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* Not feeling well this morning, but trying to soldier through. So, while I get my act together, let’s do a question based on the fact that today is the one-year anniversary of Rod Blagojevich being removed from office…

* The Question: Outside of his arrest, removal and possible conviction - and all the hooplah surrounding it - what will Blagojevich’s legacy be in Illinois?

…Adding… No snark, please. Try to take this seriously.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:20 am

Comments

He campaigned on a promise that he would not raise the income tax, correct? If so, credit to him for sticking with that.

Comment by Ravenswood Right Winger Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:24 am
Expanding healthcare.

Comment by dave Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:25 am
Gone but refuses to be forgotten

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:26 am
His legacy will be negative. Corruption, chaos, and stagnation in state government.

Comment by Levois Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:27 am
forsee

not foress

“Everything is happening as I have forseen it”

Comment by siriusly Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:28 am
Excuse me! I wanted to state gridlock as opposed to stagnation. Stagnation wasn’t the best work to use in talking about state government under ~~Blago~~….err Ousted governor.

Comment by Levois Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:28 am
He helped to make Illinois a national leader in early childhood education.

Comment by Old Shephered Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:28 am
I often think about the time of Paul Powell. When he dies, they find $800k in shoe boxes from the time he was Sec. of State.

I think about how even in death, a man can leave such a stain on our reputation. This is the case of Rod Blagojevich. He blusters about how he is a man of the people, but in the end, he was nothing but bluster….an empty suit…who was such a meglomaniac that he convinced himself that his illegal ways we for the people and not to satisfy his delusions of grandeur.

To sum up, his administration will be the darkest days in our history, far more than George Ryan, Paul Powell or Hinky Dink Kenna!

Comment by Knome Sane Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:30 am
Blago has put a smiley face on Illinois corruption. He has made Illinois corruption very famous in the internet era. Blago really does represent what Illinois voters will tolerate.

Comment by Steve Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:30 am
His legacy will be total fiscal ineptitude during a boom period that ultimately resulted in Illinois severely cutting basic services and increasing income taxes. In addition, Blago will stand out for his isolation from his fellow Democrats, and not because of his populist stands.

Comment by South Side Mike Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:32 am
He will have no positve legacy. Even the positive things he tried to do are now known to have been done in a slipshod and financially disasterous manner. Not only did every good thing he did dig us deeper in a financial hole we can’t get out of, it appears his primary motivation was always his own political benefit.

He has no legacy other than the abject embarassment he has caused our state and his own exposure as a crass and fundamentally corrupt individual.

Comment by E Pluribus Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:33 am
Any real accomplishments he may have been responsible in office for will be overshadowed by his indictment and subsequent removal from said office. Because of the removal from office, he will always be at the top of the list of corrupt public officials in a State with a long history of corrupt public officials.

Comment by tubbfan Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:33 am
He is a good example of the “down side”
to demcracy.

Comment by Esteban Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:36 am
On a positive side, he has open road tolling and kid care.

On a negative side, he perfected the sale of government and set the standard of $25 grand for the fix to be in.

On a personal side, I believe he caused the death of Chris Kelly.

Comment by Phineas J. Whoopee Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:36 am
Even by standards of Illinois politics, where our proud mantra is “Get in, get yours, and get out,” Blagojevich is quite possibly the most self-absorbed, narcissistic and delusional person ever to enter this business.

Comment by Coach Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:36 am
Open road tolling. Eventually that federal government will do something on health care that will supercede individual state reforms, but 20 years from now people will still tell their kids stories about all the time they used to spend waiting in line at toll booths.

Comment by Scooby Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:37 am
Phineas that is stupid and disgusting.

Comment by Scooby Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:39 am
Along with the legislature failing to implement solutions to reduce the pension burden to a manageable level.

Comment by Independent Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:39 am
His legacy will be serious damage to our state, due to his failure to work with the State House and State Senate to get things done. As the national economy started to go bad, we needed both leadership, and as part of it, a willingness to negotiate to get the job done at the state level and he failed to provide it.

Comment by OdysseusVL Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:39 am
I misread the question. While expanding early childhood is one of the good things that Blago did, it certainly won’t be his legacy. His legacy will be a joke. A sad, sad joke. His actions, combined with the actions of many others in state government, has made many people who want to believe in and participate in the democratic process–including me–lose faith in their state government.

Comment by Old Shephered Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:40 am
Outside of his corruption, he will be most known for accelerating the fiscal meltdown through a refusal to raise taxes while at the same time expanding government spending.

