once Blagojevich left office. Blagojevich allegedly let Kelly and Rezko exercise significant influence over state government operations, and they, in turn, allegedly generated millions of dollars for Blagojevich’s campaign fund and “provided financial benefits directly to Blagojevich and his family.” For instance, one part of the scheme allegedly included Rezko's real estate business paying Patti Blagojevich, the then-governor's wife, $12,000 a month, as well as another $40,000 in commission, "even though she had done little or no work," according to the indictment.

The indictment also alleges that Blagojevich had control of his campaign fund at all times, even as the chairmen of the fund changed.

UPDATED: Some more highlights of the details:

• Before Blagojevich became governor, he, along with Monk, Kelly and Rezko, allegedly started scheming to use the governor’s office for financial gain that would be split among them once Blagojevich left office.
• Blagojevich, Monk, Kelly and Rezko allegedly agreed to use Blagojevich’s and Monk’s offices to divide financial gain among themselves, including the kickback from the Pension Obligation Bond refinancing in 2003.
• The feds say Blagojevich lied to FBI agents on March16, 2005, when he said he kept state government and politics separate and didn't want to know who contributed money to his campaign.
• From 2004 to 2006, Rezko allegedly gave Monk between $70,000 and $90,000.
• Last year, Blagojevich allegedly directed Harris to find him a paid position at various state boards, and when that didn’t work, he directed Harris to connect his wife with financial institutions. When that failed, Blagojvich directed that those institutions to no longer get state business, according to the indictment.
  

The federal prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of all funds and assets held at four banks in the name of Friends of Blagojevich, although the campaign fund is not a defendant. Fitzgerald's office also seeks $188,370 from Blagojevich as proceeds of the alleged scheme and racketeering activity. The indictment lists Blagojevich’s apartment and Chicago home as “substitute assets.”

Now what?
The indictment comes after more than a month of public hearings conducted by two panels, one appointed by Gov. Pat Quinn and one convened as a special joint legislative committee between the House and the Senate. Within two hours of the indictment being filed office tonight, one of the byproducts of the legislative committee passed both chambers.

The General Assembly approved SB 364, crafted with the leadership of House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton. It’s aimed at reforming the state’s public employee pension system and requiring all trustees to abide by state ethics laws. All trustees of the Teachers’ Retirement System, specifically, would be replaced. And the governor would be able to appoint more trustees to that board.

The Teachers’ Retirement System, which serves more than 355,500 teachers outside of Chicago, was one of the first state government operations revealed by the feds to be corrupted by Blagojevich’s inner circle, according to Fitzgerald’s office. System officials immediately released a statement of opposition, saying the governor’s ability to appoint more members has potential to increase, not decrease, the opportunity for political influence.

The board’s statement said the rationale behind the measure “erroneously accused the elected members of the board of failing to prevent a corruption scheme in 2004 hatched by a former gubernatorial appointee,” meaning Stuart Levine. “The elected trustees of the TRS Board are angry and deeply troubled by the implication that they were somehow complicit in the illegal behavior carried out by Stuart Levine,” said Bob Lyons, a board trustee twice-elected by annuitants of the Teachers’ Retirement System following Levine’s resignation, according to the statement.

Lyons also said that terminating Jon Bauman, executive director of the system, on July 1 would unfairly punish a man who hasn’t been accused of committing a crime.

Cullerton said the reforms are designed to prevent “what Stuart Levine got away with for so long” by requiring consultants to register, requiring all board members to follow the same ethics standards applied to legislators and executive branch employees to prevent conflicts of interest and so-called pay-to-play politics.

Cullerton also offered his personal reaction to the former governor’s indictment. “I think it’s a sad situation because he is the father of a couple of kids. He lives down the street from me, and it’s always sad when stuff like this happens. But, at the same time, I can’t imagine what this place would be like if he were still the governor trying to solve the problems that we have with the incredible deficits that we have.”

