* The governor’s Office of Executive Inspector General has gone over the edge. According to the Tribune the OEIG has just issued this decree about the state’s ethics law…

…university students, not just employees, were prohibited from participating in political rallies on campus—an assertion at odds with the University of Illinois’ interpretation of the law.

“Anything that benefits a political campaign is prohibited on state property,” said Gilbert Jimenez, deputy inspector general. The results of any investigations of campus activity would be turned over the university’s board of trustees with recommendations for discipline, including possible dismissal, Jimenez said.

So, that means Republican, Democratic and other student political clubs would likely be banned from meeting on campus, despite decades of precedence. And the clubs’ faculty sponsors would be prohibited from attending or probably even being sponsors. Also, under this interpretation, universities could no longer host candidate debates. If anybody complains, the OEIG would launch an investigation. Wonderful.

* And nobody is getting any direction from Attorney General Lisa Madigan…

The state attorney general’s office said it was unclear how the state law applied to university employees and whether it applied to students.

Great. How about an interpretation, for crying out loud?

* The U of I claims it won’t enforce the law…

Tom Hardy, a University of Illinois spokesman, said Thursday that the university only wanted to inform its employees of the law and had no intention of enforcing it. The university, he said, would take no action against participants in the pro-Obama rally [held yesterday on campus to protest the goofy rules].

The problem here is that the university could selectively enforce the law down the road in order to get rid of particularly problemmatic faculty, staff or students.

Either the General Assembly needs to change the law or the attorney general needs to do her job and give the universities some guidance here.

…Adding… By the OEIG’s insane logic, both of Barack Obama’s rallies at the Old State Capitol were illegal.

Democratic and Republican days at the Illinois State Fair are also therefore illegal, as are the political party tents at the fairgrounds.

If a college student wears a political buton on the U of I’s quad, can s/he be kicked out of school? Could that same person be kicked off the fairgrounds? I’ve seen plenty of private citizens wearing campaign buttons at the Statehouse. Would that be prohibited as well?

One other point. I spoke to a Democratic women’s organization at the governor’s mansion a few years ago (where I was heartily booed for the first and, so far, only time at a speaking engagement). Since members of the group spoke on behalf of specific politicians that evening, would that sort of meeting be against the law now, too?

…More food for thought… Since the constitutional convention is on the ballot this November, and since both sides of that issue have formed and registered their respective official campaign committees with the State Board of Elections and are actively campaigning, it’s also worth wondering if an upcoming debate at UIUC put together by my intern Kevin Fanning would be banned. Here’s Kevin’s comments from below…

I’m hosting a debate on the merits of the Constitutional Convention at the University of Illinois on Oct. 15h, and the Lt. Gov will be participating. Everyone is encouraged to come, especially the Governor and the deputy Inspector General.

* More…

* Column: Pres. White should retract ethics policy

* Students rally against ethics rules