* The person who ran Gov. Pat Quinn’s Springfield office has abruptly resigned under very curious circumstances…

A top aide to Gov. Quinn has left her $119,158-a-year job amid a state government probe into whether she had done political work on state time.

Carolyn Brown Hodge, Quinn’s deputy chief of staff, resigned late Friday after the Chicago Sun-Times asked the governor’s office about the situation.

Hodge’s state computer was seized by the Office of the Executive Inspector General to determine whether the equipment might have been used for any political purposes, a source said.

There are always going to be a few bad apples in the barrel. There’s just no way to keep them all out. For the past 11 years, though, it’s often seemed like you’d have to look long and hard to find a non-spoiled apple in that state barrel.

* The revelation comes at a time when Gov. Quinn is airing a new TV ad that seems to tie Comptroller Dan Hynes to Rod Blagojevich and George Ryan, and accuses the comptroller of lollygagging. Have a look…

Rate it.

* “But as comptroller for twelve years, [Hynes] signed off on every state check,” the ad claims. Zorn wonders aloud…

(I)t strikes me that it wasn’t that long ago that Quinn was harrumphing at Hynes to do his job and sign the checks that paid to promote Illinois against Hynes’ better judgment. Which checks is Quinn talking about that he didn’t think Hynes should have signed?

The Quinn campaign responds to Zorn…

The “he signed off” refers to the Comptroller’s promise to go “line by line” through the state budget. Given that he has had the opportunity, and the responsibility, to do precisely that task for 11 years, it is hard to understand why he now suddenly promises to start to examine the budget as Governor.

Zorn counters…

Yes, but he has to sign the checks, doesn’t he? This ad suggests that he could have not signed the checks, yet the moment he got up on his hind legs and said “I will not sign these checks,” Quinn scolded him to do his job. If you want to say he didn’t put forward his own proposals often enough over the years, fine. But can you really say he shouldn’t have signed the checks?

What about the “spa” claim in the ad? From the Tribune…

The Hynes campaign said the comptroller was getting a haircut at a less-than-luxury “spa” near his home, and contended Quinn’s camp was trying to divert attention from the governor’s failed efforts to deal with the state’s budget problems.

And the Hynes campaign goes full-on Blagojevich throttle in its response to Quinn. From a press release…

“… Dan Hynes has done his job and signed all Illinois checks since taking office as Illinois Comptroller in 1999,” campaign communications director Matt McGrath explained. “Over the years, he has consistently raised questions and sought clarification on certain spending priorities, but ultimately he is required by law to issue checks on legal and approved disbursements, and he has done so.”

By running this ad, however, and casting an apparently disapproving light on Hynes’ tenure as Comptroller, the Quinn campaign has opened the door to a discussion of who really stood for fiscal responsibility during the Blagojevich Administration. While Dan Hynes repeatedly warned of overspending and pending fiscal catastrophe, Quinn stood silent. As recently as September, 2006, Quinn said of his two-time running mate: “He’s always been a person who’s honest and one of integrity. I have confidence the governor does the right thing all the time.” [Daily Herald, 9/15/06]

“If Pat Quinn wants to have a discussion of who stood up to Rod Blagojevich and who stood silent, we’re happy to oblige,” McGrath said. “The record is clear. As late as September 2006, Pat Quinn ‘refused to say even one bad word about [Blagojevich],’ and that he ‘did the right thing all the time.’ Meanwhile, Dan Hynes let it be known that the consequences of overspending were potentially catastrophic, and has unfortunately been proven right. While Illinois’ fiscal health, and ultimately its future, hung in the balance, Pat Quinn was Rod Blagojevich’s biggest cheerleader.”

Here we go, campers.

…Adding… A commenter points out something I failed to notice. The “iStock” watermark is on two video clips used in the Quinn ad. Usually, when you purchase something from iStock, the watermark is removed. If you don’t buy it and use it without permission, the watermark stays on. Oopsie?

…Adding 2… The Quinn campaign just e-mailed to say that the ad above was an earlier version. It has since been changed to remove the watermarks.

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