Legislators of both parties added that the indictment should serve as yet another wakeup call to enact meaningful reforms to strengthen rules for campaign finance, state procurement, public access to information and even the structure of government. Ultimately, however, reforms can only make it harder for people who are bent on mischief, Leipold said. “Surely oversight can help, sunshine can help, reporting can help, but nothing’s going to stop things like this completely.”

Many just want to move on from the embarrassment. “There’s plenty of blame to go around,” said Rep. Bill Black, a Danville Republican. “I don’t care about what has happened. Let's get involved and care about how we clean this up. I want my grandkids to be proud of me.”

At the least, federal prosecutors continue to send a message that “business as usual” won’t be tolerated. Sen. Matt Murphy, a Palatine Republican, said: “And the prosecutor is serious. People who want to play that game better learn real quick it’s a losing proposition.”

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Search for a common ground

By Bethany Jaeger, with Jamey Dunn contributing
House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton advanced their first joint measure to reform state government, focusing on the management of the public employee pension systems and targeting board members appointed by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. At the same time, the independent reform commission created by Gov. Pat Quinn issued its first set of recommendations for beefing up state ethics laws and improving transparency of government operations.



How the legislative reform committee and the governor’s reform commission will work together, however, is yet to be seen. So far, they’ve operated in similar hemispheres but in separate quarters. They’ve heard hours of testimony from a lot of the same witnesses, they’ve debated some of the same proposals and they’ve used the same language to define their missions. To date, they have not yet testified to each other's public hearings. And the governor’s reform commission is different in that it “has a voice but not a vote,” to borrow the words of Patrick Collins, former federal prosecutor and chair of the governor’s commission. What is realistic by the end of the spring legislative session depends on the level of support the proposals can gain from the legislative leaders and their members, although Quinn has indicated he's willing to use his executive powers to institute some of changes.

One item to note is that the House speaker and the Senate president have been meeting about once a week for breakfast with Quinn to talk about a broad range of issues facing the state, including everything from a potential $12.4 billion budget deficit to possible ethics reforms. Madigan told Illinois Issues this morning said he finds those meetings to be “very productive.” He added: “They’re not 100 percent harmonious. … There’s differences, but you’ve got people who are committed to working through differences and coming to a result.”

In terms of ethics, some of the proposals of the governor's reform commission already are being considered by the legislature. In addition to pension reforms advanced by Madigan and Cullerton, the governor’s reform commission offered two more starting points: The “pay” side (or campaign finance) and the “play” side (or state procurement), to borrow another Collins phrase. The governor’s Illinois Reform Commission will issue many more recommendations in its final report by the end of April.

Pension board reforms
Madigan and Cullerton started with pensions. Their measure, SB 364, would remove all members of the existing pension oversight boards, and Quinn would have 30 days to nominate new members. The governor would be able to nominate current members to stay, but they would have to get Senate approval. Board members currently are reimbursed for expenses but are not paid for their work, and that would remain.

While Madigan said he did not intend to accuse current members of corruption, he said it was important to start over with a “clean slate.” The measure also would require all board members to follow the same ethics standards currently applied to legislators and executive branch employees. The standards are meant to prevent conflicts of interest and so-called pay-to-play politics from influencing the investment decisions made by the pension boards, investment managers and consultants.

Similar pension reforms passed the House twice before but stalled in the Senate under then-President Emil Jones Jr.

Madigan said this morning that the pension reforms illustrate the good that can come out of cooperation between presiding officers. “The people of Illinois feel that they deserve better, and they’re right. And with myself and Sen. Cullerton working together — not trying to one-up anybody, not trying to play gotcha-politics — I think that we can accomplish a lot.”

