A frequent criticism of campaign finance laws is that they have perverse and unexpected consequences. That's one thing you can't say about the bill passed by the General Assembly and now awaiting action by Gov. Pat Quinn. The perverse consequences it will have, far from being unexpected, were built in by the designers.

Quinn, who once called it a "landmark" improvement, now suggests he may use his amendatory veto to improve the measure before sending it back to the legislature. But trying to fix this bill is like trying to teach a dog to talk. If you want a talking pet, it's a lot more sensible to get a parrot. If you want real campaign reform, it would make more sense to junk these phony reforms and start over.

Campaign finance reform got a big push from Gov. Rod Blagojevich's pay-to-play scandal and a commission, appointed by Quinn, that recommended a raft of reforms. But as often happens in Springfield, the kind of change that would make a difference met heavy resistance from legislators who have managed just fine under the old rules.