Fix this now
Thursday, Apr 17, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I’m probably excerpting too much of today’s Sun-Times editorial, but I want you to read as much of it as possible, so here it is…
The granting of clemency to an ex-convict by a governor boils down to granting a favor. And as with any favor in government, the public deserves to know the details.
Right now, we’re being shut out.
Since at least Gov. George Ryan’s administration, the Illinois Prisoner Review Board has given the public access to most of the files on pardons and commutations. But after Gov. Blagojevich was criticized last month for two pardons he granted, the board abruptly changed course.
It has refused a Chicago Sun-Times Freedom of Information Act request for records on all 69 pardons and commutations Blagojevich has granted. This includes police reports, court files and letters supporting a clemency petition. The paper has appealed, with a decision expected this week.
The governor’s office insists that this is not Blagojevich’s call. The Prisoner Review Board, says the governor’s office, is an independent agency that makes independent decisions.
Independent by statute, yes. But remember: The governor appoints the board members, and the agency reports to the governor’s office.
In the name of open government, in the name of ensuring clean favors, Blagojevich’s Prisoner Review Board needs to reopen the books.
Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, nearly everything the government produces is considered a public record. And while the law provides for some exceptions, nothing in the statute allows the Prisoner Review Board to deny complete access to these clemency files. […]
t’s time to end the secrecy. It’s time to reopen the books.
* The secrecy cult within this administration is appalling, often illegal and usually contrary to the state’s Constitution. It’s also downright undemocratic and completely arrogant. This example cited by the CS-T is just one of far too many unconscionable examples of how the Blagojevich administration has denied the citizenry their absolute right to know how their taxes are being spent.
The General Assembly either needs to begin exercising its subpoena powers to force the release of these and other documents, or the attorney general must step in as forcefully as possible. Failing that, harsher measures need to be taken if this governor continues to flout the letter and spirit of the law of the land.
I usually try not to get so fired up about stuff, but access to information is essential to a functioning 21st Century democracy.
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 10:08 am:
Blagojevich is so Nixonian. I think we need to do to him what we did to Nixon too.
- Paul Simon Museum Guy - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 10:15 am:
FOI laws are supposed to set absolute limits on what is kept secret; instead, officials hide behind the statute in the name of privacy. As a former reporter I have witnessed the same (albeit on a much smaller scale).
AG Lisa Madigan needs to keep the pressure on the administration to obey the law. This will help her in the 2010 primary as she can offer a campaign of ‘reform & renewal.’
But this should be above politics. Is there not a Paul Simon(sponsor of the original legislation in the 1950s)-inspired person out there who can champion the cause?
- Gov. HotRod - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 10:20 am:
Abby told me to say that the Prisoner Review Board is an independent agency that makes independent decisions. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
- Dan S, a Voter & Cubs Fan - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 10:20 am:
It is way past time for this “tirant” to be impeached by the House and tried in the Senate. Unless this happens this circus will continue until his term runs out or the Federal Prosecuter relieves us of our pain.
- plutocrat03 - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 10:24 am:
Illinois governmental bodies have been bolder and bolder about concealing information that should be available to the citizens.
Why is that?… Because they can.
The network of safeguards in the name State’s attorneys offices has become compromised by the political web they participate in for their own political ambitions.
- Siyotanka - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 10:25 am:
Rich…While I applaude your zeal and ernest stand on this issue, it is happening nation wide, with a lot of other information that should be available…but, under either the giese of National Security or Homeland Security, it gets trapped…and nevers will see the light of day. Who can say that we are a functioning 21st Century democracy…not in the rest of our lifetimes.
- steve schnorf - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 10:26 am:
As I’ve said before, it’s bad that this Governor seized power in an armed midnight coup. We should have had an election.
- Wild Bill - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 10:39 am:
What are they hiding?
Did all the pardon applicants drive through the Rezko/Kelly express check out lane?
Or were that grant recipients from Dep.Gov Head Bump?
- the Patriot - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 11:00 am:
Vanillaman hit the nail on the head. The answer to Blago is Impeachment, not recall. But Mikey won’t do it. He would rather let us suffer for two more years then give Pat Quinn a running start on Lisa.
By the way, we know Lisa Madigan would charge a corrupt Governor and she said show when she ran for AG the first time. Since she has yet to file a single charge I must assume he has done nothing illegal.
