In August 2003, Special Judge Steven King issued a 104-page ruling in the East Chicago mayoral primary recount trial that served as a valuable blueprint for investigating vote fraud.

The subsequent investigation and prosecutions took years to accomplish.

Now there's a new parallel.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller promises the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) civil lawsuit his office filed against former East Chicago Mayor Robert Pastrick and his administration will serve as a blueprint for figuring out how corruption could occur in East Chicago.

A blueprint would help the general public as well as investigators figure out what can happen so they know what to look for in the future.

"You have to bring some attention, some light on the public corruption in this area," Zoeller said. That light is needed.

When Gov. Mitch Daniels visited Griffith on March 6 to push for local government reform, he had some harsh words about Lake County taxpayers and voters accepting public corruption as a fact of life.

"I believe in home rule, and you are entitled to all the lousy, crummy graft-ridden government you are prepared to pay for," Daniels told the crowd.

Local government officials, naturally, took umbrage.

But Daniels was right. Northwest Indiana has been rocked by scandal after scandal after scandal. It's the laughingstock of the state.

Have the problems in East Chicago been fixed since the concrete-for-votes scandal that led to this civil lawsuit? Zoeller isn't positive.

"I'm not sure the full breadth of the problem was understood," he said. "You're going to have to stare into the seriousness of the problem."

The Sidewalk Six scandal that led to the RICO suit dealt with allegations that public officials -- some of whom have since been convicted as a result -- went on an uncontrolled spending spree that cost the city $24 million.

The RICO case filed in 2004 began as a collection case, Zoeller said Wednesday.

"Usually, it's a couple of hundred dollars, not $24 million," he said.

But then, this is East Chicago we're talking about.

"It's not like anything we've ever seen before," Zoeller said.

Even if the defendants are found liable, collecting the entire $24 million isn't likely. But that's not what should determine whether the state succeeds or fails.

The importance of this RICO lawsuit, which is set to go to trial May 26, is to look at what went wrong in East Chicago.

The public needs to know just how corruption and mismanagement could happen so they can be on the lookout for telltale symptoms in the future.

I'm eagerly awaiting a peek at those blueprints.

Editorial Page Editor Doug Ross can be reached at (219) 548-4360 or (219) 933-3357 or Doug.Ross@nwi.com. The opinion expressed in this column is the writer's and not necessarily that of The Times.