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Question of the day

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My Sun-Times column this week is about Bill Brady’s demand that Lisa Madigan release the results of her 18-month investigation of the Blagojevich administration within the next 90 days.

Richard Nixon once said, “The people have to know whether their president is a crook. Well, I am not a crook.” Actually, he was. But that’s not the point. The point is he was right that we needed to know whether he was a crook. And right now, before Election Day, we should at least have some indication one way or another of whether our governor is a crook or if these allegations that regularly explode across the front pages of the state’s newspapers are some sort of bizarre, politically motivated dead ends.

A new statewide poll by the Glengariff Group found that 43 percent of Illinoisans believe Blagojevich’s administration is either just as corrupt or more corrupt than George Ryan’s crew, while only 41 percent think there is less corruption now. That’s quite something, considering that many of Ryan’s pals are either behind bars or are, like Ryan himself, on their way to prison, while nobody from Blagojevich’s inner circle has even been indicted yet.

I fully understand that it’s impossible and even unreasonable to impose an arbitrary deadline on a criminal investigation. Frankly, I’m not sure what the answer is here. But I do know that those poll results mean the corruption question will take center stage in the fall campaign.

This issue is far too important to leave to the people who will produce the negative TV ads. The public needs some real direction about what and whom to believe, and Lisa Madigan is in the best position to provide it.

Do you think AG Madigan has an obligation to tell the citizens of this state what’s going on in the governor’s office before election day?

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 4:46 am

Comments

YES !!! Without a doubt ! People in public office should be accountable & held to the highest of standards …the have control of our gov’t & the the public trust on many fronts. If there is “things out of kilter” {which many believe there is} then it should be known, not sensationalized ,but in facts ! Unless of course it would endanger due process. Let the investigators ect. do their job. Corruption in recent years is a at the forefront in the voters mind. They may not fully understand it, but know its a problem & the hint of it sends up a red flag ! I don’t know why it would be a surprise that alledged corruption didn’t stop with GR….remember though noone has been indicted in the current {not by me} governors office {YET} it took years to get to the bottom of the situation with GR. When people think voters want information, then give it to them. If the guy is clean “no worries” & will clear that up, but if he’s “involved” they need to at least be aware of it. Why put this guy or any member of his administration back for 4 more years of this. This state is in very serious trouble & it will take serious committed people to figure it out while not being bogged down in seemly endless investigations & creating an inability to effectively govern. Trust is everything here !!

Comment by annon. in central illinois Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 6:43 am
YES!!!! But no because of her party ties.As far as Blago whatever happened to “bring it on”.If I was him and I had done nothing wrong I would want this to the forefront and over before election.

Comment by DOWNSTATE Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 7:09 am
Thanks, Rich. That column was rational, reasonanable, readable. You are the best political commentator in Illinois.

You have now connected Gov. Baloneypitch to the poster boy of political corruption - Richard Milorad, I mean Milhouse, Nixon.

Ouch.

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 7:24 am
YES! In fact, it is her obligation to bring corruption in the governmental system to the forefront EVERY day.

The old cliche, “You are judged by the company you keep” would cause any voter to worry, no matter how much the governor declares himself faultless and blameless.

Comment by Disgusted Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 7:28 am
Yes, but when the AG is the daughter of the Democratic speaker of the house and head of the state Democratic party, we’ll have to wait until he’s reelected and in office before the Fed decides to even hint about its impending indictment. Then some other Chicago Democrat’s kid can become the next Governor. Why do I somehow feel that we’re all serfs?

Comment by Snidely Whiplash Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 7:42 am
I think Lisa Madigan needs to investigate! The State’s Attorneys in every county need to investigate! The Appellate Prosecutor’s office needs to investigate! Every county sheriff needs to investigate! The Illinois State Police need to investigate! Seriously, let the feds do their work. The last thing they want is a bunch of additonal investigators/attorneys demanding the same information and potential evidence, stumbling over and interfering with their case (if there is one). Take a breath folks and let the feds do their job.

Comment by tough guy Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 7:46 am
Thanks Rich for a great column!

Comment by Lori Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 8:24 am
It would be great if AG Madigan could bring her investigation to a close one way or another. But, her office must weigh the rights of the accused and the public’s need for a thorough investigation against the electoral politics. Given Madigan’s strong track record of putting politics aside when it comes to running her office and the high marks she’s received from the Republicans who continue to work under her, I think we can all trust Madigan’s judgement when it comes to weighing these competing interests.