Campaign contribution limits (The “pay” side of pay-to-play)
The Illinois Reform Commission recommends campaign contribution limits of $2,400 for individuals and $5,000 for political committees and would completely ban contributions from lobbyists and trusts. The legislature is split on the idea of campaign contributions, with opponents saying that there are too many loopholes and that it wouldn't reduce the cost of political campaigns. All four legislative leaders have said they could consider campaign finance reform, but contribution limits are not considered the priority. The legislature already is considering some measures that would limit contributions, including:

• HB 24: Rep. Harry Osterman’s bill resembles the commission’s recommendations. He’s a Chicago Democrat.
• SB 1768: Sen. Heather Steans’ bill would enforce similar limits for individuals and political committees that are not controlled by the candidates, but it also would cap the amount political committees for the Democratic and Republican caucuses could transfer to candidates at $30,000, among other things. She’s a Chicago Democrat.
• SB 1548: Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno’s bill would limit donations for all individuals, political parties, corporations, unions, etc., at $10,000. She’s a Lemont Republican.
• SB 2257: Sen. Kwame Raoul’s bill would, among other things, limit individual donations at $7,500 and corporate and labor group donations at $20,000. He’s another Chicago Democrat.

Two measures would establish a voluntary public financing system for judges and set various limits on the amount candidates could raise from individuals, political committees, corporations, labor groups, etc. They include:

• SB 2144, sponsored by Raoul.
• HB 1390, sponsored by freshman Rep. Will Burns, a Chicago Democrat.

Here are more highlights from the Illinois Reform Commission's recommendations for campaign finance, including extending last year’s pay-to-play ban to prevent state contractors from donating to legislators, as well as executive officers.

Procurement (The “play” side of pay-to-play)
The Illinois Reform Commission recommends the following:

• Make the procurement officials part of an independent arm of government to shield them from political pressure.
• Establish an independent contract monitor to review contracts and expose problematic deals.
• Scale back exemptions to the procurement code.
• Apply the procurement code to legislative, judicial and such quasi-governmental bodies as the Illinois Finance Authority.
• Subject no-bid and emergency contracts to tighter scrutiny and limitations.
• Disclose subcontractors, lobbyists and agents representing clients.
• Document any contact between vendors or their agents and procurement staff.
• Post all procurement information online.

Auditor General Bill Holland echoed some of the recommendations today during a special legislative hearing about state government reforms. But he added that the procurement code currently does not prevent agencies from accepting services before the terms of a contract are settled or before the contract is officially filed. He said that was “unacceptable” and said that all documents related to the contracting process, including losing proposals, should be made public.

Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, an Evanston Democrat, said the state also should tighten provisions on informal advisers, something noted during the corruption trial and conviction of former Blagojevich adviser Tony Rezko.

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What's your limit?

By Bethany Jaeger
One of the most controversial and politically challenging ethics reforms being discussed this session is limiting the amount people and private interests can donate to political candidates. It’s a fight against the establishment as much as it is an attempt to Rod Blagojevich-proof the state. His campaign collected numerous $25,000 checks from businesses that held significant state contracts. In fact, that’s the impetus for last year’s so-called pay-to-play ban.



Since that ban took effect, a new coalition of business, labor, civic, nonprofit and philanthropic groups has formed and thrown its support behind campaign contribution limits as the gateway to more drastic steps, eventually including public financing. The so-called CHANGE Illinois coalition is advocating for limits on the amount individuals, businesses and private interest groups could donate to candidates at the state and local levels. It would resemble a law already in place at the federal level: a $2,300 limit for individuals and a $5,000 limit for businesses, unions and interest groups per election cycle. In Illinois, the coalition is keeping tabs on two bills sponsored by Democrats, HB 24 and SB 1768. Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno also is sponsoring SB 1548, which would limit contributions to $10,000.

Yet, legislative leaders express concerns about the practicality of ensuring a level playing field for all candidates. For instance, House Speaker Michael Madigan cited the example of a statewide candidate running for office against a self-funded, or individually wealthy, candidate. He mentioned a 2002 race of his daughter's, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, as an example. If she had to abide by contribution limits, how could she compete against an individually wealthy candidate who funded his or her own campaign, he asked. Of note, however, is that Attorney General Madigan is supporting the campaign contribution limits measure proposed by Rep. Harry Osterman, HB 24, because it is the most comprehensive, according to the attorney general's spokeswoman, Robyn Ziegler, this evening.

Senate President John Cullerton said he is open to considering contribution limits, as long as they’re not set so low that candidates have to spend more energy and resources seeking many more contributions than they already do.

