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COLUMBUS — There's no perfect way to spotlight and weed out corruption and wrongdoing in state government, but Ohio and other states keep trying.

Nationally there's a patchwork, with individual states embracing different oversight responsibilities for the inspector general, said Fred Palm, who's conducting a study of the 23 existing states attorneys general.

"Clearly, there's no ideal," said Palm, executive director of the Association of Inspector Generals. "Everyone who has taken a whack at this ball has come up with a different configuration."

In nine states, the chief executive picks the inspector general, who serves at the chief executive's pleasure, said Palm. In other states, there are varying relationships between the inspector general and the legislature.

Democratic Gov. Richard F. Celeste created Ohio's first Office of Inspector General in 1988 by executive order and the General Assembly passed legislation to make the office permanent in 1990.

Before taking on the Marc Dann case, the current IG, Tom Charles, had his most recent high-profile assignment when he led the task force that investigated the financial scandals and ethical issues at the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation during Gov. Bob Taft's administration. The probe led to criminal charges against 21 people, 19 of whom were convicted.

Range of power

In Ohio, the inspector general's authority covers the governor, his staff and state agencies under his control. It does not have authority over constitutional offices, such as the attorney general.

Gov. Ted Strickland and the legislature temporarily gave Charles authority to investigate the scandal in the Attorney General's Office, and authorized up to $250,000 for the investigation. Charles' jurisdiction over the Attorney General's Office, however, will end when the probe ends.

Some favor giving the inspector general permanent oversight over the attorney general and the other statewide nonjudicial offices: secretary of state, auditor and treasurer.

Just knowing that somebody's watching can be a deterrent, said Catherine Turcer, director of the Money in Politics project for Ohio Citizen Action, a liberal-leaning citizen advocacy group.

"I firmly believe it (the Dann scandal) would have come to light sooner if there was good inspection, auditing and paying attention to what was happening," Turcer said.

David Zanotti, president of the Ohio Roundtable, a conservative-leaning advocacy group, agrees with Turcer.

"I'm not sure that having an inspector general in charge of the attorney general would have prevented this problem, but it certainly would send a strong message to future attorneys general that there'll be somebody there," said Zanotti.

Overreacting

But Charles Hallinan, a professor at the University of Dayton Law School, said expanding the inspector general's authority would be overreacting. The system worked by providing a temporary solution to what might be a temporary problem, he said.

"This (expanding the IG's authority) might be a good idea in the end," said Hallinan, "but it would take a series of problems to make it a good idea."

Strickland favors an approach more akin to the federal government model, giving each constitutional office its own oversight authority, or inspector general, said Keith Dailey, the governor's spokesman.

The governor appoints the inspector general, subject to Senate approval.

Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a former common pleas court judge, said she thought there might be a constitutional problem with putting the other statewide elected officials under the oversight of an appointee of the governor. However, Brunner said there might be another way to provide oversight in each of those offices.

Whether an outside investigation is needed for misconduct by a statewide officeholders or their staffs should be decided on a case-by-by case basis, said Jack Sahl, director of the Miller-Becker Institute for Professional Responsibility at the University of Akron.

The Dann case "really warranted an external investigation," Sahl said.

Steven H. Steinglass, dean emeritus of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University, said state government already has adequate oversight tools.

"The Ohio Ethics Commission is there for certain ethical violations," he said. "The State Highway Patrol deals with certain alleged criminal activities." County prosecutors and the legislature also provide oversight, Steinglass said.

But Turcer of Citizen Action said the current system can be improved.

"I don't expect that future attorneys general are going to do the same things that happened in Marc Dann's office," she said, "but they're likely to have other significant problems."

Ohio's watchdog agencies

Inspector General Tom Charles: Jurisdiction over governor, governor's staff and state agencies to investigate waste, fraud, abuse and corruption. Issues reports and recommendations and may forward cases to prosecutors.

Joint Legislative Ethics Committee/Office of Legislative Inspector General: Six-member committee, made up of legislators, monitors legislators' compliance with ethics laws. Inspector General Tony Bledsoe implements ethics and lobbying laws.

Ohio Ethics Commission: Bipartisan six-member commission has jurisdiction over public officials at the state and local government levels, except for judges and lawmakers and their staffs. Oversees ethics laws requiring personal financial disclosure and putting criminal sanctions on unethical behavior. Can refer findings to local prosecutors. David Freel is executive director.

Ohio Elections Commission: Bipartisan seven-member commission enforces Ohio laws on campaign practices and campaign finances and issues advisory opinions. May forward cases to prosecutors. Philip Richter is executive director.

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