Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations

It was bleeping golden, and a whole lot more. Jurors who convicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich of 17 corruption counts said they might have fallen for his denials if not for the taped conversations secretly recorded by federal prosecutors.

"I was one where I felt he was not guilty on several counts," one juror explained. "But, lo and behold, we would go back through the tapes and there it was."

Electronic eavesdropping provided the most damning evidence against Blagojevich, who is likely to spend 10 years or more in prison for wire fraud, attempted extortion, bribery and conspiracy. But it's a tool � one of many � that's not available to state or local prosecutors investigating government corruption in Illinois. It's a big reason the job of policing crooked pols here has fallen largely to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. The General Assembly has shown little interest in changing that. Ask yourself why.

Blagojevich's arrest was supposed to be the catalyst for cleaning up Illinois. Legislative leaders vowed reforms to prevent government officials from using their power, and your money, for personal gain. Gov. Pat Quinn, who stepped up to replace the disgraced Blagojevich, appointed an ethics commission to recommend reforms.

We've written many times about the fake fixes and half measures that grew from that panel's work, and before this editorial is over we'll remind lawmakers, again, of all that unfinished business. But they never really started on one category of reforms: expanding prosecutors' anti-corruption powers. More than a dozen such bills were tabled "for further study."

Among those recommendations:

�Wiretap law. "A famous artist once said that Lady Justice is blind but she has very sophisticated listening devices, and that was certainly the case in this matter," Robert Grant, head of the FBI's Chicago office, said after the Blagojevich verdict. But Illinois is one of a handful of states that don't allow wiretaps in corruption investigations. State and local prosecutors should have the same powers as the feds to secretly record and listen to conversations in those cases.

�More enforcers. Most states also allow their attorney general to convene a grand jury to investigate corruption charges. Illinois should. The panel also recommended creating an independent corruption division within the Illinois State Police and broader powers for inspectors general throughout the state so that the U.S. attorney isn't the only sheriff in town.

�Better charging and sentencing. Laws regarding certain crimes, including racketeering, extortion, fraud and theft of public funds, should be amended to make the charges more applicable in corruption cases. Again, this would largely conform to federal law. The panel also recommended mandatory prison time for some corruption crimes.

We'd like to think the Blagojevich conviction will inspire a sense of urgency among lawmakers to take up those reforms and others � though for some, they may provide plenty of reason not to. It's important for the public to keep applying pressure. Don't let anyone tell you this conviction marks the end of an era.

"I am as anxious as everyone to now put this sordid chapter in our state's history behind us. But some will want to use this verdict to close the door on reform," said Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno of Lemont. "Instead, it is our job as elected officials to make sure the public has confidence in the integrity of our government."

The reforms enacted so far don't come close to meeting that threshold.

Lawmakers passed a campaign finance measure that perversely increases the already outsize power of legislative leaders by limiting contributions from individuals, unions and businesses, but not from political parties. This "reform" makes things worse, not better.

They put some baby teeth in the Freedom of Information Law and immediately started extracting them.

They watered down a measure that would have allowed voters to recall statewide officials and legislators � it applies only to the governor � and they refused to reform the once-a-decade process of redrawing legislative districts. The maps they just completed are partisan masterpieces designed to make sure the Democrats who drew them remain in power.

Needless to say, they ignored the ethics panel's call for term limits for legislative leaders.

In short, they blew off most of the panel's recommendations. And Quinn � who, remember, appointed the commission � signed those phony reforms into law and counted each as a win.

Yet there he was on Monday, going on about how the Blagojevich conviction shows Illinois needs more reform. And then, not for the first time, he suggested we do it ourselves.

"I think it would be a very healthy thing for Illinois democracy to root out any kind of corruption by giving voters the opportunity at the ballot box to pass strong, no-nonsense ethics laws that protect the taxpayers and protect the public," Quinn said.

By which he means, we should act like California, where the citizenry regularly takes legislating into its own hands. We have a better idea. Let's elect lawmakers whose goal is to pass laws that benefit and protect the public. The General Assembly works for the taxpayers, at least on paper. If we have to enact ethics reforms by referendums because the people we elected won't do it, then what kind of representatives are they? And what kind of chumps are we?� Full story at �.. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-07-02/news/ct-edit-corrupt-20110702_1_blagojevich-verdict-corruption-charges-corruption-counts