Comment by Pelon Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:40 am
A positive contribution would be open road tolling. I have to admit it is pretty awesome and makes a world of difference on I-88. Let’s see… fundraising and haircare as well.

Comment by Obamarama Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:40 am
Open road tolling was designed and well into the planning phase under Ryan. Some sites were even under construction. The idea was not Blago’s. He simply implemented something that was in the pipeline previously. He did, however, try to make it all about him, to the point where even political junkies here fell for his self-aggrandizing scam.

Comment by E Pluribus Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:41 am
A Governor, so inept as a leader, an administrator and as a person that his sincere desire to help Illinois ended up hurting Illinois severely.

Comment by Old Milwaukee Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:41 am
One more thing — he also dramatically added to the perception of Illinois, and people in it, as corrupt.

I don’t think many outside the political sphere understand the full implications and the impact on business. Because of him, there are national companies with local offices in Chicago that look with suspicion on the people in the Chicago office, assuming that the results of the Chicago office are tainted by corruption.

Because of Blago, there is a perception that anybody from Chicago must be corrupt, and people from Chicago have the burden of proving othewise.

Comment by OdysseusVL Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:43 am
Blago’s legacy? I hope some historian will study the REAL issues surrounding his impeachment and ouster from office. I think history will rightly judge that the Illinois General Assembly erred grossly in conducting the first-ever impeachment/removal of a sitting governor.

I therefore think that Blago’s legacy will be an example for all other state’s to proceed with caution and CAREFUL deliberation on impeachments and removals. I think we’ve seen that in South Carolina when the state legislature weighing its options and considering the fact that it had a fool in the lt. guv’s office wisely decided to censure governor Sandford, who is term-limiting out anyway, rather than impeach and remove him and run the risk of elevating the lt. guv to governor.

Also, as a legacy for Illinoisans, I hope we get rid of the silly notion of recall, as put forth by pat quinn. recall is a convuluted means by which to do what a two term-limit rule can do much better and more effectively. While Quinn likes to tout recall, he always neglects to mention what all is required in order for it to actually work. Besides, I’m guessing the people of California wish they’d never heard of recall.

Comment by Will County Woman Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:47 am
Outside of his arrest, removal and possible conviction - and all the hooplah surrounding it - what will Blagojevich’s legacy be in Illinois?

That he was the first Democratic governor in Illinois after 26 years of GOP governors.

He was the first governor of Serbian descent.

He was the first governor to not live in the Governor’s Mansion in over a century.

He ran against Springfield’s “business as usual”, as an outsider, and as an agent of change.

He was an anti-tax Democratic governor.

He was perpetually late and relished his celebrity, even after being removed from office.

With a history of self-serving men serving Illinois as a governor, Blagojevich ranks as it’s most self-centered, self-serving, arrogant and petty. Blagojevich felt an inner need to seek revenge in the name of the powerless against those they elect. Blagojevich had an inferiority complex that was wrapped inside a charming, chatty bravado, causing him to feel a need to continually counter those he felt in opposition to, while seeking any means to enrich himself materially and financially.

He was not a leader. He was a defender. During his years in office, Blagojevich ingeniously reflected events around him in a way to enhance his political position without work. He was a lazy governor who sought every chance to short-cut processes and precedents in order to reach a personal goal. His personal success in finding an easy solution to the political challenges of his life, led him to believe that he could reach political goals for the politically powerless. Rod Blagojevich saw himself as the lazy Moses, blessed with a gift of charm and an ability to shortcut the status quo.

Rod Blagojevich knew the frustration of being locked out in a world of unlocked doors. His ability to pick the locks on those doors guided him during his political career, and led to his own personal downfall.

Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:48 am
I can’t get past corruption and removal. That trumps everything else.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:50 am
Blago’s most lasting, ahem, legacy will be sweeping the state’s financial situation under the rug until it got out of control. We didn’t know how dire the deficit really was until after he left office — because his budgeteers wouldn’t tell anyone. Only Dan Hynes had any idea and even he couldn’t get a straight answer from Blago’s people.

I still believe that one of the reasons Blago didn’t want to be governor anymore (as he stated in several of the federally wiretapped conversations) was that he knew the “stuff” was about to hit the fan with regard to the budget, that his usual tricks wouldn’t work any more, and he wanted to bail out before that happened.

Comment by Secret Square Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:51 am
Bankrupting the state; creating a permanent political culture of distrust; accelerating the trend from government by cooperation to government by press release.

Comment by Angry Chicagoan Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:52 am
Childrens Healthcare for all

Comment by HUH Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:53 am
His legacy will be similar to Dan Walker’s - a guy who couldn’t work with the legislature to get things done. He’ll probably also do some time although Walker’s time was not related to his work as Governor.

