The boost to a federal shield proposal

The prospects that the relationships between journalists and their confidential sources would be protected under federal law received a considerable boost last week.

The attorneys general in 41 states, including Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, signed a letter by the National Association of Attorneys General urging Senate leaders to join the U.S. House in passing the Free Flow of Information Act.

Similar legislation, co-sponsored by Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston, already has been passed by a 398-21 margin in the House. We're pleased that every member of the suburban delegation, Republicans and Democrats alike, voted in favor of that bill.

The Senate measure passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 15-4 vote, but has yet to come to the Senate floor for a vote.

While federal shield laws have failed to win approval in the past, the current legislation has powerful support in that it has been endorsed by both presidential candidates, senators Barack Obama and John McCain. However, despite such promising signals, its passage is by no means assured.

President Bush is pushing against it, and both U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey and National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell have expressed reservations.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy warned in April, according to politico.com, that many Republican senators who have professed support have reassured the White House that they'll vote against it if the measure comes to the floor.

That's why the proactive support of attorneys general in the vast majority of states in the country could be key.

In essence, they are saying the measure, which would merely coincide with the laws of 49 states, would not undermine the criminal justice system and that, significantly, the law is needed because existing federal law "frustrates the purposes of the state-recognized privileges and undercuts the benefit to the public that the states have sought to bestow."

It is clear that the federal protection is needed.

As the American Society of Newspaper Editors reports, more than 40 reporters have been subpoenaed or questioned about confidential sources over the last few years in federal courts. Some have been jailed simply for keeping promises to sources who would not otherwise have divulged information important to the public good.

"The Reporter's Privilege Act in Illinois is a critical First Amendment law," said David L. Bennett, executive director of the Illinois Press Association. "It protects the independence of the press so reporters are not forced to act as agents of the government. Such protection is needed at the federal level for broader protection of the same rights."

We strongly agree.