Beginning in 1998, the Justice Department's "Operation Safe Road" investigation revealed an embarrassing laundry list of misdeeds by dozens of employees of the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State. The misconduct included schemes in which state workers sold raffle tickets to raise campaign cash for their boss George Ryan. Others engaged in campaign duties on behalf of Ryan during work hours. Perhaps the most egregious conduct involved the sale of commercial drivers' licenses to unqualified applicants. Investigators believe at least $170,000 was channeled into Ryan's campaign coffers through illegal sales of CDLs.

By the end of the investigation in 2006, the government had prosecuted 79 defendants and won convictions against 75. The list of defendants included Ryan and several senior Secretary of State administrators. Most of the defendants, however, were frontline state public servants.

While the vast majority of state employees are honorable public...