By the way, even more long overdue is a conclusion to Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation of Topinka…and doesn’t he still have an investigation into Emil Jones open? These investigations go back nearly four years and need to be brought to a close as well.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 8:30 am
YES, but she needs to turn it over to an impartial investigator. She has too many ties in the party.

Comment by Wheres the leadership??? Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 8:38 am
Yellow Dog has a good point. Keep in mind that it’s not unheard of for the Feds and AG to cooperate in an investigation. Also not unheard of for the Feds to ask a prosecutor (State or County) to hold off on closing an investigation to avoid throwing a monkey wrench into the pending Federal probe. My point, it may not be totally in AG Madigan’s control.

Comment by Thelma Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 9:04 am
If there is criminal wrongdoing and she waits until after the election to reveal it, her political career could end up going south (just like Jim “I sat on my hands during the George Ryan administration” Ryan).

Comment by Bluefish Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 9:13 am
tough guy, while your point to let the feds do their job is well taken, Lisa Madigan prounced up and down this state making personal attacks on Jim Ryan for doing exactly that on George Ryan.

She does have responsibilty to the accused, but she has duties to her clients, the people.

If we were discussing corporate corruption and the company was about to make an initial stock offering, you bet Lisa would be all over this to be sure none of the voters invested in a scam.

Why then is it ok for her to sweep it aside and let the voters invest 4 more years and 250 billion dollars in Rod Blago.

Comment by the Patriot Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 9:14 am
Ever heard of the old saying, “inocent until proven guilty.” Personally, I do not think there is anything “there.” But, that is what I think. I believe disgruntled Republicans are making a fuss because they are no longer in power. I think AG Madigan will complete her investigation in a timely manner.
I am normally like most of the people in this blog when it comes to the smell test: typically, when there is smoke, there is fire. However, I think when you get beyond the smoke in this, the investigation will show there is no “fire” coming from the governor.
Furthermore, the Glengariff Group poll also shows Blagojevich with 41% and Topinka with 34%. Republicans are “scared” and are trying to tear the Governor down anyway they can.

Comment by SilverBackDemocrat Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 9:19 am
Abosolutely positively, YES

Comment by One Man Can Make A Difference Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 9:28 am
Lisa Madigan prounced up and down this state making personal attacks on Jim Ryan for doing exactly that on George Ryan

I think she needs to work to release her results before she tries to extort money from hospitals.

She can get back to that AFTER she’s released the report *^^*

Comment by Pat C Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 9:41 am
SilverBackDemocrat
Poll Blagojevich 41% Topinka34%
This after Balgojevich spends millions on attack ads and is an incumbant Governor in a Democratic State. If anyone has to be worried or scared it’s Blagojevich. Poll after poll shows he has trouble getting past 44%. History has shown when the incumbant can’t get above the low 40’s in polling he is bound for defeat.

Comment by Lee Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 9:43 am
Yes she should, but her old man is probably tellin’ her to “stall it out” as long as possibe here. She’s just playing politics.

If there was a republic in the gov’s manison, u bet she’s already have relased all the dirt, for darn sure.

Comment by pickles!! Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 9:55 am
Lisa Madigan prounced up and down this state making personal attacks on Jim Ryan for doing exactly that on George Ryan.

Patriot, you guys have your facts mixed up. Rod Blagojevich is the one who criticized JRyan for not investigating GRyan, it was a centerpiece of his campaign.

I don’t think Lisa Madigan ever criticized JRyan personally, although she did have plenty to say about Birkett’s ethical issues.

And, to his credit, before he left the AG’s office, Jim Ryan held a meeting with his entire staff thanking them for their loyal and dedicated service to him and the law, and then asked them to offer that same loyalty and dedication to Lisa Madigan. Jim Ryan was a terrible politician, but his parting showed he’s got alot of character.

To her credit, the Republicans who remained to work with Lisa Madigan — about half her staff — give her high marks for the professionalism with which she operates her office and her ability to separate politics from prosecutions.

There’s a very good reason that Stu Umholtz was the best anybody could find to run against Lisa Madigan, and I doubt that even he will have anything bad to say about how she runs her office.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 10:06 am
Has there ever been an investigation into public corruption from any Illinois elected official that has produced any substantial convictions. This state is so ridiculously corrupt it is unreasonable to think that a State AG investigation would produce any findings contrary to the incumbent. Especially when the AG and the Governor are of the same party and the AG’s father is chairman of the Governor’s re-election campaign.

