Morris is ideal corruption fighting location for Illinois capital

If your goal is to fight public corruption, where should Illinois’ capital be? That’s essentially the question asked in a recent Huffington Post article, which examined the results of two studies on the correlation between the remoteness of state capitals and public corruption. The surprising answer is Morris, a city of 13,636. Morris is also...

If your goal is to fight public corruption, where should Illinois’ capital be?

That’s essentially the question asked in a recent Huffington Post article, which examined the results of two studies on the correlation between the remoteness of state capitals and public corruption.

The surprising answer is Morris, a city of 13,636. Morris is also the county seat of Grundy County, and more than 140 miles from Springfield.

From the Huffington Post:

Two recently published papers recently argued that the more isolated state capitals are… the more associated they are with corruption.

The theory goes that state capitals removed from state population centers receive less press coverage and less scrutiny from public.

Additionally, the studies found states with remote capitals have lower voter turnout. This may be because citizens are less informed because of reduced media coverage. Citizens have fewer opportunities to directly engage the political process because of the increased costs of travel, reducing the incentive and attention to the state’s affairs.

With less engagement from ordinary citizens, the balance of power in state capitals shifts to those with the manpower and resources to directly engage in the political process as a full-time job.

Springfield is one of the most population-remote capital cities in the nation.

This means that an outsized share of influence in Illinois is wielded by rent-seeking corporations and government unions that are able to marshal the resources to hire professional lobbyists and to bus members to Springfield for lobbying activities.

The average Illinois citizen has no chance to compete against these forces, and there’s good reason to believe this contributes to our state’s big corruption problems.

According to a 2012 study published by the University of Illinois-Chicago:

• Illinois is the third most corrupt state in the nation
• Since 1970, four Illinois governors have been convicted of corruption
• The cost of public corruption for Illinois taxpayers is a minimum of $500 million per year.

In 1837, when the Illinois General Assembly voted to relocate the state’s capital from Vandalia to Springfield, not only was Springfield close to the geographical center of the state, but it was also just west of the population center of the state. That made the city of Springfield a pretty logical place to relocate the capital.

Times have changed and so have the locations where citizens of Illinois choose to live.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Illinois’ “population center” has moved much closer to Chicago and actually lies in a cornfield in Grundy County near the intersection of Illinois 47 and Illinois 113. That’s nearly 140 miles northeast and more than a two-hour drive from Springfield.

The closest city near the “population center” of Illinois is Morris, and the closest big city is Joliet.

Here’s a look at the results from a Harvard University study, “Isolated Capital Cities, Accountability and Corruption: Evidence from US States,” showing a strong correlation between isolation of a state’s capital city and federal convictions of public officials for corruption-related offenses. .

When controlling for geographic size of the state, Springfield is ranked as the most isolated capital city in the country. The Harvard University study also ranks Illinois as the fifth- most corrupt state.

Since our 1818 founding, Illinois has been governed from three different cities and six different capitol buildings. After more than 170 years with Springfield as the capital, it is time to think about moving it again.

The cost of relocating our state’s capital city is certainly a question that must be examined. But considering the high costs of public corruption, Illinois should give serious thought to moving our capital closer to the “population center” of the state.

Head to our Facebook poll and let us know where you think Illinois’ capital should be.