I constantly write about the immorality, economic stupidity, and moral hazard of government handouts to private entities — like Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s $4 million grant to the Washington Redskins — But what about the illegality.

When the Rhode Island government gave a $75 million loan guarantee to Curt Schilling’s software company, bureaucrats might have been guilty not only bad investing, but also of violating the state constitution’s “Gift Clause.”