Let’s be real here. Only the fed will truly investigate in Illinois. Bill Brady is playing politics trying to embarrass the AG and the AG is playing politics by announcing investigations without desire to succeed.

Comment by Merlin Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 10:17 am
So if the AG comes out with the results of her investigation, and finds no misconduct, will the accuastions cease? It seems only fair that once “proven innocent” as we like to say, he can no longer be accused of being guilty. I look forward to the final verdivct and I hope that people accept it and do the right thing with it.

Comment by anon Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 10:25 am
Does she have an obligation to tell the citizens of this state whatâ€™s going on in the governorâ€™s office before election day? Of course, and she says so herself on her own website:

â€œâ€™It is the public policy of this State that public bodies exist to aid in the conduct of the peopleâ€™s business and that the people have a right to be informed as to the conduct of their business.â€™ (5 ILCS 120/1)

Attorney General Lisa Madigan believes that an open, honest and accountable government, the cornerstone of a democracy, can only be achieved through the free and open exchange of information between government and its citizens.â€

So, Lisaâ€™s in a bit of a pickle here, it would seem. Far as I can tell, the way in which state board and commission seats are filled is very much the peopleâ€™s business, and the people have a right to be informed as to the conduct of it. If Lisa has information suggesting that the selection process involved anything more than what is proscribed by statute, how is sheltering that information from public view by way of an endless investigation in line with what she supposedly believes?

It’s been 18 months. Either do something with that information, or give it to someone who will: either the Feds, or the voters.

Comment by grand old partisan Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 10:27 am
Sorry, that should have been “prescribed by statute.” Or, I suppose, you could drop the “more” and “what.”

Comment by grand old partisan Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 10:30 am
I find it amusing that many people are attacking Madigan for being political and not mentioning the face that this ridiculous and unprecedented request came from Topinkas friend and politcal supporter. Your hypocrisy is too strong to take you seriously.

And Rich, when the title of your article is “Madigan Nees to Wrap Up Blagojevich Investigation” and then in the article you write:

“I fully understand that itâ€™s impossible and even unreasonable to impose an arbitrary deadline on a criminal investigation.”

I believe that is misleading and agenda driven.

Comment by THE HANKSTER Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 10:37 am
Hankster, I didn’t write the title. That’s up to the editors, not me.

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 10:44 am
They should read your article before making the title then!

Thanks for letting me know!

Comment by THE HANKSTER Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 10:47 am
She does not. Her only obligation is to investigate these matters in a thorough and objective fashion. Period. If she can not do that without political considerations, she is obligated to immediately and publicly say so and refer this matter to the United States Attorney’s Office.

Comment by Huckleberry Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 11:37 am
HELL NO, RICH! That might piss off her step-father and other political “sponsors.” No reason for that messy stuff, with the Governor’s Mansion “in the bag” for 2010, right?

Comment by Bubs Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 11:50 am
To THE HANKSTER:

Although Rich’s article states that a criminal investigation should not have a deadline, the Chicago Suntimes view is that “Madigan Needs to Rap Up Her Investigation of Blagojevich”.

Although Rich did not state this verbatim, his article insuates exactly what the title reads and most of the tax paying citizens in this state are in agreement with the article and the title.

It is what it is, and I find that it is not politically motivated, it is an effort to improve the operations of state government. This is part of the problem in Illinois; THE SEPARATION OF OPERATING GOVERNMENT FROM POLITICS.

Comment by One Man Can Make A Difference Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 1:01 pm
Yes, absolutely. And Iâ€™m confident that there will be no substance to the allegations.

Now, should the AG investigate the house minority leader for recommending people for hire in agencies under the Governorâ€™s office? Representative Cross was listed on one of the hiring (clout) lists as a political sponsor. If youâ€™re playing along, youâ€™re part of the problem.

As far as Iâ€™m concerned, Tom Cross is practicing business as usual, too.

Comment by B Hicks Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 1:28 pm
One Man Can Make A Difference:

I guess we disagree but I dont see how anyone with a straight face can look at this as anything but politically motivated. Regardless of if one agrees or not with what is being said, it is political.

