For the love of money
It would be sad if it were just a slip — a moment of weakness in an otherwise distinguished career. But it wasn’t, and while certainly there are sad parts to the decline and fall of former House Speaker Jim Black, most of the story is and should be an infuriating example of the level to which “business as usual†has sunk in state government.
Jones Street, be it the legislature or the administration down the block, is awash in influence peddling — some of it perfectly legal and aboveboard, but driven just the same by readily available cash and eager hands to rake it in.  Â
Everyday, those without the means to offer up a campaign contribution, a hot tip on a stock or an outright “gratuity†to someone in power, pay a price for lack of access.
In that kind of climate it’s not surprising to see dedicated public servants fall in love with their own power and imagine themselves above the law. Such intoxication reached a zenith, we hope, with Black, when on the verge of sentencing he proposed giving away free eye exams to the needy rather than go to jail.
Such a waste, his lawyers argued, to make the state pay for his upkeep while he could be doing good work for the poor. We’re sure there are plenty of others from all professions and walks of life who would gladly make such a trade. There are likely a few former mechanics, former cooks or former attorneys who would gladly toil on behalf of the indigent in exchange for freedom and fresh air.
To think that because he was once powerful Black’s crimes are somehow less than those of others is the height of arrogance.
These were not — as he put it in his moment of contrition in federal court — just “stupid mistakes.†They were bribes. And, judging from fresh headlines that in addition to the tens of thousands he was convicted of taking there is at least one payment of $500,000 under investigation, part of a pattern of deep corruption.
The corruption of the powerful is a fact as old as government itself. We know from the past that civilizations collapse more often from rot within than from outside threats.
So, yes, we agree with the message in the lengthy sentence handed down on Wednesday that Jim Black should spend a long time in prison — not just because the crimes for which he was convicted were likely the tip of the iceberg, but because he reached such a high level of public trust and then trashed that trust for the love of money.
There is no better way for current public servants and those who come after them to be reminded that such trust is a sacred thing than for the former Speaker to sit in a cell and contemplate his actions. We pray that those who do business in the name of the people of this state now and in the future contemplate them as well.