Ann Lousin, who helped write the 1970 state Constitution and who teaches law at John Marshall Law School in Chicago, spells out some of the opposition to campaign finance limits for individuals, businesses and political groups. “If I can figure out a way around it in five minutes, you shouldn’t put it into the statute,” she said. “You go back to sunshine, sunshine, sunshine. Sunshine is the best disinfectant.”

She said individuals could disguise their financial support through friends or relatives, while state contractors could hide their donations by funneling money though subcontractors, which aren’t part of the public record. “All you’re doing is putting it underground,” she said.

She also opposes prohibiting people from out of state or out of district from donating to candidates because she said she believes that would unfairly hinder minority groups and female candidates, who often raise money from outside of their home bases.

“If you keep on putting in these rules, you’re going to define the only candidate who can run is somebody [who appeals to] narrower and narrower groups, somebody who takes only $100 contributions from a variety of different people, none of whom do business with the sate,” she says. “You’re going to get such purity. ... Who can run after a while?”

Cynthia Canary, director of the Chicago-based Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, said contribution limits would challenge all candidates to reach out to more voters. And the measures supported by CHANGE Illinois would help disclose “bundling,” or the gathering of a group of checks from different people so that each contribution remains under the limit. The group also seeks more authority and funding for the Illinois State Board of Elections to conduct random audits so the campaign contribution reports don’t just end up in a file, unmonitored and under the radar.

Canary also said in a previous phone conversation that the goal is to enact reasonable, practical steps that will help scale back the influence of money in politics. And sunshine alone won’t cut it. “We have had sunshine for over 30 years, and look at the situation we’re in.”

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Pay-to-play = unfunded mandate?

The Illinois State Board of Elections chair, Judge Albert Porter, told a state ethics reform commission Monday that the agency sought $465,000 to implement the acclaimed pay-to-play ban approved by lawmakers in September, but "initially, no funds were provided."


The law now prevents businesses that hold state contracts worth more than $50,000 from donating to the political campaigns of the officeholders who sign those contracts. The so-called pay-to-play ban is in direct response to fundraising practices by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, whose campaign collected numerous $25,000 contributions from state contractors.

Porter said the enactment of the law without the funding led to problems because the State Board of Elections lacked the adequate technology, staff and budget needed to carry out the part of the law that requires businesses to register with the agency before bidding for state contracts. That led to the enactment of a temporary system that used paper registration until an electronic program could be unveiled. The agency has until August 1 to fulfill the electronic requirement. To date, the agency has had 3,400 registrations, according to Porter.

He said the temporary measure is “getting the job done,” but his testimony to Gov. Pat Quinn's Illinois Reform Commission invited questions about how the State Board of Elections would be impacted by more reforms. The commission, which focused on campaign finance reform ideas Monday, particularly wondered about one idea to require politicians to immediately report donations online rather than report donations twice a year. Porter said a "real-time reporting" mandate would demand more manpower and upgraded technology, as well as state funding, but he said he’d have to get back to the commission about more specific effects.

More immediate reporting requirements are supported by such good government groups as the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform and the Sunshine Database, run by Kent Redfield, retired political studies professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Both testified to the commission during today's hearing at UIS. Redfield said the current disclosure system creates a “document dump” every six months, challenging the public, the media and good government groups from following the money in a timely manner.

The commission also heard several takes on whether capping the amount individuals or businesses could donate to political candidates would be effective in Illinois, but we'll have more about so-called campaign contribution limits soon.

The lead commissioner, former assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Collins, said just because Blagojevich is "pushed off the stage," the state still has to deal with its structural problem. As the lead prosecutor for the Hired Truck scandal in the City of Chicago (more here) and the Operation Safe Road investigation at the state level, Collins said he was looking for substantive and smart reforms, not reforms that just sound good on paper. While he said his prosecutorial experience notably predates Rod Blagojevich’s pay-to-play allegations, he added: "This stuff is endemic, it’s in the water. Pay-to-play is something that, I think, crosses political parties, and it’s really the underbelly of campaign finance.”

