Progress Illinois

After another gubernatorial indictment and months of hearings, Gov. Pat Quinn’s Illinois Reform Commission finally issued its 34 recommendations (PDF) for reforming Illinois government yesterday. Media outlets across the state quickly dug through the details and voiced their praise. The Tribune called the 88-page report "an impeccably researched and detailed assault on the culture that spawns so much corruption." The Sun-Times said the commission "has done a terrific job."

But now that the dust has settled, what did the group actually propose? And do their recommendations stand a chance of passage? Here's a quick rundown:

Campaign Finance
The group suggested the state impose limits on contributions to political campaigns from all sources ($2,400 for individuals, $5,000 from PACs, unions, and corporations), ban campaign contributions from lobbyists and trusts, enact three new disclosure requirements (year-round submission of campaign disclosure filings, campaign contribution "bundlers," and soft money independent expenditures), enhance the Illinois State Board of Elections, and enact a pilot project for public financing of judicial elections in 2010 with an eye toward expanding the program to elections of statewide legislative officials and Constitutional posts.

Government Structure
Some of the more controversial proposals have to deal with structural questions. Among them, the commission wants the state to use computers to reform the state’s redistricting process, impose term limits on legislative leaders, require those leaders to earn no outside income, and amend the House and Senate Rules to ensure that each piece of proposed legislation with a minimum number of sponsors receives an up-or-down committee vote. Essentially, they took dead aim at the power held by the so-called "four tops": the House Speaker, the Senate president, and the minority leader in each chamber. Strangely, the commission didn't propose term limits for the governor. 

Procurement/ Better Government
The committee wants to shed more light on the state's contracting system by moving state procurement officials into an insulated, central, independent procurement office and establishing an Independent Contract Monitoring Office to oversee and review the procurement process. The committee also wants to eliminate loopholes and exemptions in the Procurement Code, mandate greater disclosure for contractors and lobbyists, and reform Illinois’ hiring process and ethics training.

Enforcement/Transparency
To bolster enforcement, the commission proposes providing state-level prosecutors with many of the same tools available to federal authorities and modifying the laws applicable to Inspector General’s Offices to improve the ability of the IG to conduct investigations independently. The Illinois Attorney General should also be granted authority to conduct its own grand jury investigations of public corruption offenses. And all public documents should be made readily and easily accessible to the public through the Internet and on-line databases and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) processes need to be strengthened.

It's still too early to tell what might get passed. Some ideas could pick up steam quickly -- Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno has expressed support for the FOIA and contracting reforms. Many of the procurement issues also seem to have widespread support. It's the campaign finance and structural issues that are more controversial.

The suggestion that legislative leaders might limit their tenure didn't sit well with House Speaker Michael Madigan, or Radogno for that matter, as both made statements calling the idea unnecessary. And there is clearly no consensus on the issue of campaign contribution limits, as we've documented repeatedly, or public financing for judicial elections (a no-brainer if there ever was one).

The rigid posture taken by the commission has also irked some.  Yesterday, Capitol Fax described commission head Patrick Collins' all-or-nothing statements to legislators as "just plan counter productive," citing this report from the Tribune:

The head of Gov. Pat Quinn’s anti-corruption commission looked into the eyes of the legislature’s top leaders at the Illinois Capitol and said nothing less than a sweeping victory on a package of good-government proposals is necessary to clean up a state notoriously not ready for reform.

Removing government secrecy, overhauling campaign financing, removing politics when awarding contracts, changing the way elections are held, enforcing strong penalties for misbehavior — every one of these reforms must be approved or “there will be a hole, there will be a trap door, there will be room for the next scandal,” former federal prosecutor Patrick Collins told the leaders.

The General Assembly's session ends on May 31 and Quinn wants to see each recommendation receive an individual vote by the legislature.  Lawmakers, on the other hand, would rather see the similar recommendations bundled into larger bills. Working out this process is going to be the first step and we'll be watching it carefully.