This is How We Make Change Happen
Last week, I had an exchange on Twitter with Pamela J. Harris of Willow Springs (@pam_harris on Twitter).
Pam has a child with developmental disabilities — and her family is in the cross-hairs of the unnecessary “doomsday” cuts that Governor Quinn is threatening in order to win approval for his massive tax increase.
Last Thursday, Pam sent me the following Tweet:
“Tell me what to do. How can I help IL do what is right?”
I suggested to Pam that she write a letter to her legislators, as well as to Governor Quinn.
She not only did that — she also forwarded her letter to the Chicago Sun-Times, which printed the letter in this morning’s edition.
This is exactly how we are going to take our state back: citizens like Pam making their voices heard in the media and directly to our legislators.
I urge you to follow Pam’s example by emailing your state legislators and Governor Quinn today.
Then, write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.
Pam is one Illinois citizen who would be the target of Governor Quinn’s cuts. But she’s not buying the rhetoric — because she knows that Governor Quinn could alternatively make the choice to cut political workers, waste and pork instead of cutting services to her family.
The choice is Governor Quinn’s and your state legislators’. It’s up to you to make them do the right thing.
We Can Learn from Iran’s Heroes
As we speak, reformers in Iran are showing us what it means to treasure the right to vote and protest government . In the wake of questionable election results in which Iranian despot Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was “re-elected” …. Iranian students and reformers have taken to the streets to protest.
Despite a media blackout, Iranian citizens are risking their lives to use online tools like You
Tube and Twitter to tell their story to the rest of the world. Some of these protesters have been beaten, jailed or killed for their efforts.
It is a stark reminder that we should never take for granted our right to vote – and that we should avoid becoming apathetic amid our distrust of the corruption-plagued government that has inflicted Illinois for the past six years.
It is a reminder that change in Illinois starts with you – not the politicians.
About a month ago, I asked you to submit your ideas for reforming Illinois – and the response was overwhelming. We received hundreds of ideas and thousands of votes.
Today, we ask you again to view this list, add your reform ideas and vote on the ideas you think most important to reforming our state:
We should never become apathetic about sharing our ideas, and we must always remember that the politicians and elected officials work for us — not the other way around.
Thank you for sharing your reform ideas, and for taking time out of your day to read this message.
Together, we can reform Illinois. We just need to keep on fighting the good fight.
Terry Barnich, Patriot, RIP
I was saddened to learn this weekend of the untimely death of Terry Barnich. His was an important voice in Illinois politics and government and his tone was always civil and upbeat. He served his state and country with passion. His selfless mission in Iraq to help bring stability there exemplified his can-do spirit. Our family’s thoughts and prayers are extended to his family and friends. We’ll all miss you, Terry.
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The Rx for Cleaning up Illinois Corruption: Guts
The nation has now seen that Illinois is on an endless treadmill—federal investigations, indictments, calls for reform, new legislation. A few players go to prison and the sequence repeats. Someone might ask: When are we going to learn?
As a career prosecutor and administrator of a 180-person office for the past 12 years, I’ve come to believe that the missing ingredient in the formula to clean up corruption is political courage. Voters who want to end the corruption cycle in Illinois must seek out leaders who are honest and willing to speak out against wrongdoing when they see it, even when it involves political allies.
Let’s face it, both George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich were enabled by members of their own party who were unwilling to speak out against their corrupt ways. In the case of Blagojevich, his Lt. Gov., Pat Quinn, shut his mouth in 2006 to get re-elected in the midst of what the Chicago Tribune called a “five-alarm fire” of corruption. That’s not the same Pat Quinn who spent the rest of his career speaking out forcefully against Republican corruption. Quinn is not the only example of a politician who was silent when speaking out meant paying a political price: Republicans before him were silent as George Ryan abused his offices.
Those who enable corrupt politicians in their own party play an important role in sustaining the abuse of the public trust. A brave leader who forcefully speaks out against his own party sends a powerful message to the public. We only have to look back a few years at former U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald, whose strong and solo stances stopped some abuses in their tracks.
Acting in the public interest and honestly at all times is the standard most of us try to meet. When you run an office and somebody violates that standard, all eyes are waiting for the leader to react. It is that point the strongest message is sent. Strong, decisive, fair action tells everyone in the office that corruption will not be tolerated. A weak response sends the opposite message.
Strong leadership will help immensely, but it’s not enough in Illinois. Cleaning up corruption will take an extra step—political courage. It requires public officials to speak out aggressively about wrongdoing and impropriety without regard to party or friendship. Done sincerely, bucking your own party can pierce the political establishment’s shared indifference.
There are a few examples of Democrats in Illinois who spoke out early and often against the rampant corruption under Rod Blagojevich. Those leaders ought to be commended.
Yes, new laws can help narrow the avenues of corrupt activity, but we all hailed previous reforms only to see more of the same. To end the never-ending cycle of Illinois corruption, we need new laws but more than that, we need more guts from our politicians.
Joe Birkett is DuPage County State’s Attorney and immediate past president of the Illinois State’s Attorneys Association.