The special legislative committee exploring ethics reforms will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the state Capitol. Quinn's appointed reform commission will next meet at the Chicago Bar Association on March 5. Everyone is welcome, as these are public hearings.

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Spotlight on ethics and politics

By Bethany Jaeger and Jamey Dunn
The legislature’s effort to improve government ethics in the aftermath of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich today shifted the spotlight onto partisan politics — and the ongoing public-perception battle of U.S. Sen. Roland Burris.


Illinois Republicans continued to bring attention to the way Democratic leadership, particularly Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, handled information regarding Burris’ appointment. She chaired the special House committee that recommended Blagojevich’s impeachment last month.

Currie today responded to accusations that she purposely withheld an affidavit filed by Burris, which explained that he had contact with a handful of Blagojevich’s advisers prior to his appointment to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama. Republicans alleged that Currie did not share the affidavit as soon as she received it because it might have embarrassed Democrats.

From the House floor, Currie said she glanced at Burris’ letter and assumed the entire document contained routine follow-up information about his lobbying clients. Before the affidavit was shared with staff or with Republican committee members, Currie said, Burris released the document to Chicago media.

“Any suggestion that I engaged in a deliberate cover up, that I purposely delayed the distribution of the information, is totally false,” she said. “Any suggestion that I should do a better job of reading my mail in a timely fashion is a suggestion I enthusiastically and more than a little ruefully embrace.”

She has since posted on the committee’s Web site numerous follow-up letters regarding the impeachment report.

Rep. Jim Durkin, Republican co-chair of the special House impeachment committee, said he does not want the committee to reconvene because it could create a legal loophole for Burris to avoid prosecution for potential perjury. Durkin cited a state statute (scroll down to Sec. 32-2c). It says a witness can admit to giving false testimony during an ongoing trial and later correct the statement without facing perjury charges.

Some Democrats agree with Durkin. Reps. Jack Franks of Woodstock and Susana Mendoza of Chicago called on Burris to resign today, joining a growing list of state and federal officials doing so. Both Democrats said they did not want the House committee to hear from Burris again.

“It makes no sense to give somebody who we know lied, who purposefully lied — there’s no doubt in my mind — an opportunity allow himself to squirm his way out of potentially having to go before a court and explain his actions,” Mendoza said.

House GOP members called once more for special election to fill the seat. “This is so tainted, said Rep. Roger Eddy, a Huntsville Republican. “This is so dirty that the only disinfectant that will work is the will of the people. … I don’t have any idea why we continue to be afraid of an election in a democracy.”

Franks and Mendoza both called for a special election. Mendoza, who originally opposed a special election, said she deserved part of the blame for the current situation. She said that she assumed no one would have the “lack of integrity and the blind ambition” to accept an appointment from Blagojevich. “I never thought that this would happen.”

Joint ethics committee
When Democrats and Republicans of both chambers met to discuss ethics reforms this morning, GOP leaders cited the handling of the Burris affidavit and said Democratic control has been unfair and turbid. “The actions of the majority party have been anything but open, have been anything but transparent, have been anything to reflect sunshine over the last two to three weeks,” said House Minority Leader Tom Cross. He and other GOP leaders said the makeup of the ethics reform committee — 10 Democrats and 6 Republicans — fails to ensure bipartisan cooperation and sharing of information.

Durkin said the effort to improve transparency includes information between lawmakers. “Openness is not just with the public, but it also has to be between Republicans and Democrats. And I hope we can do a better job of it in the future.”

Democratic leaders -- House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton -- said the makeup of this committee, like all others, reflects the Democratic majority in the legislature. Madigan added that as the majority party, Democrats will be held accountable for the committee’s actions.

Ethics reforms in the works
The purpose of today’s ethics committee was to hear testimony about reforming the state’s Freedom of Information Act and Open Meetings Act. Attorney General Lisa Madigan was among those who offered such recommendations. They include:

• Require training of public employees who respond to FOIA requests.
• Charge fines for people who violate the FOI law.
• Codify the public access counselor, which she created in 2004 in response to Blagojevich’s administration, and allow that lawyer’s opinions to be legally binding rather than advisory.
• Allow findings of ethical violations of state employees to be made public and to be referred to law enforcement.

