Our collective inferiority complex
Friday, Sep 5, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
“It’s so Illinois.”
The tweet picking up steam on the Internet Friday morning was not alluding to the state’s prairie farmlands, Chicago sports teams or even hot dogs without ketchup.
Instead, Illinois immediately popped into one scholar’s mind when asked to reflect on the corruption revealed during the scandalous trial of former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, who were found guilty of numerous offenses Thursday.
* The quote…
“I think Jefferson would be appalled that in his own commonwealth, this guy could be gifted a Ferrari [ride]. It’s so Illinois or Louisiana,” said Clay Jenkinson, a renowned humanities scholar and expert on Thomas Jefferson who hosts a radio show called “The Thomas Jefferson Hour.”
* I searched Twitter for the phrase “It’s so Illinois” and came up with 17 hits as of this writing.
Yep, 17. But that warrants a story in the Trib.
Besides, who cares what some guy in Virginia says? StateIntegrity.org gives Virginia an “F” for risk of corruption. Illinois got a “C.”
So, bite us, dude.
…Adding… Not to mention, we haven’t had an Illinois governor as thoroughly and openly corrupt as Virginia’s McDonnell since Gov. Small in the 1920s. McDonnell was absolutely brazen. He made Rod Blagojevich look like a statesman.
- Winning with Sheen - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 11:12 am:
Wait how many open federal corruption cases are their on Quinn and the Gov’s office right now? ….. Quinn wins and goes to jail and Paul Vallas is Gov. …. Wait
- Jimmy - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 11:17 am:
Yeah, Lura Lynn Ryan and Patty Blagojevich did not going to prison like your first lady will Virginia! Rich - when the feds nab a first lady here, you can say that’s “it’s so Virginia.”
- wordslinger - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 11:20 am:
“renowned humanities expert on Thomas Jefferson.”
You mean the state hero who owned slaves, and likely allowed his own children to live as slaves?
That’s so Virginia.
Lincoln. That’s so Illinois.
- Old Shepherd - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 11:23 am:
Wordslinger…BAM!! Best comment ever!!
- Name Withheld - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 11:25 am:
– He made Rod Blagojevich look like a statesman. –
Wow! That is some comparison. When Blago looks good next to you, you *know* you’ve got problems.
- John A Logan - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 11:30 am:
Anyone who is taking offense at people in other states pointing out Illinois’ reputation for corruption should quit their day job and seek work as a cheerleader.
- Steve - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 11:30 am:
Everyone knows Rod Blagojevich was a misunderstood idealist.
http://abc7chicago.com/archive/6559104/
- Try-4-Truth - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 11:31 am:
- Winning with Sheen - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 11:12 am:
Wait how many open federal corruption cases are their on Quinn and the Gov’s office right now? ….. Quinn wins and goes to jail and Paul Vallas is Gov. …. Wait
Do you have knowledge of ANY open federal investigations of Gov. Quinn? I don’t think that you do. You don’t know what the Feds are looking at in the NRI case, do you? You assume it’s Quinn, but what if it’s not?
- Dirty Red - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 11:39 am:
That’s so Tribune.
- Bill White - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 11:41 am:
- Dirty Red - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 11:39 am:
Brilliant!
#thatssotribune should become a hashtag
- Black Ivy - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 11:46 am:
Agreed, Rich! Illinois represents so much more than its politics or claims of corruption. It’s diverse and resilient. Agrarian and metropolitan. Sports-obsessed. Unless you live in this great State, be silent, please. Hey, it’s an Illinois thing, you wouldn’t understand!
- A guy... - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 12:01 pm:
‘He made Rod Blagojevich look like a statesman.”
Now there’s a sentence that makes you read it 10 times just to make sure you aren’t delusional.
- A guy... - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 12:04 pm:
It’s Friday alright. Jefferson is slammed (correctly this time) and Blagojevich is a Statesman (by comparison)
That’s so….American.
