By David R. Frazier
While the world is pointing fingers at a “tradition of corruption” in Illinois politics, the GUARDIAN takes a different SLANT on the news and offers a positive view–at least Illinois politicos get prosecuted for their misdeeds.
The FBI arrested Illinois Guv. Rod Blagojevich Tuesday. We would like to see a division of either the Idaho State Police or the Attorney General’s office devoted to monitoring and investigating OFFICIAL CRIMES. The FBI has a history of going after high profile offenders, so Idaho wouldn’t likely get much attention, hence the need for a state agency.
Idaho laws provide no easy mechanism to investigate OFFICIAL crimes. In fact, we have trouble defining an “official.” Authority to chase official crime in Idaho rests with the local county prosecutor. They habitually “conflict out” cases to the Idaho Attorney General, who has a meager investigator staff and is forced to ignore minor offenses.
For government at any level to claim they don’t have political corruption is the ultimate in naivety and denial. It’s like saying, “our citizens are all law abiding, so we don’t need coppers.”
We have coppers sitting along the road and in school zones watching for “potential and possible” speed violators. We have bank auditors and accountants looking for fraud. There are “security cameras” in every retail outlet to catch shoplifters. Yet, we have no oversight of government officials.
With priests and scout leaders preying on young boys, teachers engaging in sex with students, it certainly is not inappropriate to be ever vigilant when it comes to elected officials in cities, counties, and states everywhere–including the Gem state
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