Terry Pastika, executive director of the Citizen Advocacy Center in DuPage County, added:
Update provisions about the use of technology to produce documents to the public.

• Tighten rules about when information is exempt from public access. Illinois currently has about 45 exemptions, while the average in other states is about 15, she said.
• Ensure people are only charging for the actual cost of reproducing the documents.

The legislature’s committee will meet again at 9 a.m. February 24 in the state Capitol, while Gov. Pat Quinn’s ethics reform commission will meet at 11 a.m. February 23 at the University of Illinois at Springfield. All hearings are open to the public.

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Anti-Blagojevich actions continue

While Gov. Pat Quinn today reversed one of the last decisions made by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, state lawmakers advanced two measures that aim directly at some of the accusations that led to Blagojevich's impeachment.


DNR
By Jamey Dunn
Quinn today replaced recent state Rep. Kurt Granberg as the head of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources with one of his senior policy advisers, Marc Miller. Miller was Quinn’s liaison to the Illinois River Coordinating Council. Granberg, a Carlyle Democrat, was appointed to the position by Blagojevich last month and reportedly was slated to receive a $40,000 bump in his pension.

During his first news conference as governor, Quinn said he wanted a “natural resources professional” in that position rather than the former lawmaker. Quinn described Miller as “a fisherman, he’s a hunter, he’s a bicycle rider, he canoes, he likes to go in kayaks he is a birdwatcher, a stargazer. You name it, when it comes to wildlife, he knows all about it.”

Miller, a Mattoon native, currently lives in Springfield. He left a job at the Prairie Rivers Network to work with Quinn in 2004.

Neither Miller nor Quinn would comment specifically about reopening state parks or rehiring employees who were laid off after Blagojevich cut the department’s budget last year. Miller said that in the “short-term,” the number of staff would probably not be up to the level it was five years ago. Quinn said he doesn’t know if Granberg will get a pension increase for the brief time he served as director, but Quinn said Granberg should “be happy with the pension that he earned in the legislature.”

And the legislative action
By Bethany Jaeger
JCAR
This Illinois House this morning reaffirmed the intent and power of a legislative committee that reviews rules coming out of the governor’s office. The power of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules was so contentious during former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration that it earned its own spot in the article of impeachment against Blagojevich as an example of his “pattern of abuse of power.” After the committee repeatedly rejected his attempts to expand health care to middle-income families without legislative approval and without designated funding, Blagojevich deemed the committee as merely advisory.

The House approved HB 398, which Rep. Gary Hannig, the sponsor and a Litchfield Democrat, said is a way to ensure that JCAR continues to serve as a check on the executive branch. Democratic Rep. Lou Lang, a JCAR member from Skokie, added, “Gubernatorial excesses were an important part of the impeachment proceeding, and it’s perhaps that case that if this bill were made law previously, we wouldn’t have had these issues.”

Ethics
Both chambers also have officially formed a special committee, with members of both chambers and both political parties, to review ways to reform state government and ethics. The official measure that creates the committee cites an “integrity crisis” created by two consecutive governors, Blagojevich and imprisoned former Gov. George Ryan.

House Speaker Michael Madigan said his previous efforts to advance reforms kept getting stuck in the Senate under then-President Emil Jones Jr., who has since retired.

“The first thing we’re going to do is to go to the bills that were passed in 2005 and 2007,” Madigan said on the House floor. “My record is real clear. I’ve been about the business of reforming the business of state government for several years now.”

The efforts Madigan mentioned included reforms to the way the state makes investment decisions on behalf of the five public employee pension systems, the process of entering into state contracts with businesses and the rules legislators and state officials must follow to avoid a conflict of interest. He also sent his chief legal counsel, David Ellis, to speak with Gov. Pat Quinn’s reform commission about changing state rules so that reports of ethical violations and punishments could be made public. According to a memo issued by Madigan’s office, Ellis also talked about tightening the process of granting waivers to the so-called revolving door law, which requires executive branch employees to wait one year before taking a job with a private firm that he or she either regulated or awarded a state contract.

