Cellini: A career and a trial, two different things

William Cellini spent his six-decade-spanning career in and around government. He has built relationships with very powerful politicians of both parties, and had a remarkable ability to appear on the edges of state contracting, hiring and regulatory activity since the early 1970's. He has parlayed his government connections into considerable personal wealth in ways that few others can compare.

Cellini goes on trial this week for allegedly taking part in an effort to extort campaign donations from a firm that sought to manage funds from the Teachers Retirement System. Despite the public interest in his long resume with state government, this trial will focus only on very specific acts relating to one pension fund. He is not on trial for being a political insider. His guilt or innocence will hinge on how credible the jury finds witnesses to these particular actions, not on the jury's sense of Cellini's career.

His unique status led many to think he was untouchable. Cellini's presence in court as a defendant means that no one is above the law.

But setting aside the trial, it is strking how much has changed since his career began. To be sure, there is more work yet to be done. But regardless of how this trial ends, it bears remembering that, in the years since the crimes that Cellini is accused of committing, Illinois has changed laws and practices to discourage corruption. New laws require more disclosure from lobbyists and prohibit some people from being lobbyists, prohibit certain financial relationships at pension funds, regulate political activity on taxpayer time, and ensure routine investigation of suspicious behaviors. Indeed, changes to the Lobbyist Registration Act forced Cellini to leave his lobbying practice. We have made progress in ways that would frustrate anyone today who wanted to play the role that Cellini held for so long.

ICPR Deputy Director David Morrison spoke recently about the trial with ABC 7's Paul Meincke and AP's Michael Tarm.