Here's a bit more on why a journalist might be curious about Councilman Terry Riley

In 2002, a front-page story in The Kansas City Star detailed the abuses of city-issued mobile phones. Riley emerged as one of the worst offenders. The Star reported that he had logged more than 17,000 minutes on his phone over a three-month period, racking up $2,219 in charges.

The Star story noted that Riley had delivered a $1,525 check to City Hall three days before the story ran. The story did not mention that the money came from Friends of Terry Riley.

I'm not sure this was legal. State law says campaign contributions may not be converted to personal use. And unless you're a secret agent, a prostitute or an obstetrician, what's more personal than a 1 a.m. phone call?

I asked Riley for another interview. He asked to see my questions in writing. After reading the questions, he told me that he thought it was acceptable to use campaign money to pay phone charges. In any case, he said he would reimburse the committee $1,525. As for the travel expenses, Riley claimed that he reimbursed the campaign in instances where there was "overlap." Yet the last three available campaign-finance reports show no receipts of payment from Riley — the money is always going the other way. Riley said the committee's records will be amended to reflect these reimbursements for reimbursements — though he couldn't show me any documentation, he said, because he'd paid back his committee with cash.

In a city with a budget imbalance of $78 million and more than 200 drive-by shootings last year, church-bulletin ads and $195-a-night hotel rooms don't add up to much. But when the people put in place to handle the big issues can't do the little things, progress begins to look unattainable.