42 Comments - The 'Broken Heart' of Rogers Park - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 9:00 am: Last Comic Standing Live…. Now Playing… One Show Only. This must’ve been one of those City Club luncheons that was worth every penny to attend? - stones902 - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 9:06 am: The guy is unbelieveable (no pun intended). Why can’t we elect a decent, honest Governor in Illinois? - Captain Flume - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 9:07 am: And I thought Jesse Ventura was an embarrassment to Minnesota. - Ghost - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 9:27 am: And yet Jones continues to stick by this Gov, even with comments like that! I wonder if Meeks got the memo that Blago was an african-american governor and homeboy. The legislature says they want money to go to various druge abuse prgrams and shelters; the Gov crosses that money out and instead directs State funds to cover a lunch program fund raiser with cubs players present. The legislature decides to increase insurance coverage for some college kids, the Gov rewrites it far beyound what the general assembly voted to support. The Gov rewrites in free property taxes for disbaled vets without identifying sources to replace these funds, and potetnially kills off another bill. The Gov has done so much directing of State resources on hiw own, and even just at a complete whim to look good for the cubs players in front of his daughter, there is no way he can ever be entrusted with a capital plan, ever. There can be no capitial plan while Blago is in office. Not a dime more for this guy. no more million dollar checks to convicts; no more kikcing people onto the streets so he can hire politically connected kids for jobs in chicao; no more rewriting bills or passing rules increasing state expenditures without fund, no more sound bite decisions. - taxmandan - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 9:28 am: “Emil and I are homeboys, man. … There are times I consider myself the first African-American governor of Illinois.” Reminds me of Michael Scott from The Office. - Cassandra - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 9:30 am: But what, precisely, has Blagojevich done for African Americans? They may believe that they have more access to the powers of state government but where’s the beef? Some high level patronage jobs. OK, a lot of high level patronage jobs. But even if the whole of state government employment were turned over to African-Americans, that’s a minuscule number of jobs in the overall economy. More contracts for African-American entrepreneurs perhaps, but it’s still a drop in the bucket. Blago has put more money into school funding but, as we have seen with the Rev Meeks crusade, it hasn’t worked. Money applied without intelligence never works. More money applied without restructuring of education delivery won’t work either, Rev Meeks’ efforts notwithstanding. DCFS and DHS, both serving large numbers of African Americans, both run by African Americans, are abysmally managed. The Howe Developmental Center. Children, including many African-American children, dying because of the persistent incompentence of DCFS, with its heavily entrenched culture of mediocrity and bloated, politicized bureacracy. The correctional system in Illinois is a national leader in disproportionate incarceration of minorities…particularly African Americans. Blago’s comments suggest that he, the governor of a large state, is championing an approach to politics and government resources based on ethnicity and race. In the beginning years of the twenty-first century, we should deplore this approach and insist that we are better than that. For starters, don’t give him another term in which to pursue race-based politics. - Captain Flume - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 9:32 am: “African-American governor”: functionally wrong on both terms. - Oh please... - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 9:34 am: Ok, ok…Blago is a blowhard. But really, are the other leaders above reproach? Most of the decisions being made as of late seem to be driven by ego, the retention of power and greed…and in no way is this limited to our esteemed governor. - The Unlicensed Hand Surgeon - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 9:35 am: I’m having trouble accepting the logic that Blago will be “off the hook” just because he called the special sessions. Meeks and his ministerial allies aren’t going to accept legislative inaction. And wouldn’t a September full of special sessions just highlight to the black community Blago’s opposition to Meeks’ tax swap bill? How can Blago placate Meeks by calling a special session that showcases a proposal that the governor has promised he will veto? - Sal Says: - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 9:37 am: definition: “caused by or evidencing a mentally disturbed condition: a pathological liar.” Seems to fit Gov Goofy. I’m tired of waiting for the Feds to do something. Since nobody in our ‘legislature’ [except for emil] can trust this goof, why don’t they start to get rid of him for all of us? And finally get on with the State’s business? - red dog - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 9:37 am: The lack of reality in this man is unlimited-unfortunately he’s not in daycare - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 9:40 am: ===I’m having trouble accepting the logic that Blago will be “off the hook” just because he called the special sessions. === So am I. Subscribe to find out the latest news on that front. lol - Check the census - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 9:44 am: Ravenswood Demographics White 53.2%, Black 3.01%, Hispanic 26.5%, Asian 13.3%, Other 3.96%. First African-American governor of Illinois? Must be lonely in his ‘hood. - Dan S. a Voter and Cubs Fan - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 9:45 am: All of the above posts are examples of why the GA should IMPEACH NOW - walter sobchak - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 9:56 am: Somehow the continued irrational actions by this Governor reminds me of movie dialogue from ‘Apocalypse Now’: [quoting Kurtz] Willard: As for the charges against me, I am unconcerned. I am beyond their timid lying morality, and so I am beyond caring. Willard: Could we, uh… talk to Colonel Kurtz? Photojournalist: Hey, man, you don’t talk to