Public may see Ill. corruption inquiries

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- The general public should be able to see reports detailing secret investigations into alleged corruption among Illinois officials, state officials say.

James Wright, Illinois governor's office executive inspector general, said releasing the classified documents to the public would help increase government transparency in the wake of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's impeachment conviction, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday.

Joined by ethics commission officials, Wright is calling for a change in state law that would allow the investigative reports to be publicly released.

The existence of a report detailing a 2004 investigation into a state agency's alleged hiring irregularities came to light during Blagojevich's trial.

Former Deputy Inspector General Mary Anderson agreed that such reports should be made public, even in cases where misconduct complaints were proved to be unfounded.

Executive Ethics Commission member Scott Turow backs such transparency efforts as long as campaign finance reform efforts take place at the same time, the Tribune said.