A surprising number of bloggers speculated that the dustup between Governor Rod Blagojevich and Alderman Dick Mell was contrived by both men to generate some positive press for the guv. While they let their tinfoil hats show a bit too much, they can’t really be faulted because several reporters and other observers thought the same at first.

But to continue to claim that the two men did this together just ignores way too much evidence that Blagojevich and Mell have been fighting for years. Even the reporters who first believed the worst have now acccepted reality. The two men just don’t get along, and they haven’t for quite some time. Still, it says much more about the governor’s reputation than the observers’ skills that so many people would so strongly believe he was capable of something like that.

And don’t get me wrong, there was obviously more than a little contrivance here. For instance, the governor’s office went out of its way to trumpet this little takedown to “prove” once again that the guv is the White Knight.

And his explanation since the fight began has a few holes. For instance, today’s Tribune reports that the governor claimed he shut down the Joliet landfill run by his wife’s second cousin before he moved to close a very bad operation in Ford Heights because he only recently learned about the situation at the Ford Heights landfill.

“I didn’t know about it,” Blagojevich said. “The EPA was working on it.”

Well, not exactly. In fact, that’s not even close to the truth.

But on Aug. 13, Blagojevich publicly acknowledged questions about the Ford Heights landfill as he vetoed legislation designed to halt a state environmental crackdown on the dump.

Signing the legislation, Blagojevich wrote in his veto message, “could allow a company that has been dumping construction debris without a permit to escape penalty for flouting state laws.”

It’s stuff like this that drives people crazy and causes them to disbelieve everything that emanates from the governor’s mouth.

By the way, my favorite comment on this whole episode was written by the Southtown’s Phil Kadner:

After the Joliet landfill was closed, the attorney general asked the governor to have the IEPA close another site that has allowed illegal dumping in Ford Heights.

“We’re going to be looking at all the landfills in this state now,” Tusk said.

My congratulations to Cousin Frank.

He may be responsible for cleaning up the entire industry.

I hope next time someone sells him a nursing home.