Gov. Pat Quinn's nomination of a former state representative to a state board doesn't pass the smell test.

Democratic leaders in the Illinois Senate can do themselves, Gov. Pat Quinn and the people of Illinois a big favor by rejecting the nomination of former legislator Careen Gordon to the state's Prisoner Review Board.

Members of the Senate Executive Appointments Committee took a step in that direction this week when they declined to call her nomination to a vote, leaving Gordon to sit waiting in exasperation in the front row of the hearing room.

What's the problem? In a word, appearances. They are very ugly.

Based on the appearances, it's a fair bet that Gordon traded her vote for the recent state income tax increase to Quinn in exchange for his promise to appoint her to the $86,000-a-year state position.

A spokesman for Quinn adamantly denies any such arrangement, as does Gordon.

But they can't escape the suspicious appearances.

Gordon, a lawyer, former prosecutor and Democrat from Morris, recently was defeated in her campaign for re-election. Before the election, she indicated she opposed any income tax increases.

But Gordon ended up casting the deciding vote in favor of the tax hike in the January lame-duck legislative session. Further, she has confirmed that she sought appointment to a state job from Quinn, and she has confirmed that Quinn sought her vote for the tax increase.

Within days of leaving the Legislature, Gordon was appointed to the Prisoner Review Board. Frankly, that stinks, and it's the sort of stink that surrounds state government in Illinois.

Republicans say they're prepared to make an issue of the Gordon appointment, and they ought to do so. But Democrats can head the GOP off at the pass by declaring their opposition to Gordon's nomination. Then they can either vote no or Quinn can withdraw the nomination.

A few days ago, state Senate President John Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat, paid a visit to The News-Gazette during which he challenged recent editorial assertions that state government in Illinois is a cesspool. Cullerton insisted that he's an honest public official trying to do the right thing.

Well, if that's the case, here's a chance for him to prove it. Cullerton ought to lead the charge against this nominee. There's too much smoke here to confirm Gordon's nomination.