Madigan said he expects the committee to meet “many times,” maybe twice a week, at the state Capitol. The scope is broad. “To me, all of Illinois government is open to change, every agency and everything that we do.”

Republicans didn’t like that the committees will have more Democrats than Republicans, reflecting the majority party’s rule of both chambers. “We certainly will cooperate with you in any way possible,” said GOP Rep. Bill Black of Danville. “But at some point, on something this important, I wish we could be treated as equals and not constantly as a minority to be accommodated.”

“This is too important to make it a committee controlled simply by one party,” he later added. “Both parties have had their problems. Both parties need to be a complete and equal partner to find a solution.”

From the Statehouse to the courtroom
Rep. George Scully, a Flossmoor Democrat, announced on the House floor that he has been appointed a circuit judge of Cook County, effective February 27. He’ll resign from the House that day. He’s served in the House since 1997 and was active in the electricity rate debate of 2007.

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$5 billion worse off and U-N-I-T-Y

By Hilary Russell
Just days after the conviction and removal of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, members of the 96th General Assembly wasted no time Tuesday learning how dire the financial straits of Lincoln’s land really is. The state is on track to begin fiscal year 2010 saddled with a $9 billion deficit. That far exceeds the $4 billion estimate released during Blagojevich’s last few months in office. Comptroller Dan Hynes said the state’s financial security isn’t going to improve in the near future.


“It dwarfs any previous budget faced by a governor and essentially shows just how bad things have gotten,” Hynes said from his Statehouse office.

Several factors are to blame for the state’s fiscal crisis. The first is attributed to two former governors, Blagojevich and former Gov. George Ryan, both of whom Hynes said “neglected and ignored” budget issues year after year.

The second factor that leads Hynes to use the words “disturbing” and “unprecedented” is the discovery that the fiscal year ’09 budget brought in far less money than projected. “(It) was imbalanced from the beginning by several billion dollars,” Hynes added. “So we started our year in a hole.”

He said a third factor is the worldwide economic crisis that hurts the state’s investments.

Even with a federal stimulus package in the works and the possibility that Illinois could receive $3 billion, it would only offer a one- to two-year reprieve, leaving the state with at least a $6 billion deficit.

One of Blagojevich’s accusations was that the legislature wanted to get rid of him to raise taxes. Now, the question of a state income tax hike comes to mind, and Hynes, rather than directly address the possibility of an increase, said the government would have to make the first sacrifice before asking taxpayers for more money.

Hynes added that the backlog of Medicaid bills is one of the largest problems, causing health care providers to struggle as they try to maintain services in the absence of state reimbursements.

Gov. Pat Quinn has requested a one-month extension to examine the budget before he presents his annual budget address March 18.

New laws
By Jamey Dunn
The legislature sent SB 1132 to Quinn's desk Monday. He plans to sign the bill into law tomorrow afternoon in the state Capitol. The measure would restore funding to the secretary of state, the attorney general, the treasurer, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and several conservation projects geared toward Illinois habitats, fish and birds. The measure was approved last month, when Blagojevich was still in office, but it was held until a new governor was in place.

Quinn also signed his first bill, SB 2757, into law today. The bill addresses recent court cases by making a change to the Illinois smoking ban. Now, violations of the ban will be civil rather than criminal offenses and will be handled by the Illinois Department of Public Health. The bill also includes certain exemptions to the ban and describes the processes for issuing and appealing tickets.

"Unity and harmony"
By Jamey Dunn
In a public gesture of bipartisanship, all four legislative leaders met with Gov. Pat Quinn in his office Wednesday to discuss the problems facing the state.

The meeting itself was brief, under half an hour. Afterward, Quinn addressed reporters with House Speaker Michael Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton, Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno and House Minority Leader Tom Cross. Before taking questions from the press, Quinn said that “we are going to be focusing on unity and harmony today.”

