Illinois Governor Continues Ban on Executions
Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 4/24/2003

Governor says ban to stay on death penalty
But gambling may be expanded

Despite movement in the legislature to reform the state's death penalty system, Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Wednesday he won't lift a moratorium on executions imposed by his predecessor "anytime soon"--and perhaps not at all during his current term.

The new Democratic governor also said that the state's fiscal crisis has forced him to keep an open mind on legislative proposals to raise revenue through an expansion of legal gambling--something he said he opposed during last year's campaign. Industry lobbyists are pressing lawmakers to legalize slot machines at horse tracks and video poker machines at bars and restaurants, while the state's existing casinos want permission to add more slots and gaming tables.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Tribune's editorial board, Blagojevich said his administration soon would be rolling out results of public issue polling it commissioned as part of a strategy to increase pressure on lawmakers to follow his legislative agenda and budget priorities.

Blagojevich, who once was a Cook County prosecutor, said he remains a firm supporter of the death penalty. Still, the governor said the expected passage of capital punishment reforms in the legislature this spring will not be enough to induce him to lift the moratorium on executions begun three years ago under former Gov. George Ryan after the exonerations of several Death Row inmates.

"The decision for me on an issue like lifting the moratorium won't be driven by what happens in the state Senate or the House," Blagojevich said. "It will be driven by whether or not the system in Illinois has been reformed in such a way where we can have no doubt that we're (not) going to make any mistakes. And it begs the question of whether we can ever get to a point in Illinois that we can feel comfortable with that."

Since Ryan emptied the state's Death Row in January in one of his final acts in office, the practical effects of Blagojevich maintaining a self-imposed moratorium may be minimal. Although death penalty prosecutions have continued, the lengthy appeals process for defendants may mean the Democratic governor will not face a decision on an execution for years.

The House and Senate in recent weeks have passed separate reform packages and are now trying to reconcile differences in plans designed to reduce chances that innocent people end up on Death Row.

Blagojevich said that while many of the legislative proposals "make a lot of sense" and "may improve the system," they don't go far enough. He said the legislation does little to address the "inherent problems" of indigent defendants who cannot afford adequate legal counsel. Remedying that, he said, would take a "major investment from the state."

Even then, Blagojevich acknowledged he didn't "have an answer" for what additional reforms would be needed to give him the confidence that wrongful death sentences would no longer occur. He said a decision on capital punishment reforms and a lifting of the moratorium is "just something that will have to evolve as we go through the system."

"I'm not going to promise that we're not going to lift it or going to lift it. I don't know," Blagojevich said. "But it's certainly not imminent and I have not seen anything to suggest that we can feel confident that this system is foolproof."

On gambling, Blagojevich stressed that he was not backing any expansion proposal at this time and would prefer if he never had to. A key component of his proposed budget for the year that begins July 1 is increased revenue from gambling, but that would be achieved by raising casino related taxes and selling off a controversial unused gaming license once earmarked for Rosemont.

Yet Blagojevich acknowledged that he was unlikely to get all that he was seeking in his budget plan and said it would be "disingenuous of me to say there isn't a lot of discussion going on with different legislators and the legislative leaders to find new revenue."

Arguing that his vow not to increase income or sales taxes was "sacrosanct," Blagojevich said many arguments about what constitutes expanded gambling come down to "semantics." He said he was "not in the position to just reject ideas or notions that [lawmakers] come up with."

"I'm going to look at these from the perspective of [increased gambling] versus more money for schools," Blagojevich said. "It's a good argument. Maybe that's better than not having enough money for schools. We're probably better having more money for schools."

Moreover, Blagojevich said his administration's budget office and legal staff were studying whether the state could take over ownership of existing riverboat licenses, a proposal suggested by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, or subject those licenses to open bidding in the future to raise revenue.

In addition, Blagojevich was noncommittal on the possibility of creating a new gaming license for Chicago, although he said he had no objection to the city seeking the unused license held by the owners of the bankrupt Emerald Casino. The Illinois Gaming Board is in settlement talks with Emerald over disposition of the license, once earmarked for Rosemont.

"My position is I don't really care where the 10th license goes, except we want it where it can generate the most revenue, it would be good to have a revenue-sharing component in it and that it's all done honestly and above board," Blagojevich said. "But I don't have an objection to Chicago having a license."
The Democratic governor also acknowledged that his administration has sponsored issue polling. Blagojevich said such a move was a "healthy modern approach to good government."

At the same time, the move could open him up to a time-honored complaint about such polling from critics who contend it devalues personal conviction and results in a finger-in-the-wind style of leadership aimed at winning re-election. Blagojevich insisted that the polling is not being done for his personal political benefit.

"The purpose of polling now is to advance our ability to govern and use that information to help us make our case," he said. Some survey figures will be released by the administration before lawmakers return to Springfield next week so that "those who are part of the legislative process ... have a sense of where the public is on things," the governor said.

Despite a campaign vow to oppose legislative pork-barrel projects, Blagojevich said his proposed budget includes $450 million to fund so-called member initiatives that had been previously requested by lawmakers. Though he said $1 billion worth of such requests are pending, Blagojevich said only those dealing with education, health care, public safety or economic development will be released--and even then not all such projects will receive funding.

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