Why the private phone, Gov. Quinn?

Dear Gov. Quinn:

You're a smart guy, so why this lapse in judgment? Forgive our bluntness, but haven't you learned one of the most basic lessons of leadership from the failings of your predecessor?

We're talking about your phone, of course.

We learned this week that in addition to you making business calls and e-mails on your private BlackBerry (thus making them opaque to the Freedom of Information Act,) you say you will not voluntarily release your phone records.

On one hand, we applaud you for taking it on the chin and paying the monthly bill for your own BlackBerry in these turbulent budgetary times for the state of Illinois.

But that's penny-wise and pound-foolish in the sense that you're losing political capital.

The people of Illinois have a healthy distrust of their political leaders, borne of years of abusive relationships. Rod Blagojevich was only the most recent person to let us down. And for that, we showed him the door.

A good chunk of the U.S. attorney's case against him is based on wiretapped conversations on his home phone.

So you should have a sensitivity, Gov. Quinn, to the use of telephones to do the state's business.

Blagojevich eschewed the governor's mansion for the comfort of his own Chicago home, which he used as his office. And that effectively put everything - including his phone calls - off limits to public scrutiny.

Since his arrest, we've seen plenty of evidence to suggest that the public should have better access to the business he was conducting there.

We're sure you're also familiar with the case of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who was taken down by a string of amorous text messages sent to a chief aide - a woman about whose relationship he lied in open court.

So as a man trying to restore order and trust to the governor's office, why this insistence on using your own cell phone?

Despite the condition of the state budget, we're sure the people of Illinois would happily pony up for your business phone if it meant a little more peace of mind.

The argument that the public doesn't have the right to monitor what an elected official is doing because it isn't paying for his phone doesn't hold a lot of water. The public is paying - both through taxes and its trust - for all the business that an elected official conducts.

Even President Obama's people talked some sense into him when he initially balked at giving up his own BlackBerry. He now only uses it for a small group of personal friends and top aides.

Simply put, Governor, people are going to think you have something to hide.

And neither your ability to effectively lead this state nor the 13 million people who live here can tolerate that.

So do your business on a phone paid for by the state - so we can keep tabs on you as the law allows - or make your phone records public.

The people of Illinois deserve this much transparency from you.