Quinn did not give specifics on how Illinois would address its budget deficient. He said a gasoline tax increase, which already has been proposed in HB 1, was not going to be ruled out. He also said it is very important that Illinois gets its “fair share” of the federal economic stimulus plan, which is why he made a trip to Washington, D.C., Tuesday.

Senate leaders made another gesture of unity when they approved the resolution, SJR 1, to create a joint bipartisan committee on ethics reform. The resolution went forward with the understanding that the House would amend it to allow Radogno to appoint more members. As written, Cullerton would be allowed to appoint six members and Radogno four. She argued that ethics reform will require true bipartisanship, and Cullerton said he was open to having more Republicans on the committee.

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Quinn's first days in office

In his first full day as Illinois’ top executive, Gov. Pat Quinn addressed ethics and political campaigns, two topics fresh in the minds of voters after former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s legal and political problems.



Holding a bow tie of the late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, Quinn signed his first executive order on the speaker’s podium outside of his new Statehouse office. The order officially charters an Ethics Reform Commission that he started a few weeks ago. By mid-March, the commission is expected to recommend major policy changes for everything from the way the state hires contractors to the way candidates fund political campaigns. Other topics of interest include improving transparency of state government, allowing voters to recall elected officials, revamping the way legislative districts are redrawn and strengthening protections for whistleblowers, according to Duane Noland of Blue Mound, former state lawmaker who was appointed to the commission. He said the ultimate goal is to change the attitude that Illinois has a culture of corruption and to start attracting better candidates.

The governor’s order establishes the commission as a public body, subject to public access and open meetings laws.

While that reform panel, led by former federal prosecutor Patrick Collins, could propose reforms that would be drastic for Illinois — including limiting the amount voters could donate to political campaigns — Quinn made a second statement this morning that could make waves with statewide political party leaders.

Quinn said he supports moving the primary election from February to September to shorten the campaign season. Illinois Democrats moved the date from March to February last year in an effort to boost the state’s significance in selecting now President Barack Obama as the Democratic candidate. Illinois became one of 22 states on the so-called Super-Duper Tuesday primary of 2008. The school of thought was that states that held later election dates would be less likely to matter because a majority of states already selected their candidates and doled out their electoral votes.

The ironic part is that because so many states had a February 5 primary, none mattered as much as the states that held primary elections later in the summer.

Quinn said the state’s February 2, 2010, primary would be the earliest in the country. “I don’t think it behooves Illinois or helps Illinois to have a huge, long, nine-month period of a general election. A lot of people think we are in perpetual campaign mode, perpetual fundraising mode. We need to identify the problems — that’s one of them, a big one — and I think solutions include having a shorter general election campaign, where the voters can evaluate the candidates. Six, seven, eight weeks is sufficient. It is for the presidency. I think it is for the governor.”

Moving a primary election, however, never has gained a consensus, said Steve Brown, spokesman for the Illinois Democratic Party, and may not actually shorten the campaign season. “We just saw where people were campaigning more than a year ahead of the balloting, so I don’t know that the date of the elections has that much to do with it anymore.”

He said while Illinois was in the mix of 22 Super-Duper Tuesday primaries, Illinois at least gave Obama a “good, solid big-state victory to offset Hillary Clinton’s” wins.

Quinn’s first few days in office starkly differ from Blagojevich’s tenure. Quinn ate dinner and slept in the governor’s mansion after taking his oath of office. He started his morning news conference less than 10 minutes late. He answered questions for about 30 minutes, and after he ended the news conference at the podium, he continued to talk to reporters who huddled around him.

His schedule today included meeting with all constitutional officers in Chicago and meeting with the Illinois Association of Park Districts. Tomorrow, he’s scheduled to speak at a conference of the pubic employees union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, in Springfield, before heading to Peoria to thank volunteers who help people file their income tax returns and apply for low-income assistance. He said he wants to get to every part of the state quickly.

He also established his favorite phrase to describe his work ethic: Early to bed, early to rise. Work like hell and organize.

He said his hope is to have the most productive and reform-minded legislative session in recent memory. “That is what the public wants, and I think if we do what the public wants, we’ll do pretty well.”

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