Comment by Stones Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:56 am
There may have been equally corrupt governors, which is a subjective judgement, but none quite so arrogant/stupid to flash his disregard and affinity toward gangsterism in our face. On a scale from one to ten, he truly was a zero.

Comment by You Go Boy Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:56 am
First, it depends on the trial outcome: I think he’s 99.5% likely to be found guilty, but crazier things have happened in court.

Presuming such a conviction, his chief legacy sadly will be one of clown — the antics will outlive the corruption (heck, we’ve had that several times over). Residual legacy: financial mess, some good health care initiatives.

And who knows, since Clifford Kelly can do pretty much the same thing and become a respected radio talk show host, maybe Blago can do the same.

Rich: fwiw, I think zinc lozenges (Cold Season Plus being the best) work if you take them early in a cold — sci evidence is mixed but some studies show effectiveness, one theory is they keep the virus from reproducing. Some other studies show chicken soup a more effective hot liquid than others. My mom always wanted us to have an egg for bf when we were sick in case there was some trace nutrient we were in need of (apparently nearly everything is in an egg). And of course the best part of having a cold: Nyquil, but not until you turn the comments off for the weekend.

Comment by lake county democrat Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:58 am
I would hope that people will look a little more closely before they vote.

His summer “What was she thinking” campaign against JBT was an excellent example of how a candidate can be taken out by mocking them. There was little substance in that summer’s ad blitz, but it soured even many solid R’s on Topinka. To this day, many Republican’s retain a vague discomfort with JBT and it is there, in part, due to that summer-long drumbeat of mockery. We can still picture her on that stage with George Ryan, bobbing her head. How many people remember where she stood on the issues?

Comment by Pot calling kettle Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 10:59 am
“We didn’t know how dire the deficit really was until after he left office — because his budgeteers wouldn’t tell anyone.”
sweeping things under the carpet…
I think this is true of Mayor Daley too, and has been for a long time. That’s what made not getting the 2016 Olympics such a serious blow for him.

i agree that Dan Hynes’ position afforded him to see/know what then-lt. guv Quinn, and many others, of course didn’t. much like blago and daley, quinn has engaged in some sweeping things under the carpet too, and that’s why he so keen on borrowing, borrowing, borrowing. and his campaigning for guv all year long has a lot to do with this as well.

Comment by Will County Woman Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 11:00 am
I’m one of the “common people” Blagojevich purportedly fought for. And as a common person, my response is: well, he didn’t fix the budget. And he did a lot of shameless pandering to politically important groups.

But he didn’t fix anything structural within government as far as I can see. He didn’t raise my taxes — but that’s not a good thing. That’s a bad thing — and it’s put us squarely in the mess we’re in know.

I’m one of the folks who want my taxes raised so the state can start to get itself in better shape. But Blagojevich wouldn’t take my money.

I hope he enjoys his time off and his eventual incarceration.

*shrug*

PS — His stint on the ‘Apprentice’ isn’t going to do him any favors. The only favors he got were from the media people who were so taken by his odd charm that they gave him free pass after free pass. Once again, it looks like it’s gonna take a humorless juridical power structure to shut him down.

Comment by Macbeth Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 11:00 am
I think a conviction and a long sentence will erase any ;legacy of good” that he thought he poured on the public. Long forgotten will be the expanded healthcare that really didnt work, the “I didn’t raise your income tax” B.S., and and let us not forget the gross receipts tax debacle. And Rich; totaly unfair to say we cant be snarly when it deal with this buffon.

Comment by ivoted4judy Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 11:01 am
He is a walking dichotomy on transportation issues. Open road tolling is a positive, the public transportation pandering to seniors a negative.

Comment by Jake from Elwood Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 11:01 am
- recall is a convuluted means by which to do what a two term-limit rule can do much better and more effectively. -

Yeah, a two term limit would have really hurt Blagojevich…

I agree with OdysseusVL that his legacy will be that gridlock doesn’t work, whether its between members of different parties or the same.

Comment by Small Town Liberal Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 11:04 am
In a state with a history of corruption across both parties and across geographical areas, not just Chicago, Blago will become the poster child. In the future when one googles Illinois corruption his face and story will be atop the leader board. Sadly his story has not changed the way most politicians in this state operate. That will be the most damning legacy of all. That we Illinois voters are so calloused to crookendness and corruption that we continue to elect those who are interested in personal gain only.

Comment by Irish Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 11:04 am
I think his impeachment and the activities he engaged in to warrant said impeachment will top the list when determining his legacy. I also think (at least if I were writing history) that part of his legacy should be that one man in a position of power in government does have the ability to completely destroy the workings of that government.

Comment by RJW Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 11:07 am
Snark would be fun, but OK.

I think his legacy will be the re-establishment of the separation of powers between the General Assembly and the Governor’s office. He tried many time to just go around the Legislature, but ultimately was put back in his place. I think this sets up a standard that future Governors will need to remember.

Comment by trafficmatt Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 11:11 am
1. Coming on the heels of the conviction and imprisonment of George Ryan, Blago’s even more egregious transgressions and corruption have now made it impossible for either party in Illinois to claim the high road for probably at least a generation. That is a rather long legacy trail.

2. Young people who are taught and wanted to believe that candidates run for office because performing elected public service is a noble calling and a selfless act– now because of Blago’s recorded phone calls and his media tours know better. This, I fear will affect the willingness of many otherwise qualified and honest citizens to run for office in Illinois and elsewhere. Again a shameful legacy.

Comment by Responsa Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 11:15 am
Blago has succeeded in making George Ryan look more like a victim than a criminal.

Comment by D.P. Gumby Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 11:15 am
1. Standing up to Madigan by opposing utility rate relief, trying to sprinkle more casino around with bargain license fee and little oversight, pushing sweetheart giveaways of state asset.
2. Putting millions on the health care rolls with no money to pay for them
3. Creating the CTA/RTA funding crisis
4. Proving a confirmed sociopath can “function” in a high visibility position.
5. Refusing to get a free portrait (but trying to get $50K for a crayon drawing by the children)

Comment by CircularFiringSquad Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 11:18 am
Gumby beat me to the punch; my sentiments exactly. I’m not optimistic that Illinois’ budget problems can be solved in a timely manner and suspect that when the state defaults on it’s debt, Blago will get most of the blame.

Comment by Angry Republican Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 11:30 am
The disgraced ex-gov ruined numerous state agencies, to the point that it will be years before they recover and can competently serve the citizens of the state.

His zest for penalizing the non-union employees of the state by giving annual raises to the union employees and none to the merit comp forced hundreds of talented, experienced and educated employees to leave to work elsewhere. Then he replaced them with politically connected cronies.

He ruined IDOT, IDNR, Corrections, and they will suffer for his reign for years to come.

Comment by Stooges Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 11:31 am
$13 Billion in state debt.

Perhaps more important in the long term, I think the Office of the Governor is severely weakened, and its ability to push through a legislative agenda.

Blagojevich’s double-crossing, promise-breaking ways created a mistrust within the General Assembly that will be inherited by future governors. Trust but Verify will be the road forward.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 11:45 am
Sorry to hear that you are not feeling well Rich. You better take a much needed vacation after this election is over!!!!!!!

Comment by Once a Mom, Always a Mom Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 11:51 am
He will be the poster boy for everything that is wrong with Illinois and Chicago politics for years to come, maybe forever. That’s not necessarily a good thing since there are many others in power here that deserve to be called to the carpet. “At least I’m not Blagojevich” will be a campaign strategy, and Illinoisans may continue to fall for it while they try to “get theirs.”

The system sticks here, and no one with any power has the character or the cajones to change it.

Comment by Lefty Lefty Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 11:57 am
his downstate strategy to win the democratic nomination…

Comment by bored now Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 12:04 pm
===much needed vacation ===

I don’t need a vacation. Plus, session starts right away. What I need is a good night’s sleep.

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 12:11 pm
The legacy of Mr. Blagojevich, that is how his conduct in office will carry on to the future, is of course, yet to finally be determined. His legacy will not influenced by the particular accomplishments or failures of his term in office; the things that are predominent in our minds today. Rather, he will be remembered, 50 years from now, as a governor that was removed for his unacceptable conduct in office. The TV shows, the book, his bizarre antics will fade and he will join that list of other notorious Illinois politicans that were in essence crooks. Whatever the outcome of his trial he will be just one of those dark shadow characters in our history.

Comment by A Springfield Veteran Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 12:15 pm
“$13 Billion in state debt.”

Nice try YDD, but it was $9billion when Quinn started. Try as you partisan democrats might to hang it all on blago, you walk quinn into a general and he absolutely wears the jacket for some, if not all, of it. after all he was blago’s lt. governor and did cheer him on in 2006 saying that Blago was a man of “honesty and integrity.” Dan Hynes did no such thing and therefore is your safer/better bet going into November.