the Colonel. You listen to him. The man’s enlarged my mind. He’s a poet-warrior in the classic sense. I mean sometimes he’ll… uh… well, you’ll say “hello” to him, right? And he’ll just walk right by you. He won’t even notice you. And suddenly he’ll grab you, and he’ll throw you in a corner, and he’ll say, “do you know that ‘if’ is the middle word in life? If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you, if you can trust yourself when all men doubt you”… I mean I’m no, I can’t… I’m a little man, I’m a little man, he’s… he’s a great man. I should have been a pair of ragged claws scuttling across floors of silent seas… - wordslinger - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 10:08 am: I didn’t believe that quote when I saw it on the blog yesterday. I’m not sure how he believes he’s earned the distinction. Clinton got the tag because of his life experience in Arkansas, where he was a New Democrat who stayed with the party and worked to integrate blacks into the system, rather than skip to the GOP like the Old Southern Democrats did after the Civil Rights era. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 10:11 am: this is a shrewd strategy by Rod. Every moment spent discussing the “first African American governor” comment, we’re not talking about ongoing federal investigations. Still, Monique Davis and Mary Flowers should have fun with that comment. - anon sequitor - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 10:40 am: Does the State of Illinois health plan include coverage for mental health disorders? One or more of these has to fit him. Get him treatment ASAP! From Wikipedia: Dissociative Disorders are defined as conditions that involve disruptions or breakdowns of memory, awareness, identity and/or perception. The hypothesis is that symptoms can result, to the extent of interfering with a person’s general functioning, when one or more of these functions is disrupted. The four dissociative disorders listed in the DSM IV TR are as follows: Depersonalization disorder (DSM-IV Codes 300.6[2]) - periods of detachment from self or surrounding which may be experienced as “unreal” (lacking in control of or “outside of” self) while retaining awareness that this is only a feeling and not a reality. Dissociative amnesia (DSM-IV Codes 300.12[3]) - noticeable impairment of recall resulting from emotional trauma Dissociative fugue (DSM-IV Codes 300.13[4]) - physical desertion of familiar surroundings and experience of impaired recall of the past. This may lead to confusion about actual identity and the assumption of a new identity. Dissociative identity disorder (DSM-IV Codes 300.14[5]) - the alternation of two or more distinct personality states with impaired recall, among personality states, of important information. In addition, there’s the diagnosis of dissociative disorder not otherwise specified (DSM-IV Codes 300.15[6]) which can be used for forms of pathological dissociation not covered by any of the specified dissociative disorders. - Rookie - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 10:42 am: This guy is something else… ((shaking head)) Being an African-American, this type of scharade or “phony pandering” to the needs of the community is rather insulting. Now that he has ostracized and disgusted other almost every group and entity in Illinois, he turns to the minoriites and claims to be a brother!? Wasn’t he just speaking spanish at the State of the State!?? - Ghost - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 10:49 am: I wonder of Roland Martin will weigh in with a few words about Blago being “first African-American governor of Illinois” - the Other Anonymous - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 10:59 am: When I first read the post, I was worried about the Governor’s mental health. But taxmandan’s observation (that it sounds like Michael Scott from “The Office”) is so dead on right. It’s not a mental health issue; it’s just an astoundingly uncomfortable combination of insecurity and incompetence. - Captain America - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 11:33 am: Godfather Jones is going to regret the day he hitched his star to Governor Pinocchio’s agenda -his credibilty will be zilch if and when Governor A is indicted. But I guess he’s reasonably close to retirement anyway - so maybe it doesn’t really matter to him. - Frank Booth - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 11:54 am: He’s hoping to appeal to African-American jurors. - Lazy intern - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 12:20 pm: As a African-American, I am shocked and appalled to think that he would associate himself with us. Have we as a people suffered through enough, slavery, jim crow and segregation. We simply cannot tolerate to have Blago associated with us. - VanillaMan - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 12:31 pm: Blagojevich believes we consider him credible enough of a governor to discuss his comments. We don’t. - Ghost - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 12:36 pm: I swear I can hear the sound of Bill beating his head against his keyboard…. - IrishPirate - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 12:37 pm: If you put that line in a movie no one would believe it. Perhaps Blago should try “George Ryan is my (future) homeboy” or “Satan is my homeboy”. Don’t blame me. I voted for Vallas. I voted for Poshard. Dick Mell should pray for a kind and loving Almighty, because foisting Captain Hairspray on this state is no venial sin. - Tired of it - new idea - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 1:05 pm: I just decided that I am getting incredibly tired of reading the same stories over and over again reminding me that Blagojevich is killing democracy. He’s of the mindset that any press is good press, so he is in his own personal heaven right now because he’s managed to stay in the news everyday. I propose “A Week Without Blago.” Let’s see what happens if we go one week without a single Blago story - regardless of what he does and despite the neverending press releases that come from his office. He would probably go nuts, and we would all get a little peace. Instead, let’s spend the week talking about the good things that are actually happening in the State. I know it is hard to believe, but there are actually executive officers, executive employees, State Senators and Represenatives doing things besides jabbing each other in the paper. Let’s talk about the State employee who is helping someone fill out an application for a small business loan. Blago has nothing to do with that, despite what he believes. Or about the Senator or Representative meeting with local businesses and trying to explain what is really going on in Springfield. I know this doesn’t seem sexy, but isn’t this really what is happening? The Blago-Jones-Cross-Watson vs. Madigan feud hasn’t rendered everyone paralyzed. - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 1:10 pm: ===I propose “A Week Without Blago.”