* Roy Hofer, the president of the Chicago Bar Association from 1988 to 1989, rips into Senate President John Cullerton’s recent Tribune op-ed with his own Tribune op-ed. I’m excerpting this part for a reason…
With respect to the investigation and enforcement of public corruption, the General Assembly refused to adopt the crux of the comprehensive changes proposed by the commission: adding significant additional corruption offenses to the books and providing additional tools to law enforcement officials to uncover and prosecute wrongdoers.
This comes as no surprise, as our lawmakers have been reluctant to adopt legislation that makes them accountable for their unethical conduct. Instead, they passed legislation that imposes additional penalties on those who are caught. That’s a good idea, but why not also make it easier to catch the crooks?
Former reform commission chairman Patrick Collins also criticized Cullerton on this very same topic in his recent Tribune op-ed…
Why do we have a wiretap law that covers many serious crimes, but not corruption by public officials? Most states have a law similar to what the commission proposed. Why are we carving out the politicians’ crimes — sparing them from full investigations?
* Here is what the Tribune printed of Cullerton’s opinion piece…
Yes, we did reject the commission’s enforcement ideas for state prosecutors. We believe that authorizing “warrantless wiretaps” is a bad idea, ripe for abuse and wholly inconsistent with the Illinois Constitution. Instead, we passed two real game-changing laws. One forces politicians convicted of bribery, taking kickbacks or extortion to forfeit all campaign contributions and any proceeds they got from their criminal activity. The other bars politicians convicted of official misconduct or a similar federal crime from deriving a financial benefit from their misconduct.
But Cullerton told me the other day that the Tribune had omitted a key sentence from his original draft. I asked for a copy. The deleted part is highlighted…
Yes, we did reject the commission’s enforcement ideas for state prosecutors. We believe that authorizing “warrantless wiretaps” is a bad idea, ripe for abuse and wholly inconsistent with the Illinois Constitution. Former prosecutors, sitting judges, and the Illinois State Bar Association shared that view and strongly opposed even the Commission’s own watered-down enforcement ideas as unnecessary and duplicative.
That disappeared sentence sure appears to buttress Cullerton’s case, and more completely addresses both Hofer’s and Collins’ questions. Too bad it was deleted.
The complete, unedited Cullerton op-ed can be read by clicking here.
And, by the way, when I published an op-ed by Collins, I only made a couple of minor changes after consulting him.
* Related…
* Pantagraph: Veto HB 7; Illinois needs real reforms
* Sen. Roland Burris failed to reveal he has options to buy stock in a company where he was a board member, records show: Burris can buy the stock at prices ranging from $9 a share to about $20 a share, according to Inland’s federal securities filings. The senator is unlikely to exercise those options any time soon — Inland stock closed at $6.72 on Wednesday, below Burris’ $9 option.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Jun 25, 09 @ 7:26 am:
–Former prosecutors, sitting judges, and the Illinois State Bar Association shared that view and strongly opposed even the Commission’s own watered-down enforcement ideas as unnecessary and duplicative.–
That’s not a minor point to Cullerton’s argument, Given the Trib’s editorial stance that a small, sinister cabal is keeping Illinois from being heaven on earth, I can see why they cut it.
- Bill - Thursday, Jun 25, 09 @ 7:49 am:
I would accuse the Trib of trying to mislead the public but since the public deosn’t read it anymore it really doesn’t matter what they print.
- Chuckie - Thursday, Jun 25, 09 @ 8:09 am:
Please clean up your Twitter feed. It’s 2009 and inexcusable to have ASCII codes showing up in place of punctuation. Once or twice I could forgive. But every one? Do you even look at your own feed?
- Ghost - Thursday, Jun 25, 09 @ 8:18 am:
Burris it appears is unable to make accurate disclosures at all.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Jun 25, 09 @ 9:01 am:
Chuckie, are you referring to me? And, if so, what the heck are you talking about?
- mike graham - Thursday, Jun 25, 09 @ 10:23 am:
PLEASE!!!!! work together and get it done!!!!
- Downstater - Thursday, Jun 25, 09 @ 11:11 am:
I wish the politicians had the courage to take this issue to the voters, not unlike the recent California referendum vote. Let us vote on whether we want specific tax increases tied to payments for particular programs.
Sadly, I think the politicians are afraid that the answer would be very similar to what the California voter response was.
- steve schnorf - Thursday, Jun 25, 09 @ 11:39 am:
Rich, I hope you ask the Trib to confirm or deny that it edited that sentence out of Cullerton’s piece. If I did that while I worked for state government (say in preparing a briefing for the Governor about a legislator’s position on an issue) I would have and should have been fired. That sentence is very material to what Cullerton was saying;there is at best mixed opinion in the legal world as to whether the proposal is a good idea.
Shame on the Tribune editorial page. If the Trib doesn’t apologize for creating an incomplete or erroneous perspective on Cullerton’s thinking on the issue, the Trib editorial page should be banned from this site.
- fed up - Thursday, Jun 25, 09 @ 12:56 pm:
- Downstater - Thursday, Jun 25, 09 @ 11:11 am:
I wish the politicians had the courage to take this issue to the voters, not unlike the recent California referendum vote. Let us vote on whether we want specific tax increases tied to payments for particular programs.
Sadly, I think the politicians are afraid that the answer would be very similar to what the California voter response was.
Wow I guess you only support democracy when your side is winning. typical
Downstater the Gov and Dem leaders have done a terrible job of selling a tax increase. Quinn went to some African American churches and spoke that will convince the people on the fence or leaning no. Madigan never speaks just his spokesman (a position that should be the first budget cut). If you want Change you have to campaign for it. Quinn Madigan and cullerton refuse to invest themselves into this tax increase so it is going nowhere.
- CircularFiringSquad - Thursday, Jun 25, 09 @ 2:01 pm:
Guess the Trib proves they are bigger hacks than the pols.
BTW who besides me remembers the Trib rampage on worngful prosecutions, emptying death roww, millions paid out for settlements.
Seems like they would be the last advocation “Prosecutors Run Wild” for IL.
I guess de$perate times require de$perate acts