Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn to start 'fumigating' state government for corruption

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Illinois lawmakers spent seven weeks using impeachment to scrub away the ethics stain of former governor Rod Blagojevich. But his successor said that doesn't mean the notoriously corrupt state has been cleaned up.

"Today is a beginning," new Gov. Pat Quinn said at a Capitol news conference Friday. "We're going to start to fumigate state government from top to bottom to make sure it has no corruption."

The promise is similar to the one Blagojevich made just more than six years ago, when he took office.

Blagojevich said he was a reformer, putting people ahead of politics. In the end, Blagojevich was arrested by the FBI on corruption charges and became the first Illinois governor booted out of office by the legislature.

While Blagojevich denies any wrongdoing, public outrage over his scandal might improve the chances for stricter ethics laws.

Illinois has long held out against political reform, rejecting limits on campaign fundraising as violating freedom of speech. Unlike in federal campaigns and most other states, Illinois has virtually no limits on contributions. A ban on contributions from big-time state contractors took years to negotiate and just took effect Jan. 1.

It's tough to get politicians to change the rules that got them elected, noted David Morrison of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.

But lawmakers should be able to capitalize on the impeachment, using the Senate's 59-0 conviction vote Thursday as a bridge to their efforts to change the system.

"One moment needs to speak to the next," said Sen. Michael Noland, an Elgin Democrat. "In the two years that I've been here, I've not seen us this unified on any particular subject. This is an opportunity for us."

Rep. Harry Osterman, a Chicago Democrat, already has proposed legislation to limit the amount of individual political contributions. New versions of other proposals may include providing public financing of elections, requiring more details on lobbyists' activities and greater disclosure of candidates' personal financial information.

Those measures have overwhelming public support, Osterman said.

"People are going to be a lot more demanding and will be letting their opinions [be] known to legislators who are reluctant to embrace these measures," Osterman said. "They're going to be a lot more tuned in."

House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, a Chicago Democrat, acknowledged the pressure for election reform. But she pointed out that Blagojevich's alleged transgressions have not gone unnoticed.

"In the eyes of the federal investigators, he's broken the law," Currie said. "So it's not that the law isn't adequate to the task, it's a question of somebody breaking it."

Public disgust with Blagojevich's disgrace can't be dismissed. Noland told of asking an 86-year-old woman for her vote, and she ticked off a list of Illinois governors who went to prison or were tainted by corruption. "She just said, 'I'm through,"' Noland recalled.

But the addition of Quinn and new Democratic Senate President John Cullerton to Springfield's leadership ripen the opportunity for change, Morrison said.

Quinn, who built his career on advocating reform and populist measures, touted campaign finance changes and open government Friday without offering specifics. He used the occasion to make permanent a reform commission he created several weeks ago to recommend changes. He also suggested moving Illinois' springtime primary to September to shorten election seasons and money's influence on campaigns.

And he encouraged focusing on the future.

"We have to learn from history," Quinn said, "not repeat mistakes but understand that the people of Illinois want us to be aggressive and progressive."