Following the recent incarceration of former state Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala, D-Madison, some lawmakers believe politicians and big business executives need to be held to higher standards of accountability.
Chvala started his nine-month jail sentence in the Dane County Jail Monday. He was convicted on charges involving extortion, campaign violations and misconduct in public office.
State Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, said politicians have an ethical duty to uphold the highest moral standards.
'I think people in public service should be and are held to a higher standard,' Black said. 'People in elected office are in a position of public trust and it's the obligation of those of us who have been elected to a position of responsibility to honor the public.'
Dane County Assistant District Attorney Ann Sayles said the increase in white-collar crime depends on one's definition of the term. According to Sayles, it could range from a student stealing his or her roommate's checks and forging the signature, to more serious offenses like insider trading.
'If you limit it to people that use fairly sophisticated methods to steal large amounts of money, it's a much smaller number [of offenses],' Sayles said.
Fellow Dane County Assistant District Attorney Lyn Opelt cited white-collar crime as a growing problem.
'It is on the increase, because there are more crimes that are considered white-collar crimes, and among that is stealing IDs and identity theft. I think that's a big part of the increase in white-collar crime,' she said.
Black said there has been an increase in corporate corruption and crime, such as Enron and recent political scandals, and emphasized that business executives should be held more accountable.
'It seems sometimes people in business who steal billions are treated more lightly than a poorer person that steals something worth $1,000,' Black said.
According to UW-Madison political science professor Charles Franklin, the justice system is punishing political corruption but is not effectively deterring it.
'It's clear that some kind of punishment is necessary. You want deterrents, and for politicians the loss of a career is a pretty good deterrent,' Franklin said.
Due to the increasing amount of political scandal, Franklin said the deterrent is not as big as it should be.
