Ed Rutledge for Lieutenant Governor

By Ed Rutledge

June 7, 2010

One former Illinois Governor in prison, and another is about to stand trial. What a sad day for Illinoisans. It sometimes seems that our current politicians are only trying to outdo their predecessors. Sometimes those politicians go too far, even by Illinois standards, and they get thrown in jail. But simply putting those few brazenly corrupt politicians in prison has done nothing to address the underlying culture of corruption that is pervasive throughout Illinois politics. Perhaps, though, we can use this fresh trial as an opportunity to examine the costs of maintaining this stereotype, and whether not we want political corruption to define our state.

Illinois has one of the largest and most vibrant cities in the country, a (dwindling) heavy manufacturing base, and some of the most fertile land in the world. It has the longest shoreline of the Mississippi River in the country, it has enormous coal reserves, it has access to one of the largest fresh water reservoirs in the world, and it is the transportation and distribution hub for the United States. Illinois has everything that a state could possibly ask for to thrive, yet it continues to rank near the bottom of the nation in every significant performance metric.

There is only one way to account for Illinois’s consistently poor performance, and that is corruption. A corrupt Illinois politician is nearly a cliché. Truly, were the actions of these ex-Governors different, other than in scale, than those committed by most of our other elected officials who continue to promise benefits to special interests in exchange for campaign funding and votes? We have come to expect our elected officials to take from us, you and me, so they can give our resources to their favored few. This is a tax, a Corruption Tax, and it is a significant burden on Illinoisans.

It is time for some voter introspection. If we are honest with ourselves, we have gotten the government that we deserve. We should be ashamed with ourselves for continuing to support politicians (and the parties that breed them) who are more interested in getting re-elected than in serving the general public, who are more interested in amassing political power than in governing responsibly.

It is time for voters to rethink that wisdom of electing the status quo. It is time for Illinois voters to realize that corruption crosses party lines, and that it comes in many forms. It is time for us to start electing politicians who will serve all Illinoisans, rather than only those who are politically connected. It is time for Illinoisans to remove temptation by opening up the budget so we can shine a light on how politicians are spending our money. It is time for us to reclaim our state from the career politicians. It is time for us to repeal the corruption tax. It is time for Illinois to thrive once again.

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