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STATE OF THE STATE

Polilicicans" priorities put election first, problems second

by Jennifer Halperin

Often the process of getting elected is not a means to an end, but the end itself. And that keeps politicians from getting important things done.

One of the first columns I wrote for Illinois Issues after joining the magazine four years ago was about the frustrations of would-be reformers who try to move ethics-related legislation through the Illinois General Assembly.

Tracy Litsey had compared the challenge faced by Illinois Common Cause, the group she heads, to that of the Greek mythological character Sisyphus, a Corinthian king forever condemned to push a rock up a hill in Hades only to have it roll down again.

Every year, efforts on behalf of campaign donation and spending limits seemed to begin the legislative process with gusto, only to fail in the 11th hour. Reformers always were left where they had started, forced to renew their political journey the following legislative session.

A notable exception during my tenure was the passage of the state's lobbyist disclosure law two years ago. Accomplished through a bipartisan effort, it requires people who lobby government officials to register with the state and make public the money they spend to influence policy-makers.

Reformers continue to argue that changes in Illinois' campaign contribution laws would spur changes in the way public policy is shaped; then, big campaign contributors, including wealthy corporations and interest groups, wouldn't rule the system to the extent they do now.

I've been thinking about this lately, as I prepare to leave Illinois for the capital city of Ohio. It seems that, too often, policy decisions in this state do reflect the self-interest of politicians.

In the years I've watched and written about Illinois, it has become clear just how tight a grip campaign contributions have on policy-makers' decisions — often at the expense of doing what's right. Often the process of getting elected is not a means to an end, but the end itself. And that reality keeps government officials from getting important things done.

Take, for instance, some of the perennial problems facing Illinois — problems dating not just to the beginning of my own tenure at Illinois Issues, but stretching back almost indefinitely. It is commonly believed, for instance, that Illinois schools need to be better funded. This is an argument that helped bring about the 1970 Constitutional Convention more than a quarter century ago, yet the problem of sufficient and equitable funding of our schools seems no closer to being solved today — despite decades of study commissions, legislative debate and public outcry. Why? The suggestion that taxes might need to be increased scares too many politicians.

Two years ago, for example, Gov. Jim Edgar bashed his gubernatorial opponent Dawn dark Netsch for broaching the subject of an income tax increase to make education funding more fair. In retrospect it seems obvious that Edgar's reaction was campaign-driven. Several months later, at a time when the governor was not up for re-election, he too acknowledged the necessity of hiking state taxes to fund schools.

Taxes always make good campaign fodder. The recent push by legislators to cap property taxes has been fueled in large part by politicians who are more concerned with making themselves appear attractive in campaign commercials than accomplishing longsighted public policy.

Only weeks before the General Assembly voted to allow county boards to place referendums on their ballots this year asking voters if they want to limit property taxes, I edited a story in Illinois Issues about the effects these caps have had in some cities.

In some Chicago suburbs, the caps cut to the essence of why people moved there in the first place: better schools, safer neighborhoods and well- maintained roads. Writer Kristy Kennedy found that the revenue caps have hobbled some suburbs: They have been left with schools that can't afford needed expansions; police departments that need to cut services; public works departments that let cracked sidewalks and streets go unrepaired.

There was substantial downstate opposition to these caps, given such problems. But Republican leaders put a heavy hand on their members to vote in favor of the cap option for counties; they wanted to look as friendly as possible to taxpayers come this election season, lest they lose control of either legislative chamber to Democrats.

Another age-old problem — one that appears to be getting worse, if this summer's legislative hearings on the subject are any indication — is the state of our prisons. A typical political

6 / November 1996 Illinois Issues

response to voters' fears about crime in Illinois has been to call for tougher sentences for convicted criminals and reduced privileges for inmates. Officials are less willing to face the reality that overcrowded prisons may lead to danger for prison guards and inmates. And they ignore the need for rehabilitation of inmates who will return to society.

If Illinois politicians have bred skepticism in me about their motives on these important issues, they also have been a source of inspiration at times.

It gave me hope to watch Congressman Dick Durbin announce his support two years ago for the North American Free Trade Agreement in a room filled with labor leaders opposed to the treaty. It had to be one of his more difficult political decisions because labor has always strongly supported Durbin. But sometimes politicians do what they think is right, despite the consequences.

More recently, I found it moving to watch Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan announce an effort to require reporting of abuses of older people in hospitals and in private residences. What caught my interest was that Ryan was there at all, going about his business without skipping a beat, though he had recently been diagnosed with cancer of the lymph system.

He had shaved his head to pre-empt the hair loss resulting from his chemotherapy treatments — a decision that must have been difficult for him, as it would be for many politicians who often must be in the public eye. I guess it was his plugging on in the face of an uncertain political future that struck me as touching.

I wish there had been many more such moments in my tenure in the Illinois Statehouse Press Room.

But I can't see that there will be much improvement in the way Illinois officials address the problems of this state unless our politicians stop letting their concerns about re-election control their approach to public policy.

Otherwise, solutions to this state's biggest problems will be doomed to the fate of Sisyphus: strenuous, uphill struggles that come close — but never quite achieve — their promise.

Illinois Issues November 1996 / 7