- He makes Ryan Look like a Saint - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 11:04 am:
Heard on the Radio yesterday on a different topic (affairs) “If someone refuses to disclose something, they are usually guilty of something wrong” Boy how it can be attibuted to the Governor’s office
- Misdirected Angst - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 11:20 am:
Schnorf hit the nail on the head here. The responsibility for this mess rests squarely on the shoulders of those that voted for the guy in ‘06. Perhaps also a little on any that chose not to vote at all because they’re candidate in the primary lost so they took their ball and went home.
Anyone paying ANY attention at all should have seen all of this on display well before he was re-elected.
I’m sure someone will defend with an tangent on the President, but we’re talking about the state here. It is a mess. We had FOUR YEARS to see how this guy operates. And almost TWO MILLION people voted for him AGAIN anyway. Clear by polling, many of those same voters are very unhappy with the way he’s “governed.”
NOW they’re indignant. Brilliant.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 11:22 am:
Elections are not the be-all and end-all. There are plenty of alternatives out there to deal with this situation.
You can’t just say, well, the governor is consistently violating the law, so we should wait until the next election to do something about it.
Bunk.
- Chicago Dem - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 11:35 am:
Thanks Rich. Many of us, as some of the bloggers seemed to indicate; we have become complacent and perhaps accepting of these outright abuses by this Governor and his staff. Keep up the “power of the pen” and perhaps the Gov. and his cronies will eventually fall on their ’swords’ while still giving shallow amateur justifications for their actions. Do they really believe the Prisoner Review Board is an independent body free from the Gov’s influence? Why do they continue to give the public these gems of stupidity? Who are these PR people?
- wordslinger - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 11:42 am:
I suspect there’s something in those documents that would make for a very good news story. They are going to come out; I hope the people whose custody they are in are wise enough to leave them in their current state, and understand the consequences of not doing so.
- Ghost - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 11:53 am:
Lets not froget all of the taxpyer money that is being spent on outside attorneys (friends/contributors) hired to defend these cases.And since so far there appears to be no legal basis for the denials (or the defense) we pay the plaintiffs attorneys as well. The last subpeona case with Craven the fees to the outside attorney representing the States interest were somthing like 3 times that of the plaintiffs counsel.
Just another way for the Gov to pay off friends and constributors.
- Bunk Mate - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 12:13 pm:
Schnorf’s hammer must have hit his thumb. So, Steve, if a candidate is elected then it’s ok as an elected official to choose the laws/rules they want to obey?
Rich is correct again: that’s bunk.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 12:28 pm:
Actually, VM, we never got a chance to “do it” (impeachment) to Nixon — he apparently had enough good sense and decency left in him to resign before the impeachment process went very far.
If I remember correctly (I was only 10 years old at the time), the House Judiciary Committee had approved three articles of impeachment but they had not yet been brought before the House for a vote before Nixon resigned.
- Little Egypt - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 12:58 pm:
I’ve said it before and will say it again. We have a state full of Stepford Voters. They will vote the party and not the individual. Granted people didn’t think we had much to choose from this last election or the previous one for that matter. Unfortunately for JRyan, too many people associated him with GRyan, and POA drove that point home as well. JRyan or Topinka either one would have been a huge improvement to this egomaniac. There is a way to get rid of POA without having to wait 2 years for the next election, without having to wait for Fitzgerald, and without having to wait for this weenie of a legislature to allow a recall amendment to be put before the voters. I’d really like to see both the House and Senate grow some coconuts and impeach Blago. Unfortunately, the legislative as well as the executive branches in Illinois seem to be sorely lacking in testicular virility.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 1:00 pm:
This Stepford Voters idea is seriously anti-democratic tripe. Others could say the same thing about Bush, or Clinton, or Reagan, or Carter, etc.
If you have no faith in the voters, perhaps you should move to a country where they have no voters. It might open your eyes a bit.
- Little Egypt - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 1:24 pm:
Not only do we have a state full of Stepford Voters, a/k/a party loyalists, but we also have a country full of them. So what else is new?
I choose to vote in every election, even primaries. I don’t have to move to another country to appreciate the rights and freedoms I enjoy. I am keenly aware of what people in Iraq in particular must endure without living in democracy. My eyes have been opened more widely than most since Little Little E#1 put in his first hitch in Baghdad. I don’t need a sermon. However, there are a lot of people in this State who obviously do or else we wouldn’t have Blago for a second term. The first term I can forgive voters but the second one - NO. When there is as much smoke of corruption following Blago during his first term and he has the guts to run for a second, throwing millions to the wind in false advertising, what else could possibly cause enough people to cast a Dem ballot to put this guy back into office unless it was blind party loyalty? Perhaps not being able to think for themselves or not caring to inform themselves about the candidates? Again, nothing new there. That’s the way it is and always has been.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 1:26 pm:
===what else could possibly cause enough people to cast a Dem ballot ====
his opponent, perhaps?
