Sheriff's public corruption unit

This is exciting but don't expect anything like it in Sangamon county anytime soon.

Dart said that while the federal government often targets "the big fish" in public corruption, they don't always have the resources or the time to investigate allegations of wrongdoing at the lower levels of suburban government.

While the Cook County state's attorney has a responsibility to prosecute such cases, the officeholders there have had a spotty record at best.

Some suspect that state's attorneys have wanted to look the other way because they rely on local government leaders for support come re-election time.

Which makes me wonder why we haven't heard about the Sangamon county State's Attorney doing follow up investigations to find out if what happened at the state level also happened in Sangamon. For example, why are employees of Cellini family companies always on county committees related to building roads and planning? And why do you have to read about that on some blog instead of seeing it in the local paper?

It's easy to attack Cook county for corruption but I wonder if the main difference is that in Chicago there's someone to investigate and uncover it. It's easier to keep things quiet in smaller towns when everyone is benefiting and the local press is cooperative.