Book Description

Between 1986 and 2006 Rhode Island ran a gauntlet of scandals that exposed corruption and aroused public rage. Protesters marched on the State House. Coalitions formed to fight for systemic changes. Under intense public pressure, lawmakers enacted historic laws and allowed voters to amend defects in the state's constitution. Since colonial times, the state legislature had wielded vast executive powers. Even judges remained vulnerable. No one could forget that on a single day in 1935 the General Assembly sacked the entire Supreme Court. Without constitutional checks and balances, citizens suffered under single party control. Republicans ruled during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; Democrats held sway from the 1930s into the twenty-first century. In their eras of unchecked control, both parties became corrupt. SECRETS & SCANDALS tells the inside story of events that shook a culture of corruption and finally brought separation of powers in 2004. No single leader, no political party, no organization could have converted betrayals of public trust into historic reforms. But when citizen coalitions connected with dedicated public officials to address systemic failures, government changed. Three times--in 2002, 2008, and 2013--Chicago's Better Government Association scored state laws that promote integrity, accountability, and government transparency. Rhode Island ranked second twice and first in 2013--largely because of reforms reported in SECRETS & SCANDALS.