Comment by Will County Woman Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 12:16 pm
Amazingly, I think practically no legacy at all. As far as I can see, almost everybody is making decisions and acting now as they would have had there been no Blagojevich. Perhaps the campaign finance law, although the problem was that what Blagojevich was doing was against the law under the old law. Perhaps the rise of John Cullerton to the Senate Presidency; i.e., Emil Jones was a Blagojevich ally and Cullerton is as different from Jones as it is possible to be.

But no deep realignment of the parties or deep change in the way that people do things. Blagojevich was so singularly pathological that he seems irrelevant to how things happen outside of the world that he delusionally created in his own mind.

Comment by jake Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 12:25 pm
his hair

Comment by really? Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 12:52 pm
stooges, don’t forget other social services agencies that are in complete chaos - DCFS, DHS, DHFS, others?

Comment by dupage progressive Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 1:02 pm
More than anything, disappointment. He was supposed to be the shining star that ushered in a new era of progressive democratic dominance in the state (I’m talking candidate Blago circa 2002). Instead, he may end up being the single biggest reason for us losing the Senate seat and the Governor’s mansion for another 20 years.

Comment by SweetLou Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 1:17 pm
Some people are put on this earth to serve as examples to others of what not to be. Blago fits that bill nicely.

Comment by Fed Up Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 1:18 pm
All Kids Healthcare program.

Open Road Tolling.

How someone can keep smiling, staying positve, and optomistic no matter how many reporters and allegations you are dealing with.

Comment by Third Generation Chicago Native Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 1:26 pm
Three things come to mind:
1) The most progressive healthcare plan for children in the country.

2) Open road tolling

3) A little perspective on the Governor’s Office. It’s easy to remember, as many commenters here have today, the circus of Rod Blagojevich and his tenure in office. BUT - what many commenters also observed about the Quinn administration over the past year is that even a guy who is known as a reformer, a gadfly, a guy who doesn’t even himself act like he’s Governor is subject to and an agent in the circus that exists outside Rod Blagojevich. We can only blame Blagojevich for so much. I think his removal from office and part of what I will remember most is how much DIDN’T change in state government.

Comment by perspective Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 1:49 pm
The disconnect between the campaign image and reality/action later.

‘I’m a man fighting for the little guy’ but there better be something substantial on the table for me.

‘I’m here to change everything’ and this is going to make me rich.

‘I’m not really concerned about the details’ so what’s in it for me.

Comment by zatoichi Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 1:50 pm
Sorry, I know this violates the rules, but I can’t get past it: the impeachment will be his legacy. Even if he doesn’t get convicted, he was impeached and removed from office, and banned for ever holding state office again. That’s all he will be remembered for, and frankly, that’s more than enough.

Comment by 47th Ward Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 2:16 pm
Blago didn’t create open road tolling. We may have believed that since he put his name on every tollroad (Open Rod tolling). He leaves a legacy of personal narcissism and political corruption that rivals Huey Long, leaving Illinois to sink below Lousiana in the level of corruption.

Comment by dupage dan Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 2:39 pm
The former governor, through his appointees, politicized the day to day running of the State of Illinois to a point that it will take years to return to the level of professionalism that existed before he took office (if it ever does return).

Comment by Sangamon Sage Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 2:57 pm
DuPage Dan,
Right Blagojevich did not invent open road tolling, but he greatly expanded it, he also added the cash payer divert off the tollway to some new cash pay area so the IPass users were not slowed down by them. If you have been on the tollroads when this big open road tolling expansion was going on, it was quite a construction nightmare.

Comment by Third Generation Chicago Native Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 3:44 pm
Very few actual accomplishments of any value. Mostly his legacy is simply using the entire State for his gratification. He loved the applause and when things do not go his way, it is everyone else’s fault.
Government was not run professionally at all. He brought in people who did not have any business in responsible positions for his political gratification while conscientious professionals were treated with contempt.

Comment by Richard Afflis Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 5:34 pm
Open road tolling? Not exactly reaching for the stars. A few more lanes of incredibly expensive asphalt shaving a couple minutes off the commute for a relatively small group of drivers.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 5:47 pm
All Kids? Expansion of children’s healthcare? Bullied thru the system illegaly. These programs on the surface sound good but are Illinois’ children any healthier? Maybe his real legacy would be the way he added this to his resume, not the success of the program.

Comment by really? Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 7:44 pm
Wordslinger

You haven’t been on the tollways much have you?
A FEW? Try Rush hour up North, and see how few are really on there as you crawl at a snail’s pace bumper to bumper.

Comment by South of the loop Friday, Jan 29, 10 @ 9:45 pm