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THE CULTURE OF CORRUPTION IN ILLINOIS. A reader writes in to point out that, despite Barack Obama's good intentions and successful sponsorship of what Ruth Marcus yesterday called "a far-reaching ethics and campaign finance bill in the Illinois state Senate", the campaign finance laws now on the books in Illinois remain much in need of reform. The Brennan Center for Law and Justice at New York University Law School in February called Illinois campaign finance laws, even after Obama's reform attempts, the "Worst in the Midwest." According to the Center's February release:
The study finds that an absence of any campaign contribution limits or public financing, limited disclosure, and poor enforcement of existing campaign finance laws are pushing campaign costs through the roof and fueling a pay-to-play culture that threatens to undermine public confidence in state and local government.“Illinois has long been proud of its brass-knuckles, results-oriented political culture. Reform for its own sake has never been a fashion. Yet a look at Illinois’s campaign finance laws, in the context of the rest of the Midwest and the rest of the country, is sobering,” said Suzanne Novak, Deputy Director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center and the lead author of the report.
“Illinois is one of the only places in America where literally anyone can walk in the door and spend whatever they want to influence the outcome of an election. The system is almost an open invitation to corruption,” said Novak....
“Illinois has chosen to forgo almost any regulation of campaign money in the hope that full disclosure will create enough incentive for politicians and special interests to avoid ethical impropriety. Unfortunately, the disclosure system is so riddled with loopholes that tens of thousands of dollars can move from lobbyists to politicians without attracting any public notice,” continued Novak.
When it comes to campaign finance laws, the devil really is in the details, which can rapidly render even the best-intentioned reforms meaningless. That said, I can't imagine that any one of the Democrats now vying for their party's presidential nomination would be so corrupt as to appoint a former mining industry lobbyist as deputy secretary of the Department of the Interior, as George Bush did, with the predictable and enraging result that "The Bush administration is set to issue a regulation on Friday that would enshrine the coal mining practice of mountaintop removal."
--Garance Franke-Ruta
COMMENTS (2)
Letter to the Editor:
AMERICANS FOR AMERICA WILL STAY VIGILANT
PROTECT OUR CONSTITUTION
EVERY ONE NEEDS TO VOTE IN THE PRIMARIES:
The assassination of PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY
Nov. 22, 1963 began my interest in our Country and
where it was going.
The war on Organized crime, and proverty by the
president and, Attorney General Robert Kennedy,
has held my interest to this date.
I became a Police Officer, always keeping in mind
the above eliments, following the changes in
the economy, and political controls that have
since taken place.
Trace back, remember private owned businesses,
inter-city conditions, and what is now.
The main thing to remember, is the presidents
famous statement. Ask not what your country
can do for you, but what you can do for your
Country.
Then Rev. Martin Luther King. I HAD A DREAM !!
The following is the outline as I have seen it.
I support Barack Obama as president 2008,
because of the similarities to President Kennedy,
and a refreshing reality to Rev. Kings dream.
You may not agree, right now we have a right
to disagree. BUT we may not have, if we do not
protect our Constitution.
The rest of my thoughts:
John Edwards--Vice-President. One America.
Dennis Kucinich-- Secretary of State. What a Statesman.
Joe Biden-- Secretary of Defense. An Expert on Foreign Policy..
The Dream Team we need. Not more Polarization..
Thank You for Your Courtesy in reading what I,
a plain concerned American Citizen, has to say.
Ron Wal
I retired after having reported
wrongful activities, my confidential information
exposed for politically motivated reasoning.
Corruption starts at the local level.
Money gained from the illegal markets of
drugs, gambling, pronography, contracts,
special interest invested in free enterprise
affecting the economy. Such travels up
the line to county, state, federal levels of
government.
We then end up as we have now, no
accountibility, ethics, or real moral values.
Citizen review boards, panels, Watch groups
need to be established all the way up the line.
Written by a non-professional, but with the same concerns as any citizen wondering what has happened gradually over the last 60 years to end up
at a junction for such FASCISM....
We need change, not more polarization
Who is accountable for Rubber Stamping the President's disastrous policies for America.
Not only republicans give him the green light.
Ron Waldron
Hammond St.
Jamestown NY
rwaldron@stny.rr.com
716 483-5583
Posted by: Ronald L. Waldron | August 23, 2007 9:49 AM
It looks like that pragmatic, bipartisan, incremental stuff is just hype to pacify the moderates. Let's look like we're doing something and pass the problem on to the next generation.
Posted by: Liberal Larry | August 26, 2007 8:27 PM