Comment by THE HANKSTER Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 1:38 pm
Speaking of “Open Government”, AG Madigan needs to tell the people of Illinois what her and the Governor’s Office of Executive Inspector Generals are doing.

grand old partisan - Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 10:27 am:

Does she have an obligation to tell the citizens of this state whatâ€™s going on in the governorâ€™s office before election day? Of course, and she says so herself on her own website:

â€œIt is the public policy of this State that public bodies exist to aid in the conduct of the peopleâ€™s business and that the people have a right to be informed as to the conduct of their business.â€™ (5 ILCS 120/1)

Attorney General Lisa Madigan believes that an open, honest and accountable government, the cornerstone of a democracy, can only be achieved through the free and open exchange of information between government and its citizens.â€

Questions:
1. Why does the Governor’s OEIG have two Deputy Inspector General of Investigations, a Director of Investigations and a Deputy Director of Investigation?—-man their is a lot of investigator and investigations to manage.

2. Why don’t the people know?
3. Why is the new section of the website the same since December 9, 2004?
4. Why hasn’t the quarterly reports been update since Wright was appointed in July 2005?
5. Why hasn’t the IG’s message been changed since Z. Scott’s departure in July 2005?
6. Why has the legislature been in section twice since the appointment of Wright and he has not been confirmed by the legislature?

http://inspectorgeneral.il.gov/message.htm

AG Madigan needs to talk about this as well!

Comment by Blagojevich's Executive Inspector General Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 1:46 pm
YDD, You are wrong, I went to a democrat fundraiser and heard her speak. Yes, although I am a republican I want to hear what everyone has to say, in person when possible. I didn’t get it from a friend, reporter, or tv ad, Lisa Madigan said, “Jim Ryan is a Fraidy Cat for not indicting George Ryan.” It doesn’t get any more personal than that. I quess since it was a fundraiser no media was there, but I can’t believe she only used this terminology once.

This is when I knew Lisa Madigan was a hoax and not the real deal. A qualified attorney could find a more articulate way to criticize a predecessor.

The media should go back and play all the audio from her 2002 speeches and they will find her repatedly berrating Jim Ryan on this issue.

She is like the OZ seemingly great, powerful and all knowing, but behind the smoke and mirrors, the man behind the curtain is all there is.

Comment by the Patriot Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 2:09 pm
the AG definately should release her findings. We see headline after headline and the birds chirp very ugly songs about Blago, but there is never a conclusion. Answers have to be given evenutally to some of these questions and the only reliable person is the AG. Bring it!

Comment by Big Al Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 2:45 pm
Absolutely. If Lisa does not, she will lose the respect of many voters. Do your job Lisa - and quick.

Comment by Swami Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 3:26 pm
meh…

Comment by Lovie's Leather Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 3:45 pm
Since when has any prosecutor in this state gone after high-ranking members of his or her own party? In Cook County, for example, it’s the feds — not the state’s attorney — who finds so much public corruption.

Comment by respectful Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 4:06 pm
B Hicks, what does that “B” stand for? BONG, you must be somking something.

Comment by Anon Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 6:04 pm
Lisa starts investigations. She never finishes them. She’s good at grabbing the headline–investigating the scandal of the week or whatever outrage is on the front page of the newspapers, but then never produces. And the media don’t hold her accountable. They just continue to swoon over her.

Only the Feds know how to do this and get results. If Rod goes down, it will be Fitzgerald, not the Speaker’s daughter, who gets it done.

Comment by Ted Taxpayer Friday, Jun 9, 06 @ 6:21 pm
Last I checked, the Attorney General is primarily a civil office. I believe its criminal powers were designed mostly to help smaller counties which couldn’t prosecute cases because they were too big or some conflict.

The rest is all grandstanding.

Comment by old dem Saturday, Jun 10, 06 @ 10:27 am
Let us compare this situation to the one in Kentucky. Governor Ernie Fletcher was indicted last month, and arraigned on Friday, for hiring/firing illegalities in Kentucky’s state transportation agency. There are nearly identical charges against members of the Blagojevich administration for personnel transactions in IDOT here in Illinois )which, by the way, all evidence point to being true). The principal difference between the states is that the Attorney General of Kentucky is of a different political party than the Governor of that Commonwealth. Do you really think this is a mere coincidence?

Comment by IDOT Engineer Sunday, Jun 11, 06 @ 8:35 pm