CHICAGO — Decrying violence in fast-selling video games, Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants Illinois to make it illegal for anyone younger than 18 to buy violent or sexually explicit games. Among the targets would be the “Grand Theft Auto” series, “Halo 2” and “Mortal Kombat.”

Blagojevich criticized the $7 billion video game industry for failing to find better ways to keep “adult material out of the hands of minors,” citing evidence that many production companies in the intensely competitive business marketed violent games to boys younger than 17.

“This is all about protecting our children until they are old enough to protect themselves,” Blagojevich said in a written statement. “There’s a reason why we don’t let kids smoke or drink alcohol or drive a car until they reach a certain age and level of maturity.”

Blagojevich said the legislation would define “violent” games as those in which people physically hurt one another and “sexually explicit” as those featuring nudity that “predominantly appeals to the prurient interest of the player.”

The video game industry says it sets its own standards and informs buyers — overwhelmingly parents and other adults — about the games’ content. Efforts by Indianapolis and St. Louis County to regulate various kinds of video games have been rejected by federal appeals courts.

In 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand an appeals court ruling that Indianapolis’ ordinance banning minors from playing violent video games in public arcades without parental consent could not be enforced.

“We think as an industry we can regulate ourselves,” said Gail Markels, general counsel of the Entertainment Software Association.

Blagojevich is the latest in a long line of politicians to challenge violence and sexual content in the audio and video world, including Tipper Gore, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell.