Ranking corruption

Monday, Dec. 15, 2008 | 2:06 a.m.

When it comes to ranking corruption in the states, a new survey finds Illinois isn’t in the top 10, even if Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested last week on charges that he tried to sell a U.S. Senate seat. In fact, Illinois ranked 18th.

The title of most corrupt state in the nation goes to North Dakota.

North Dakota? You betcha.

USA Today calculated each state’s per capita rate of convictions in federal political corruption cases over the past decade. The national average was three convictions per 100,000 residents, although the newspaper noted it could be higher because state prosecutions were not included. North Dakota had a rate of 8.3, Louisiana was second at 7.7, and Illinois had a rate of 3.9. Nevada was 37th with a rate of 1.8.

Don Morrison of the North Dakota Center for the Public Good said his state’s high ranking may not be a disgrace at all. It may be because North Dakotans are good at rooting out crooked politicians.

“Being a sparsely populated state, people know each other,” Morrison said. “We know our elected officials and so, certainly, to do what the governor of Illinois did is much more difficult here.”

In that light, a high conviction rate would be a good thing. It would mean citizens stood fast against corruption.

So what does that say about Nevada’s rank?

Not to tar the many good and ethical government officials serving the state, but Nevada has not been known as a bastion of good government.

Despite the high-profile political corruption case that rocked the Clark County Commission, little has been done to guard against corruption considering the state’s weak ethics and disclosure laws.

Instead of celebrating its spot in this survey, Nevada should think again. The state Legislature should strengthen ethics and disclosure laws and set the tone that corruption, such as seen in Illinois, is never acceptable.