What's wrong with taking a long, hard look at all state spending?

Republican legislators who hope that good policy is good politics are proposing a "forensic audit" of all state spending.

The audit, they contend, could identify hundreds of millions of dollars in wasted spending. They further hope that proposing and campaigning on the necessity of this top-to-bottom examination of state finances will produce votes for GOP legislative candidates this fall.

There's no question this is a politically motivated proposal, but that doesn't necessary mean it's a bad idea.

A forensic audit of state finances could be a big eye-opener for beleaguered taxpayers. Indeed, it would be wonderful if majority Democrats in Springfield would support this proposal. This doesn't have to be partisan.

Unfortunately, the word in Springfield is that Democratic legislative leaders oppose the measure, and that is usually the final word. But hope springs eternal that individual Democratic legislators, like state Rep. Naomi Jakobsson and state Sen. Mike Frerichs, might assert their independence on a measure so obviously in the public interest.

House Speaker Michael Madigan has raised concerns about the cost of the audit, which would be conducted by state Auditor General William Holland. But there is far more to be gained in savings than the expense of a forensic audit.

Merit, however, often has little to do with making policy in Illinois. That's why legislative Republicans are pursuing a dual legislative/political track in this election year.

They borrowed the idea from former Republican gubernatorial candidate Adam Andrzejewski, a non-traditional candidate who proposed serious policy changes. The forensic audit was one of his major proposals, and it could serve this essentially bankrupt state well.

Audit would thoroughly review state spending and practices during Blagojevich/Quinn era

Springfield...House Republican Leader Tom Cross is joining with conservative reformer and recent gubernatorial candidate Adam Andrzejewski in calling for a comprehensive forensic audit of Illinois' finances dating back to former Governor Rod Blagojevich's first-term.

"During a time when every family, every school, and every non-profit organization is assessing their own budgets and finding ways to make every dollar stretch a bit more, it is only appropriate that we ask the same from government," said House Republican Leader Tom Cross.

House Resolution 1057, requires the Auditor General to immediately begin a forensic audit of state spending, hiring, procurement and contracts. The resolution also asks the Auditor General to review the actions taken by Boards and Commissions as they relate to spending, hiring and contracts during the Blagojevich/Quinn era.

The resolution also provided the Auditor General with expanded powers, including that of requesting subpoenas from the House of Representatives to complete its review. A bi-partisan group of lawmakers would be assigned to oversee the effort by the Auditor General.

"There is not a person in this state that would say government is running as efficiently as it could be," said Andrzejewski. "So that is why I am pleased to be working with House Republican Leader Tom Cross to see if we can make government more efficient, effective and responsible. I believe this audit will identify areas of cost-savings and efficiencies that will help reduce the cost and size of government."

"We need to demonstrate to Illinois taxpayers that we are doing everything we can to make government run efficiently and effectively," said Cross. "This audit is a major first step to restoring the public's trust in Illinois government."

February 17, 2010 - Chicago Tribune 

You remember that charade: Illinois' first-ever caps on campaign contributions conveniently don't apply to party leaders, except in primary elections. That gives them a huge advantage over other contributors, and not by accident. The ability to bankroll campaigns (or not) is what keeps rank-and-file lawmakers in line. They're not going to give that up.

That explains what happened last week, when House Republican leader Tom Cross tried to force a vote on a measure that would fix that fatal flaw. His bill is trapped in the Rules Committee, the kiss of death. If it somehow gets out of Rules, then lawmakers will have to deal with it before the election, and they know you're watching.

So Cross put them on the spot by asking for a vote. Democratic House Speaker Mike Madigan told his members to block it. They did as they were told. They always do. That's the point.

Sure, it was a political stunt, but an effective one. Cross raised the reform flag and invited the Democrats to salute. At least we know where they stand.

There's a lot of unfinished business left over from last year's clean-up-Illinois campaign. Good-government crusaders nobly pushed, but ultimately blinked. Madigan wouldn't budge on capping contributions by party leaders; it was half a loaf or nothing, he said. The reformers settled for half, which was worse than nothing. By tilting the playing field, the money limits give party leaders even more power than before.

The reformers are back, trying to finish the job, but Madigan signaled last week that he'll step on them like a bug. Now they're hard at work on a plan to change how the state's legislative districts are drawn — another nonstarter with Democrats, we suspect, since the current incumbents-first process suits them just fine. Republicans will unveil their own redistricting plan on Thursday. Let's see them get that one out of Rules.

So what is on the reform agenda this session? Good question. So far the only measures that are moving are the ones going in the wrong direction.

In January, lawmakers passed a measure requiring public school teachers' performance evaluations to be based on, of all things, performance. But the same law exempted those evaluations from the revised Freedom of Information Act, which at the time of the vote was not even two weeks old.

Suddenly it's open season on government transparency, one of the few areas in which actual progress was made last year. Half a dozen bills have been filed to roll back provisions of the new law. Some would restore oft-abused roadblocks, such as prohibitive fees, meant to thwart access to public records. Others would exclude broad categories of public records from inspection.

Meanwhile, lawmakers have dropped the ball on a number of worthy reforms.

A set of proposals to stiffen enforcement of anti-corruption laws was snuffed out last year because it "needed more study."

A plan to let voters recall executive officers or legislators was buried, yep, in the Rules Committee. Lawmakers substituted a constitutional amendment — it's on the November ballot — to allow the recall only of the governor. There's another half a loaf that conveniently spares the General Assembly.

Lawmakers couldn't even bring themselves to give up the indefensible practice of awarding college scholarships to anyone they choose.

Their actions so far this session suggest that they're finished with reforms, except for the ones they're quietly dismantling. Don't let them get away with it.

In case you missed it — and the state's Democratic leadership sincerely hopes you did — lawmakers have already put a brick on a bill that would patch the gaping hole in their phony campaign finance reform law.