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Mike Bost: Trying his best to be an 'honest politician'

Saturday, July 12, 2008 10:13 PM CDT

Mike Bost, Illinois State Representative for the 115th District, can sum up his most important philosophy of success in three succinct words: Tell the truth.

To a lot of people, the term "honest politician" is an oxymoron. Bost is certainly an exception.

He acquired his commitment to honesty and other strong character traits from his parents and grandparents, particularly his father, Gene, and grandfather, Wiley, who ran Bost Trucking in Murphysboro.

"There is a whole list of lessons that my father handed down to me," he says. "Because of the character he developed through his Christian faith, his integrity was always intact."

When Bost entered the Marines in 1979, he recalls being "a 135-pound long-haired kid with an attitude." It was during his time in the Marines that he began to fall back on the principles he had learned from his father.

When he got home from the Marines in 1982, he read something in the paper about local politics and got so angry that he threw the paper on the floor. His wife responded, "Shut up or get involved." He did. He ran for the Jackson County Board.

That was 1984, and, up until then, Bost hadn't thought much about political affiliations. He didn't know if he was a Republican or a Democrat. One side of his family was Republican; the other side was Democrat.

Bost asked for guidance from his father-in-law, who suggested he find and read the party platforms. Bost tracked down the platforms for the candidates running for president at the time, Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale.

"After I read them, I knew exactly what I was," he says. "It was pretty easy to decide I was a Republican."

This posed a challenge, though. When Bost made the decision to run as a Republican write-in for the Jackson County board, well-meaning friends cautioned him, "Mike, you can't win as a Republican in Southern Illinois. You have to run as a Democrat."

Bost's response would foreshadow his commitment to honesty in the years to come.

"I would rather lose running on a platform I believe, than win on a platform I don't believe," he says.

He began knocking on doors and telling people what he believed. One point he made was that government can't do as much for you as you can do for yourself.

"After most people heard me, they agreed that they believed the same thing," he said.

He won the election.

Soon into his political career, he was asked by a fellow politician to support a certain individual for a job position.

"I can't," said Bost at the time, even though this person was a friend and supporter.

"What will I tell this person?" queried the politician.

"Tell him the truth," said Bost. "If you don't, I will."

The politician responded, "Mike, you can't tell the truth in politics."

Bost disagreed - and still does.

Since 1995, Bost has been a Republican state representative, where he continues to focus on honesty.

"If a constituent, lobbyist, colleague or other elected official asks me for a vote, I never give the impression I am going to vote for it if I'm not," he says.

It has been a challenge at times, he admits. In fact, over the years, Bost has occasionally had to look into the eyes of three governors from both parties - Jim Edgar, George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich - and tell them he was not going to vote for legislation they supported.

"They looked at me like, 'You stupid little representative. Who do you think you are? I'm the governor!'"

Through it all, though, Bost held to his integrity.

In fact, these days, Bost has such a reputation for honesty among fellow legislators in Springfield that they often look at him, smile, shake their heads, and say, "Mike, you're so straightforward. You would make a terrible poker player."

Bost actually considers these comments to be compliments.

One thing that really disturbs him is what he sees as the breakdown of integrity in Illinois government.

"I have watched it slip away over the years," he says. For three years, he was responsible for providing introductory training to incoming freshmen legislators. One thing he always emphasized was, "Your word is your bond." "Some of them listened, and some didn't," he says.

Bost does admit that lying can be seductive. "Telling lies can gain you power, pleasure and money," he says. "However, therein lies the problem, and it is destroying our state government."

BILL ATKINSON has been a full-time freelance business magazine writer since 1976. He is the author of seven books; his most recent is "Eliminate Stress From Your Life Forever." Contact him at 985-4486.