Obama asks Emil Jones to act on State Senate ethics bill

After spending the last 12 years looking the other way while corrupt Illinois politicians, especially from Chicago, treat state government as a piggy bank for themselves and their relatives, Barack Obama spoke up, as Greg Hinz reports in Crain's Chicago Business:

Responding to pleas from government reformers, Democratic presidential nominee U.S. Sen. Barack Obama on Wednesday phoned Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Jr. and asked him to call the Senate back into session "at the earliest possible opportunity" to consider a major pending ethics bill.

But there was no immediate indication that Mr. Jones is willing to go along.

In a statement, the Obama campaign said the nominee "called Sen. Jones to offer his strong support for the ethics reform bill pending before the Illinois Senate." Mr. Obama urged Mr. Jones, who has served as a sort of political mentor to him (My note: bias alert), to do so "at the earliest possible opportunity," the statement said.

The Obama campaign declined to elaborate on the morning phone conversation, and Mr. Jones' spokeswoman said she could not discuss the matter until conferring with her boss.

But one source close to the matter said Mr. Jones agreed to call the bill, but wouldn't commit to a date. The president has said he intends to wait until mid-November to consider the bill, an action that some believe could result in its death.

About that "bias alert." In 2003, Obama went to Emil Jones Jr. and flattered him with the praise that he could make a U.S. Senator. Obama had himself a mind. Shortly afterwards, Jones appeared on a Chicago talk radio station boasting, "I'm going to

Jones put Obama's name on a whole bunch of bills that had been gathering dust in the State Senate for years. When the Democrats took over that body in 2003, those bills became law, giving Obama a record to run on that he was still using during the Democratic presidential primaries.

AP had this to say about Jones in March:

In an e-mail, Obama described Jones "a powerful advocate for those who need a voice” and someone with "passion for public service."

Critics offer a different picture.

When Jones married a state employee, she suddenly got a 60 percent raise. His son got a state job that wasn't advertised to the public. A nephew and stepson got computer consulting jobs from a college that received a $4.5 million grant for computing needs.

He has blocked bills sponsored by legislators who challenge him, and dug up an obscure Senate rule to reverse the passage of a consumer-friendly measure opposed by electric companies that had donated to his campaign.

And after winning the Democratic Primary election in February--which essentially means reelection, Jones, following the recent bad examples of US Rep. William Lipinski and Cook County Board President John Stroger, abruptly announce his retirement and had his son replace him on the general election ballot.

Obama may have spoken to Jones about the stalled ethics bill, but I doubt he brought up Jones' other indiscretions.

Why is Obama only now suggesting reform to his Springfield mentor? A Dennis Byrne editorial in this morning's Chicago "free regisration required" Tribune might have something to do with it. Here's an excerpt:

For those of you who still cling to the fantasy that Barack Obama is "about change," you should note how he, or his minions, want nothing to do with reforming politics in Illinois, perhaps the most corrupt state in the Union.

"Throughout his political career, Barack Obama has fought for open and honest government," proclaims his campaign Web site. Apparently, no longer. When the Democratic presidential candidate—now his party's industrial-strength voice for our deliverance from political corruption everywhere—was asked by a reformer if he would help get his political mentor back home to get off the dime and move the most minimal of state ethics legislation toward passage, the Obama campaign sent word back that amounted to a "no."

That got the attention of the Cult of Change.

UPDATE September 18: Jones caved under the pressure, and will call a special session of that State Senate next week. Jones says he's doing it "at the request of my friend (Obama). Margaret Lyons in the Chicagoist adds, "The requests of lawmakers mean nothing!" Getting the bill this far goes back over a year, and there was significant support among both parties to pass it.

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