Gov. Pat Quinn has taken a second crack at appointing an effective leader for the Illinois State Police.

After failing miserably the first time around, Gov. Pat Quinn appears to have come up with a credible nominee to lead the Illinois State Police.

But, given Quinn's track record in staffing the executive branch of state government, Quinn nominee Hiram Grau will have to prove he's up to the job.

However, at first glance Grau looks like a nominee who has the background to restore the reputation of the Illinois State Police not only as an effective law enforcement organization but also as an independent agency not beholden to either political party or any political interest.

Grau, a deputy chief of the Cook County state's attorney's investigations division and former deputy superintendent in the Chicago Police Department, is a career law enforcement officer. That gives him the credibility that his predecessor, law enforcement novice Jonathon Monken, did not have.

In one of the strangest decisions of his tenure, Quinn appointed Monken, then 29, after firing George Ryan/Rod Blagojevich holdover Larry Trent.

Forcing Trent out was a good decision. Under his leadership, the ISP had sealed its reputation as an organization whose top administrators were willing to look the other way if their political masters wanted them to do so. But since Monken, a West Point graduate and former U.S. military officer, had no law enforcement background he had no credibility with ISP personnel ranging from the greenest troopers to the most experienced and highest ranking administrators.

Further, how was a babe in the woods like Monken supposed to know what changes to make in an organization badly in need of a housecleaning?

The Illinois Senate, which is required to confirm gubernatorial nominees, greeted the Monken nomination with disdain but, disappointingly, took no action until earlier this year when it signaled to Quinn that Monken was headed for rough sledding in an upcoming confirmation hearing.

At that point, Quinn withdrew the nomination and found another job for Monken. He recently followed that decision with Grau's nomination.

It's Grau's responsibility to show he's the right man for the job. He should have no problem winning Senate confirmation, but the real challenge is when it comes to confronting the ISP bureaucracy and rebuilding the ISP's flagging reputation as a first-rate law enforcement organization that can be depended upon to follow the evidence wherever it leads.

Quinn did the ISP no favor with his ill-conceived appointment of Monken. Grau looks to be a far better choice at least on paper.