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 1:28 pm:
In other words, voters are not stupid just because you disagree with them or they made a mistake.
- Little Egypt - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 1:34 pm:
I agree there wasn’t much of a choice. This state deserves better from all parties.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 1:37 pm:
To clarify further, voters are not irredeemably stupid just because you disagree with them or they made a mistake.
- Little Egypt - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 1:40 pm:
Not stupid voters - some are uninformed by choice. Unfortunately as we get older, we become complacent, we’ve put in our time getting out the vote, talking to our parents/friends/neighbors. We (and I put myself in this category) become tired of the whole political system because it seems to never change. However, I’m not the type to keep my mouth shut when I see gross inept management and lack of respect for our state constitution on the part of the “top dog”. It’s time to impeach this guy and the sooner the better. Perhaps I’m not remembering things correctly, but I thought you used to bristle at the word “impeach” when referring to Blago. Is my memory failing me or have you changed your mind?
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 1:42 pm:
=== I thought you used to bristle at the word “impeach” when referring to Blago. Is my memory failing me or have you changed your mind?===
I did. And the word used to mean automatic deletion. Then it became a word that would automatically hold an entire comment for moderation.
As of a couple hours ago, it is no longer a “banned” word.
- MIDSTATE - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 2:06 pm:
“The Prisoner Review Board, says the governor’s office, is an independent agency that makes independent decisions.” I think you would not be suprised that many of the four year term appointments that are suppose to offer some protection from political b.s., have not been reappointed, are still working but are in fear of losing their jobs if they don’t go along. I know for a fact this is true at the PRB.
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 2:21 pm:
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I was very careful to write my post in a manner that did not mention any impeachment of Nixon since that had not occurred. But the process that had been started, the media coverage of the events surrounding the issues debated, did motivate Richard Nixon towards a positive direction for this country through his resignation.
What we did to Nixon, we should do to Blagojevich.
- save a horse ride a harley - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 3:47 pm:
Rich,
How appropriate to have Mr. Marvin Gaye singing his great song, “What’s Going On.” Didn’t understand it at first but now it is OH so clear. What is not going on is democracy in this corrupt administration and frankly the legislature can be lumped in also. I wish someone in the House would have the Speaker’s blessings and bring up articles of IMPEACHMENT. The time is now to start the discussion despite Sen Trotter and President Jones carrying Baloneyvich’s water. Seems to me we’ve become just another “banana republic” where the citizens are given only the information they “need.” What a disgrace the whole thing has truly become.
- Gentlemen, behold! - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 4:12 pm:
The blatant stalling on the FOIA requests is just a symptom of a much greater problem. Democrats will only be aspire to true productivity and effectiveness to the extent that the opposing party holds them to such standards. I’m a true blue dem, but I sincerely wish that the Illinois Republican party wasn’t as eviscerated as it is. There is no balance of power in Illinois, because the two party system has been reduced to 1 and a half parties. Maybe the heat that will keep the Blago administration in check will come from within the party. I’m not holding my breath though.
- David Ormsby - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 4:45 pm:
When was the last time either a House or Senate committee issued a subpoena as part of genuine legislative oversight? The Illinois General Assembly exercises no real legislative oversight over the Executive.
- steve schnorf - Thursday, Apr 17, 08 @ 10:34 pm:
So, the voters are “right” when they make a “good” decision and “wrong” when they make a “bad” one, and deserve a chance to correct it? Chaos!
Obviously, the first big problem is who does the measuring, and by what standard? Part of our system is intended to protect the minority from the instant will of the majority.
If he violates civil law, sue him, or impeach him. If he violates criminal law, indict him, or impeach him. But once every 2 or 4 years is plenty often enough to impose the instant will of the majority on any officeholder (especially when they’ve had a full term to observe him and still decide to re-elect him).
We need to get over it. Law enforcement will takes its course, and what happens will be what happens. In the meantime, puzzle over why, if what he is doing is so flagrantly violating our laws, our constitution, our sense of propriety and human decency, etc., why isn’t he being ordered by the courts to follow all the laws we’re so sure he’s breaking? Because the courts take too long, so in the meantime we should just recall him?
- Steve For Governor!!!! - Friday, Apr 18, 08 @ 7:28 am:
Well said Steve! The only thing I would have said differently would have been to use the word AND instead of OR where it says “sue him, or impeach him”, “indict him, or impeach him”. Thanks for a great post.