A former governor was convicted of public corruption a few weeks ago. What many Illinoisans probably found surprising wasn’t the verdict, but the fact that the governor was from Virginia. One wag tweeted, “That’s so Illinois!” When it comes to public corruption, Illinois is the punchline of every joke, even when the corruption is not our own.

Illinois has a huge problem with political corruption, and it goes beyond a few bad apples or simple human weakness. The reality is bad, and the public perception is worse. Illinoisans believe that their politics, public officials, and governments are corrupt at every level.

Both the reality and the perception of public corruption impose huge costs on Illinois. Public corruption makes government inefficient and ineffective. It destroys the public’s trust in the legitimacy and value of public policies and programs. When the cynicism and frustration become too great, people stop voting or trying to influence public policy. Bright young people eschew a career in government. And when average citizens check out, politicians of easy virtue and their shady friends step in to fill the vacuum.

What is the solution to Illinois’ corruption problem? We could enact new policies that make it more difficult to be corrupt and easier to get caught. We already went down that road in 1998, 2003, 2008, and 2009 in the aftermath of a series of political scandals.

Passing more laws may help – to some extent. But to make laws work, we need more change than what we can legislate. We need real change in the hearts and minds of politicians and citizens.

Ethical behavior and trust have to be rebuilt one candidate at a time. We need candidates who are willing to lead by example by giving up behavior that, even though it may be legal, leads to unethical conduct and the appearance of corruption. Just as important, we need voters to hold them accountable.

For instance, it may be legal to spend campaign funds on gifts, meals, no-interest personal loans, or travel that have nothing to do with getting elected. Legislators can recommend friends, relatives, contributors, and political supporters for government jobs or college admissions without breaking the law. But that does not make it right. The road to political scandals and criminal indictments is paved with these kinds of personal ethical failures.

Legislators also routinely cast votes that benefit themselves, their supporters, or their contributors without recognizing or acknowledging a conflict of interest. Conflicts of interest cannot be avoided entirely, but they need to be recognized and publicly acknowledged.

For example, a legislator may have to vote on a bill that benefits a major campaign contributor. This presents a legislator with a conflict of interest between their desire to please the contributor and their desire to make good public policy. The legislator should publically acknowledge the conflict of interest from the start. Even if they make the right decision in the face of a conflict of interest, the appearance of impropriety tarnishes the system, regardless of the result.

In response to these ethical dilemmas, politicians say, “trust me.” The problem is that Illinoisans simply don’t anymore. To begin rebuilding that trust, individual candidates should commit publicly to a higher ethical standard—and then follow through with that pledge over and over again, even when it is hard and especially when no one is looking.

It is not enough to say, “Elect me and I will be fair and honorable.” Candidates need to say, “Elect me and I will make it a disadvantage to be my supporter, contributor, family member or friend when it comes to decisions about public policy.” That seems like an impossible standard. But until candidates at every level commit to this selfless pledge, Illinois’ culture of political corruption will remain, both in perception and in fact.

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