- Willie Stark - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 12:27 pm:
Or, maybe it’s so Utah: “Two former Utah attorneys general were arrested on Tuesday in a sweeping corruption scandal, accused of trading favors and access to rich businessmen and improperly accepting money, golf getaways, and rides on private planes and a luxury houseboat.”
Or, maybe it’s so Texas: “Federal prosecutors have charged 11 people, including the El Paso County district clerk and the mayor of a small West Texas town, as part of a years-old public corruption case.”
Or, maybe it’s so Oklahoma (sorry John Logan!): “Oklahoma State Representative Randy Terrill (R-Moore) was found guilty of bribery in connection with the 2010 Oklahoma political corruption investigation concerning the Office of the Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner in which he bribed State Senator Debbie Leftwich (D-Oklahoma City) to give up her seat so State Representative Mike Christian (R-Oklahoma City) could run for it instead.”
IL ain’t perfect, but the tiniest bit of research reveals that neither is any other place. There’s good, there’s bad - that’s how it goes in this world of ours. And, further, guess what? You also find corruption in businesses, churches and even Little League - really any institution created by humans. So, don’t kid yourself that there’s some Eden on this earth where it would be so much better to be.
- Concerned - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 12:28 pm:
It’s not our inferiority complex–it’s the Tribune’s inferiority conmplex.
The Tibune continues to descent into irrelevancy.
- Stones - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 12:54 pm:
*** So, bite us, dude ***
LOL! Almost spit out my Diet Coke on that one!
- wordslinger - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 1:34 pm:
The Utah stuff is pretty wild and far-reaching. That’s a tight-knit power structure out in Utah. Everybody knows everybody. and everybody’s business.
Still, it’s not without precedent. The Salt Lake Olympic Organizing committee got caught after-the-fact bribing IOC members to land the ‘96 winter games.
We live in strange times when a bunch of Utes could figure out how to successfully bribe the notoriously corrupt IOC and the Daley crew could not.
- VanillaMan - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 2:02 pm:
The Danites have a few questions to ask you tonight in Toole.
- No, seriously - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 2:52 pm:
– He made Rod Blagojevich look like a statesman. –
Sorry Rich, I hope you’re kidding, because that’s just preposterous. McDonnell may have been up to his eyeballs in filth, but let’s consider:
* The whole scandal in Virginia dealt with a single donor and the governor’s family. Just one donor. How does that compare to Rod’s cadre of Stu Levine, Tony Rezko, Chris Kelly, et al.
* The damage to the public (beyond broken trust) was minimal. By all accounts, even with the support of the McDonnells, Jonnie Williams’ supplement company never got much traction. By contrast, Rod nearly sold a U.S. Senate seat; regularly shook down donors; basically considered five-figure checks an application fee for state boards and other appointments; threatened the state’s biggest newspaper; and, my favorite, held funding for sick children hostage over campaign contributions.
* However McDonnell’s slide started, he did not seek the governorship with a campaign of “reform and renewal.” He did not unfairly tarnish the reputation of his opponents with charges of corruption while feeding at the trough of ill-gotten gains.
– McDonnell was otherwise a decent governor who left his state in strong shape for his predecessor. It’s been nearly 12 years since Blagojevich first took office, and Illinois STILL has not recovered.
No, when it comes to brazen corruption, there are very few governors in U.S. history who can hold a candle to Rod Blagojevich, and Bob McDonnell certainly is not among them.
- wordslinger - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 2:57 pm:
–No, when it comes to brazen corruption, there are very few governors in U.S. history who can hold a candle to Rod Blagojevich, and Bob McDonnell certainly is not among them.–
You started early, lol.
- D.P.Gumby - Friday, Sep 5, 14 @ 3:51 pm:
But Blago was a hack and nothing but a hack..ever..McDonnell was a former State Attorney General and U.S. Attorney and competent in both jobs. If he couldn’t avoid corruption, how could Blago??