* “Reform” is often defined by reformers as passing a bill. But it’s more than that. Much more. From last night’s blogger conference call with the Senate Democrats…

Q: ArchPundit question about the stability of State Board of Elections data links and making state agencies make their information more useable online.

A: Harmon said he’s glad to hear its not just him having technical difficulties. Said it could be a problem of not enough money to update technology and is something lawmakers need to make sure agencies have the resources to do properly.

Sometimes, reform just means making sure that the technology works like it should. The Board of Elections’ website is in dire need of a complete revamp.

* Reform also means changing behavior like this…

The Illinois Tollway’s board of directors Thursday agreed to pay the company that runs its much-criticized toll-collection program an additional $12.3 million, boosting the five-year contract to $81.8 million.

Board members, who last month balked at the payment, insisted that more oversight be given to the work performed by Texas-based Electronic Transaction Consultants Corp. Tollway staff said ETC was entitled to the extra money, an increase from the company’s $69.5 million contract, because the company performed more work than planned when the contract was awarded in 2005.

Sheesh.

And this…

Mayor Daley promised that one-fifth of the homes built as part of the massive makeover of the historic Maxwell Street market would be set aside as affordable housing. Damaris Matis, a real estate agent, got to buy one of those 187 affordable homes.

The Maxwell Street units were supposed to go to families, but many were bought by single professionals, some of whom never lived there and some of whom rented them out. Matis, then 25 and single, already owned two condos and was making $43,782 a year when city housing officials deemed her eligible to buy an affordable one-bedroom condominium in the city-subsidized development, called University Village.

She even got a $20,000 taxpayer-funded subsidy when she closed on the $190,500 condo on July 2, 2007, records show. Thirty-eight days later, Matis sold it — at a profit of $29,500.

* And you have to always keep in mind that just because some newspaper editorial boards huff and puff in support of this or that “reform” proposal, the ideas won’t always work in the real world…

Combining the investment operations of the five state-funded pension systems won’t save enough money to make it worthwhile, a key state senator said Thursday. […]

Giannoulias estimated the state could save $50 million to $80 million a year in administrative and management fees - money that could be reinvested into assets that benefit the pension funds’ bottom lines. […]

Under its “more likely” scenario, the study said the pension funds would save about $21 million a year in fees. The most optimistic scenario pegged the savings at $35 million. A worst-case scenario put the savings at only $500,000.

“I think we should shelve the idea,” said Sen. Jeff Schoenberg (D-Evanston), a co-chairman of COGFA who asked for an independent study of the idea.

* And then there are the goofy editorials like this one…

We’re not buying the arguments going around Springfield as to why federal limits wouldn’t work for Illinois. We hear the scoffs, that campaign contribution limits have done little to clean up Washington.

So, of course, that’s an excellent reason to do nothing here.

Nowhere did that editorial explain why limits have been such an amazing success in DC. It also ignored the fact that limits appear to be moving forward. This is from last night’s blogger conference call by the Senate Democrats…

“We will have campaign caps.” [said Sen. Don Harmon]

He said the federal $2,400 limits are too low. Those low limits have some unintended consequences.

Higher caps have been endorsed by a wide array of folks, including Senate GOP Leader Radogno, the Tribune and the SJ-R. But, as always, if you question anything produced by the sacred reform commission, you must be a crook. The trouble with that logic is people have different ideas of how reform should proceed, so then everybody gets tagged with the crook label unless they are in 100 percent lockstep with the reform commission. That’s just downright unAmerican.

Heck, even Gov. Quinn and Pat Collins are open to higher caps…

Gov. Pat Quinn said Thursday he would consider backing a contribution limit higher than $2,400. And Quinn’s reform panel chairman, Patrick Collins, said the commission is flexible on where the limit ends up.

* And watch Gov. Quinn squirm after being hit with questions about term limits for legislative leaders, another demand of his reform commission…

Under the terms of debate devised by some editorial boards and reformers, Pat Quinn must not be much of a reformer, either.

* Related…

* Daley pushes Springfield agenda lacking ethics reform

* Mayor Daley Defends Chicago’s Ethics

* Cook County Board President Todd Stroger breaks silence on income-tax lien on his property

* Good ideas, limits help democracy

* The Cost of Corruption in Illinois: $500 Million a Year

* Long road to respectability

* Cullerton promises transparency on Senate projects

* Reform in Illinois: A View From Springfield

* The Rod Blagojevich case: Debate over use of federal wiretaps in trial goes on behind closed doors - Prosecutors file response under seal to co-defendant William Cellini’s request to suppress taps