Illinois Reform Commission hearings continue: Oklahoma had a Blago, too. His name was David Hall.

Quick, name that governor: Under investigation on allegations of corruption in office, tries to interfere with probe.

Rod Blagojevich? George Ryan?

Try David Hall.

Who?  

David Hall, governor of Oklahoma from 1971 to 1975, that’s who. The David Hall who spent 19 months in federal prison for bribery and extortion over a scheme to steer state worker pension investments to a politically connected crony.

Hall crossed the radar screen of the Illinois Reform Commission on Thursday when the panel heard an official from Oklahoma describe how that state insulated its investigative arm from interference by elected officials as a result of Hall’s attempts while governor to interfere with the probe.  

The insulation, according to Tom Jordan, deputy director of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, means there is no way any one person – namely, any one governor – can gain control over the bureau or its work.

“We’re somewhat the envy of the nation,” Jordan said, noting that of the 41 states that have investigative agencies, none are as bullet-proof as Oklahoma’s.

Illinois Reform Commission member David Hoffman, a former federal prosecutor, asked Jordan whether he thought that was because the Oklahoma model wasn’t successful or whether politicians were fearful of the bureau’s autonomy.  

“I suspect it’s the latter,” Jordan said, saying that most officials don’t want to surrender the control that they have over such investigations.

The reform panel heard from several people on Thursday – ranging from Attorney General Lisa Madigan to author Scott Turow – about how to beef up enforcement of laws already on the books and others being contemplated in efforts to root out corruption in Illinois.

Madigan dryly noted the extent of the problem when she reminded commission members that Blagojevich’s director of the state police for the past six years had, for the decade prior to that, worked as head of security for Argosy Gaming, a company that holds one of Illinois lucrative and coveted gambling licenses.

During that time Argosy was owned by William Cellini, a longtime Springfield powerbroker now under indictment in federal court relating to the Blagojevich corruption case.  

Cellini was indicted by federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald on four counts of fraud, extortion and conspiracy related to allegedly shaking down a firm hoping to handle millions of dollars in investments by the Illinois State Teachers Retirement System.

The state police director, Larry Trent, abruptly resigned last month, shortly after Quinn became governor. The two had tangled several years earlier over a gag order Trent issued on members of the state police, which Quinn said at the time prevented open government.

Madigan cited Trent’s employment history as an example of the need to strengthen the enforcement powers of her office. Under the state constitution, the attorney general’s duties are to be “the legal officer of the state,” and activities have historically been more advocacy than prosecutorial.

She proposes that her office be given the power to call statewide grand juries to look into charges of corruption by state officials and other malfeasance that extends beyond a single county’s boundary. In Illinois, most corruption cases are initiated by federal prosecutors or, in rarer cases, a county’s state’s attorney.  

Both Madigan and Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, who is a member of the reform commission, acknowledged Thursday that they have been on the receiving end of criticisms and would welcome enhancement of their enforcement and investigatory powers in the area of public corruption.

She cited her efforts, such as establishing a public integrity unit, and hiring former FBI and IRS agents to staff it. The attorney general’s office, she said, “never had people with that skill set” before.  

But she noted that that skill set is often beyond the salary schedule the state pays its employees, additionally noting that Blagojevich slashed her office’s funding by 25 percent in a rumored retaliation for her attempts to investigate his activities.  

“It’s imperative we find a way to protect” officials from punitive political action, Madigan said. She said the inspector general’s office “can and should play a larger role,” being allowed to initiate investigations and respond to any complaint.  

Others who spoke before the panel on Thursday included:

• Jack Blakey, chief of the special prosecutions bureau for the Cook County state’s attorney, who urged the commission to recommend use of the RICO act for looking into state corruption. He said the current method of prosecution – tying a specific agreement to proving a specific crime – is akin to forcing jurors to “look through a keyhole.” RICO allows prosecutors to tie diverse crimes together, demonstrating an overall pattern of corruption.
• Jim Burns, former federal prosecutor who now heads the inspector general’s office in the Illinois secretary of state’s office. Burns said his office has enforcement teeth that needs to be extended, mostly attributable to transparency surrounding investigations his office conducts. The office was created in the wake of exposure of the illegal sale of licenses to unqualified drivers. Reform commission member Scott Willis and his wife, Janet, lost six children in a fiery crash caused by someone who had illegally purchased a license.
• Scott Turow, author, former assistant federal prosecutor and member of the Illinois Executive Ethics Commission. He said, in response to the contrast between Burns’ inspector general law and other inspector general rules, “The statute is the way it is because you were getting a lot of help from Rev. Willis and Mr. Collins,” the reform panel chairman who prosecuted former Gov. George Ryan over corruption that centered on license-for-bribes cases.

The reform panel’s report is scheduled for release at the end of the month. Quinn told panel members that May would be the focus for pushing recommendations through the General Assembly.  

Collins said that he and panel members had been invited to address a special joint legislative committee looking into reform. The joint committee, chaired by House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, will hear Collins on April 21, about a week before the reform commission’s report is expected.

The reform commission is scheduled to travel to East St. Louis and Carbondale before releasing its recommendations.