There may be good reason for requiring Illinois pharmacies to post signs notifying customers of their options when buying contraceptives.

But the only reason for putting Gov. Rod Blagojevich's name on each of those signs is politics. He's doing it because he can. He may not be violating any law, but he is violating the spirit of a law he approved.

Effective Jan. 1, 2004, public service announcements or advertisements for state administered programs cannot have the "proper name, image or voice" of executive branch officers or members of the General Assembly and be printed in a newspaper or magazine or be aired on radio or TV.

Ironically, the law was in response to promotional efforts by, among others, Blagojevich's opponent for governor come November. Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka had been touting the benefits of a college tuition savings plan. Comptroller Dan Hynes used radio announcements encouraging people to file their tax returns electronically. But neither were quite as blatant as George Ryan and Jesse White, who frequented TV as secretaries of state to promote the state's organ donor program.

A prototype of the pharmacy signs - with the governor's name at the bottom - was presented at a recent press conference when the governor gave a stern warning to pharmacists to not let personal bias determine what prescriptions are filled.

The governor's office said the signs are in response to complaints that some pharmacists have circumvented a rule prohibiting pharmacists or pharmacies from refusing to fill prescriptions for contraceptives. A formal complaint was recently filed against a West Peoria pharmacist who allegedly lied about the availability of contraceptives at the pharmacy where she worked.

Arguments over pharmacists' legal versus personal moral obligations can go on forever.

There shouldn't be any argument over blatant political advertising by the governor. Get rid of the name.

If the governor wants his name on signs, let his campaign pay for them. And he shouldn't be allowed to make pharmacists put the signs with his name in their stores.

The governor's name adds nothing to the pharmacy options. It just provides free advertising for a governor seeking re-election in November. There is still time to get rid of the blatant political advertisement. Typical of a state bureaucracy, the message on the signs is part of a lengthy state approval process that could extend into the summer months.