March 26, 2008
Although Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) trumpeted the passage of Illinois' 2005 video game law, the failed legislation has turned into an ongoing source of embarrassment for the state.Before the year was out, a federal court judge would rule that the law was unconstitutional. And then came the legal bills, which amounted to more than one million taxpayer dollars.
Nearly three years after passage, the video game legislation is still a source of concern. The Associated Press reports that Auditor General William Holland is questioning why the Illinois Public Health Department was billed for 14% of the legal fees in the case. Apparently, the Blagojevich administration can't explain:
Holland says Public Health has no documents showing how costs were allocated among agencies paying for the unsuccessful defense of a law restricting access by children to violent or sexual video games.
Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff says six agencies were tapped to pay the special assistant attorney general assigned to the case in which a judge ruled the law unconstitutional.
Because it lost on constitutional grounds, Illinois was on the hook for $510,000 in legal costs incurred by the video game industry. The state also paid private attorneys to defend against the industry lawsuit.
UPDATE: Ars Technica has an expanded feature on this story...
Comments
Agree 100%
@Belgarion, thanks from giving the state a new nickname: The land of corn and soybeans. Better than the land of milk and honey, deep-friend and covered in cheese
What other states are screwing over their people trying to be unconstitutional and what are they syphoning money from?
whawt do you expect, they are politicians. They can't be expected to pay OUT OF THEIR OWN POCKETS now can they?
They recently had to bail out the CTA (Central Transit Authority - They run the trains and buses) to the tune of over 100 million dollars. The CTA operates in Chicago, not out where I am. Of course, Chicago only got a .50% tax hike, whereas we got a .75% tax hike. -_-
Blagojevich is a piece of crap that likes to scam money from wherever he can...
Doesn't matter if he gets injured, taxpayers pay his paycheck so he can go to private doctors.
pretty much all of them. Most cities, and every major population center, has a legal fund that is held aside to pay for things like lawsuits against the cities, legal fees, etc. States, like Illinois, have a similar fund, but, if I remember correctly, the states fund had been tapped out by several lawsuits involving some state patrol officers, child services, etc.
The rule of thumb is to spread out the damage amongst all the branches of the government, even those who have nothing to do with the issue at hand. 10% here, 10% there, etc. to ease the burden.
However, I fully concur that there should be some sort of personal responsibility. Why was a private firm hired, at a cost greater than what the ESA had to fork over, to fight this?
I am certain there are public defenders willing to get a bit of reprieve from criminal works to try their hand at litigation, and they are already on the payroll (before anyone fires off a salvo, I am aware of the vast differences between civil and criminal law). It would seem sloppy to not have a lawyer on the payroll of the state, that deals with litigation...then again, it also seems sloppy to pass legislation that has been deemed Unconstitutional in several others states.
If he needs a broke bone fixed at 7 in the evening, he'd still likely be landing in the ER.
@Belgarion89
All you have to do is drive on the tollways outside Chicago and you can see his name above them emblazoned like some medieval Pope.
Heh, that reminds me. On my way into Maryland (I live in VA) several months back, I noticed that the "Welcome to Maryland" sign had the governer's name on it. I could help but think "So how much money did that waste?" Particularly as, as far as I know, Virginia's had the same "Welcome" sign through several governers.
Yep, sounds to me like spending money trying to make laws against video games was a much better way to spend money. It's not like it would have helped the education system in the state or anything.
Unlike previous governors, he does not stay at the (taxpayer-funded) mansion in Springfield during the legislative week.
He flies back and forth between Chicago and Springfield every day, on the taxpayer's dime.
As for corruption in Illinois government... it has been going on since the days of Al Capone. I lived in Naperville for 2 years, and during that time I remember seeing every few months, the news about "Operation Silver Shovel", a campaign to catch corrupt Chicago aldermen (city council) and city commissioners. In the 25 months I lived there, they probably caught a dozen corrupt politicians taking bribes under this program.
As a Chicago resident I can attest to this. Everyone was agreeing to disagree on the county's budget and they were so close to take it to civil court to settle.
Wow, and here I thought Chicago has the highest sales tax in the country. Does this mean you get a 10.5% rate?
At least the CTA got bailed out before "Doomsday". Paying $3 one-way = teh suck.
Having a standing theme around video game laws that shows it backlashes financially is a huge deterrant for more of them appearing. This will make gaming laws politically unpopular.
Does anyone know if that Massachusetts media law ever got past go?
Still in committee, last I heard.
Oh yeah, and this stuff you hear from IL residents is definitely NOT exaggerated. It's really that bad.
I'm from downstate(Bloomington), and even the dozen or so Democrats down here(that DON'T go to Illinois State) don't like Blaggy. In fact, since you're from north of I-80, most people down here consider you part of the problem. You seem like a good person, so I'll spread the word at the feed store you're not ALL bad.
Interesting note on the investigations: The chief prosecutor is none other than Republican Patrick Fitzgerald, Barack Obama's predecessor in the Senate.
Trust me. Even us out in the burbs don't even like Chicago either. They gave us the Stroger gravy train, unnecessary cigarette laws, taxes up the arse, and more kickback waste than you can shake a stick at.
Who're the main players that oppose Blago? From reading the Trib and Sun Times up here, you wouldn't know there's any politicians in Springfield other than Blago, Emil Jones, and Madigan.