The protection racket and term limits- Tribune editorial

Curbing politicians' time in office can curb corruption in Illinois

What's the best way to curb political corruption in Illinois? Voters responding to a recent Tribune poll put term limits for elected officials at the top of the list — well ahead of recall elections, greater access to government records and limits on campaign contributions.

For a long time, we've wagged a finger at that notion. "The Constitution already provides an effective method of imposing term limits," a 1999 Tribune editorial said. "It's called 'voting.'"

Yet here we are, less than two weeks from Election Day 2010, the state is $13 billion in the hole, this is supposed to be a watershed political year — yet no more than 20 of the 118 seats in the Illinois House are truly competitive. Even fewer Senate races are competitive.

That's not because voters are pleased with how things are going in Springfield. It's because many incumbents are so safely ensconced that they couldn't be ousted with dynamite.

Since the current legislative map was drawn in 2001, 45 percent of House and Senate races have been uncontested, largely because the districts are stacked to favor one party or the other, according to CHANGE Illinois, a coalition that has tried, unsuccessfully, to reform that process. Incumbents seeking re-election have won 98 percent of the contested races.

It's a nice little protection racket. Most incumbents can avoid a primary challenge by being intensely loyal to the party bosses. The bosses can shower money in the general election on the very few races where incumbents are imperiled.

The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform reported Wednesday that the Democratic Party of Illinois — chaired by House Speaker Michael J. Madigan — leads all campaign contributors in the state this fall. Madigan has given $4.8 million in contributions to candidates. The Senate Democratic Victory Fund — led by Senate President John Cullerton — is next up with nearly $4.5 million in contributions.

So how do we break the protection racket? Competitive elections are the best solution. If maps were drawn to promote political balance rather than incumbent protection, we'd get real choices, and candidates who had to appeal to independents and members of other parties.

But Illinois legislative leaders ripped that off the table this year. They refused to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to change how maps are drawn.

They also shielded themselves from recall efforts and passed a campaign finance law that increased their ability to influence elections. Contribution caps for everyone — except themselves.

We're left with entrenched leaders who cement their power by facilitating the election of compliant foot soldiers. That's how their agenda trumps yours. They control who gets committee assignments and which bills get heard. They have exempted themselves from open meetings laws and shoved aside attempts to give state prosecutors more tools to fight government corruption.

Brazenly unaccountable, they feel free to clout their friends' kids into college at the expense of yours. They wouldn't even let you pick your own U.S. senator — you wound up with Roland Burris. They've mortgaged your future with unrestrained borrowing and spending to placate the special interests that keep them in power.

Needless to say, they're not receptive to the idea of term limits. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn's ethics panel recommended limiting how long lawmakers can hold top leadership positions. Quinn supports term limits on legislators and statewide officers. His Republican opponent, Sen. Bill Brady, proposed a constitutional amendment that included term limits. So our next governor, whether it's Quinn or Brady, has taken a stand. Hold him to it.

If you don't like the way Mike Madigan runs this state, you can't vote him out. He even engineered his own Republican opponent on the ballot.

That doesn't mean the rank and file are innocent bystanders. If you're not convinced your local lawmaker is working hard to bust the status quo — you can check our candidate questionnaires for guidance — then go ahead, throw the bum out. Insist that your lawmaker commit to a fair electoral map, or term limits, or both. And send a message to Madigan and Cullerton: Give us competitive elections, or get out.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-limits-20101020,0,7311408.story