How Bad Is Illegal And Legal Corruption In Illinois?
From Reboot Illinois
Corruption in Illinois has been well-documented for decades, perhaps more so in the media than any other state. But how exactly can something intangible like corruption be measured?
The majority of corruption cases in the U.S. originate within state and local government, but adequately measuring corruption is a tricky task, which is evident in a recent study conducted by the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University.
The most commonly used measure of state and local corruption derives from the U.S. Department of Justice’s “Report to Congress on the Activities and Operations of the Public Integrity Section.” However, the Center for Ethics notes the report’s data is flawed for numerous reasons, particularly because it only takes into account federal conviction rates and not corruption cases prosecuted at the state and local levels. Additionally, measuring corruption based on conviction rates leads to highly variable results for states with smaller populations.
Using an alternative approach, the Center for Ethics surveyed hundreds of journalists who cover state politics to create a perception-based index that measures two forms of corruption: illegal and legal:
As defined by the study’s authors:
Illegal corruption - private gains in the form of cash or gifts by a government official, in exchange for providing specific benefits to private individuals or groups.
Legal corruption - political gains in the form of campaign contributions or endorsements by a government official, in exchange for providing specific benefits to private individuals or groups, be it by explicit or implicit understanding (e.g., super PAC donations by unions, corporations and individuals).
Reporters in each state were asked how common illegal and legal corruption were in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of their respective governments in 2013.
Respondents from Illinois perceived illegal corruption to be moderately common in the executive branch, very common in the legislative branch and slightly common in the judicial branch.
As is the case for all 50 states, and agreed upon by both liberals and conservatives, legal corruption is perceived to be more common than illegal corruption among all three branches of government. In Illinois, legal corruption in the executive branch is seen as very common; extremely common within the legislative branch; and moderately common in the judicial branch.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From Reboot Illinois
Corruption in Illinois has been well-documented for decades, perhaps more so in the media than any other state. But how exactly can something intangible like corruption be measured?
The majority of corruption cases in the U.S. originate within state and local government, but adequately measuring corruption is a tricky task, which is evident in a recent study conducted by the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University.
The most commonly used measure of state and local corruption derives from the U.S. Department of Justice’s “Report to Congress on the Activities and Operations of the Public Integrity Section.” However, the Center for Ethics notes the report’s data is flawed for numerous reasons, particularly because it only takes into account federal conviction rates and not corruption cases prosecuted at the state and local levels. Additionally, measuring corruption based on conviction rates leads to highly variable results for states with smaller populations.
Using an alternative approach, the Center for Ethics surveyed hundreds of journalists who cover state politics to create a perception-based index that measures two forms of corruption: illegal and legal:
As defined by the study’s authors:
Illegal corruption - private gains in the form of cash or gifts by a government official, in exchange for providing specific benefits to private individuals or groups.
Legal corruption - political gains in the form of campaign contributions or endorsements by a government official, in exchange for providing specific benefits to private individuals or groups, be it by explicit or implicit understanding (e.g., super PAC donations by unions, corporations and individuals).
Reporters in each state were asked how common illegal and legal corruption were in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of their respective governments in 2013.
Respondents from Illinois perceived illegal corruption to be moderately common in the executive branch, very common in the legislative branch and slightly common in the judicial branch.
As is the case for all 50 states, and agreed upon by both liberals and conservatives, legal corruption is perceived to be more common than illegal corruption among all three branches of government. In Illinois, legal corruption in the executive branch is seen as very common; extremely common within the legislative branch; and moderately common in the judicial branch.
Read more in our daily News Update...