The long and winding road trip taken by Gov. Pat Quinn's reform commission wound down in Carbondale over the weekend, where commission members heard that Cook County doesn't have a monopoly on despicable political behavior.
David Yepsen, the former bigfoot political reporter from the Des Moines Register who is the new director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute was in attendance, as was his predecessor, Mike Lawrence.
So was Chicago lawyer Andra Medea, who told the Daily Egyptian that she was "surprised at how much their complaints here were echoing things I hear in Cook County."
The DE also reports that "retired Secretary of State Police Captain Ed Hammer said in his testimony that people are afraid to come forward with information pertaining to corruption investigations because they fear repercussion through loss of wages or state contracts."
The commission, led by former federal prosecutor Patrick Collins, has already urged state lawmakers to pass several reform measures, including limits on campaign contributions.
The Carbondale meeting was the last of a series of public hearings the commission has had around the state. The commission is expected to present its final report on Tuesday morning.