=== Vacation in Italy. lol - IrishPirate - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 1:11 pm: How do you say “homeboy” in Italian? Blago would do something to get in the news even there. - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 1:11 pm: ===Or about the Senator or Representative meeting with local businesses and trying to explain what is really going on in Springfield.=== And how do you do this without bringing in the governor? The rest of the stuff is not news. It’s life. Everyday life is not news. - Tired of it - new idea - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 1:15 pm: ===Everyday life is not news.==== Blago’s insanity has become our everyday life. - orlkon - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 1:25 pm: One in a long line of insults to African Americans in Illinois - Ted - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 1:29 pm: At some point, the people who put this guy in as Gov., and Emil in as Senate Pres., and Madigan in as Speaker, are going to have to accept responsibility for that. What Blago could have accurately said is that he, and Emil, and Mike are all homies. They are from the same cliche and they have all the power. Judy Baar Topinka would have done sommersaults to work with Madigan. She would have been an adult. She would have tried to act responsibly. This was well-known to Madigan. Yet, Madigan agreed to be Co-Chair of the Blago reelect campaign, knowing better than almost all how bad Blago is and how immature he is. He knew Blago would continue to be a disaster for the State. Still, as one of the most powerful DEMs in the State, he did nothing to try and get a more mature and responsible person in as the DEM nominee and helped sink Topinka. At what point are we mere taxpaying mortals in Illinois suppose to stop feeling sorry for Madigan for having to try and deal with Blago and conclude it is time to throw them all out. And, at what point should rank-and-file Democrats conclude that they have been sorely betrayed by the very people they helped elect. Blago is a goof. But Blago did not make himself Governor. - Willie Stark - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 1:46 pm: The idea that Speaker Madigan put Blago in as gov is laughable. Because he co-chaired his re-election campaign? Nothing the Speaker could have done would have helped the GOP to pick itself up the floor and mount a credible challenge to a governor with that sort of (ill-gotten) fundraising advantage. Plus, don’t look at it all through the lens of the Rezko trial and what we know now, versus what we thought might probably be true then. Lastly, picking up on earlier posts, Emil is never going to abandon Rod - no matter Rod’s antics and his insult to the state’s African American community. Emil has gotten his family, including his wife, on the gov’s payroll directly or via contracts. He is never, ever going to jeopardize those financial arrangements. Too bad we all have to suffer for a lousy few jobs, but that’s the reality. - Cooper - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 2:40 pm: “Emil and I are homeboys, man. … There are times I consider myself the first African-American governor of Illinois.” I think it’s time the Gov. starts cutting his prozac in half. - anon - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 4:39 pm: So the Governor’s hairstyle is maybe a failed afro? - Arthur Andersen - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 5:54 pm: Willie Stark wrote: ==Plus, don’t look at it all through the lens of the Rezko trial and what we know now, versus what we thought might probably be true then.== Hmmm, wasn’t that Speaker Madigan warning about POA’s “indiscretions” in August 2002? Yeah, it was. While most of you thought “zipper,” a few others thought “hinky lightweight.” Well, there you go. You can’t say you weren’t warned. As far as Topinka, the primary reason Topnka is not Governor today is Topinka. Second reason is all the ho’ed-out Republicans who put the D (as in Dollar) ahead of the R and sat out the election or funded Blago. Exhibit A: $$hell-ander. - anon - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 7:09 pm: Rich, your comments on the gov saying “I give me high marks for compromise” is a classic example of the disconnect of what actually happens and how it is reported. You are great on reporting on things that happen in Springfield, but you are reporting on whast you read, or what you were told here. In reality, it was a lighthearted moment that got a good laugh. Everybody understood he was being light hearted. I expect better of you, except for when Steve Brown ghost wrotes your blog. - wordslinger - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 9:22 pm: Well said, AA. The GOP “leaders” who were hustling money while trotting out candidates like Keyes and Topinka can take a bow for Blago, too. - Arthur Andersen - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 10:35 pm: anon 7:09, what a bunch of absolute crap. Rich quoted Blago as reported by another darn credible reporter. There’s tape soemewhere if you want it, if you haven’t already heard it or weren’t there. Rich’s point is well made with or with out this “lighthearted” quote-if Blago tells you it’s sunny outside, you better check before going out and getting soaked. No disconnect there, or with the 87% of those last polled who think your hero is a, er, towel bag. Now, get back to the Fair and run that stand. Guys wanna win that stuffed bear for their girlfriend. - Ghost - Tuesday, Aug 12, 08 @ 10:36 pm: Word, I am surprised to hear (read) you say that about the GOP leaders… after all they have stood up (to be counted with) blago! its not like he broke all his other promises to the GOP but they think they can trust him if the amount of money at stake is insanley large…. oh wait….. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.