Gail Collins, the New York Times columnist, every so often compares her state to Illinois by way of asking which one has sunk lower into corruption—including comically corrupt practices.

I explain to her at times that we rank so well because we intentionally created a set of conflict-of-interest laws so loose that smart politicians do things legally here that would lock them up for life in a more civilized state.

Consider our highly permissive lobbying laws that permit elected public officials to become lobbyists who are legally able to lobby almost any governmental jurisdiction in Illinois—of which we have thousands—except the body to which the official is elected. Along with that, laws permit public officials who are lawyers to appear as supplicants before boards and commissions of other government agencies.

If this were sex, we would call it incest. Let’s call it Illinois incest.

Here’s an example: Northwest Side State Rep. John Fritchey, who is soon to become a member of the Cook County Board, is a lawyer who practices real estate law. He also happens to be the Democratic Committeeman of the 32nd Ward
In his capacity as a lawyer, despite being a public and a party official, he appears before the City of Chicago Zoning Committee to request a variance of some kind and is highly paid for such work. One might think this gives him an edge over some plain old lawyer-lawyer who holds no clout office. Indeed it does, and it’s all quite legal.

Oh—did I mention that until very recently, the head of the zoning committee was his uncle, Alderman Bill Banks, who recently announced his retirement?

Details, details.

But Fritchey is hardly the prime offender.

Take the president of the state senate, Democrat John Cullerton. John, who sometimes likes to characterize himself as a reformer, is also a lobbyist, as we recently learned when he was lobbying a suburban municipality on behalf of a hospital. The records show he also has several other lobbying clients.

Now just imagine the pressure on that municipality—or on any other party—when the president of the state senate comes calling for a favor. This is the same president of the state senate to who you, let us say, as a suburban municipal official, may have to come calling, hat in hand, seeking legislation on behalf of your township. That would seem to be quite an inducement to consider what Sen. Cullerton—who, while wearing his lobbying hat—might be asking of you.
Then there is an even cozier relationship affecting a candidate up for election this November. I speak of Joe Berrios, who is all of the following: chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party and member of the board of review that has the authority to modify your business or home property taxes. He is also the Democratic candidate for assessor, who sets the valuation of your real property and also a lobbyist, currently for the folks who want to install video poker machines in every bar in Chicago.

Do you want to argue with the guy who may give you a real estate tax break—or, if he is elected assessor, will establish your property value for purposes of taxation?

His coziest relationship is with Michael Madigan, speaker of the Illinois House, whose law firm, Madigan & Getzendanner specializes in zoning law—sort of a jet-stream version of Fritchey, and he doesn’t even need an uncle on the board.

Madigan, if I failed to mention it, is also chairman of the state party, whose largest component, of course, is Berrios’s Cook County Party. To be sure, Madigan himself never appears before the board of review, but his partner Getzendanner and other associates do—all of whom are well known to the board’s members.

Mind you, this is all on the legit. Scores of public office holders are also lobbyists and all they must do to stay on the legit is not cross certain lines. It certainly wouldn’t do for, say, a state rep to get paid to lobby another state rep. That would be considered a bribe and a bribe is a very bad thing. A lobbying fee, however, is a good thing because it’s all out there in the open and none of us can do a damned thing about it.

We can, however, do something about Joe Berrios and I’ll be writing about that next week. Meanwhile, keep on keeping score in the game of Illinois incest.

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Don Rose is a regular columnist for the Chicago Daily Observer

image Lakeview Zoning Map