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“T.I.I.”

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* My Sun-Times column…

If Gov. Rod Blagojevich winds up in prison, he’ll be the fourth out of the last eight governors to wear the orange jumpsuit.

As Jon Stewart noted on “The Daily Show” last week, just 48 percent of the people who commit murder end up in jail for their crime.

“You are more likely to end up in jail if you become the governor of Illinois than if you become a murderer,” said an astonished Stewart.

Why is Illinois so corrupt?

Lots of national reporters asked me that question last week during the intense media frenzy following Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s arrest. I don’t have a lot of patience for national reporters, and since I was extremely busy I eventually just started talking in shorthand.

“T.I.I.”

It’s an explanation derived from the 2006 movie “Blood Diamond,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

DiCaprio’s character was attempting to explain why a particularly awful thing happened in an African nation.

“T.I.A.” he said. “This is Africa.”

Well, “This is Illinois.”

Our politicians have always been corrupt.

US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said last week that Gov. Blagojevich’s behavior would make the sainted Abraham Lincoln “roll over in his grave.”

But Honest Abe saw a whole bunch of corruption when he was a member of the Illinois House. He even dipped his toes into the muddy waters ever so slightly.

Back then, when business owners wanted to incorporate, they had to first pass a law. The easiest and fastest way to pass their legislation was to offer corporate board memberships to state legislators. A lot of politicians made a ton of money off those deals.

Illinois was also opening up the wilderness to private development. Since state lawmakers were at the center of that push they had the inside track to buy up the land. Rep. Lincoln tried his hand at this state-enabled scam once, but he lost money.

See? Even our greatest state heroes aren’t totally clean.

But as I’ve tried to explain lately, Rod Blagojevich is different.

He’s not former Gov. Len Small, an Al Capone henchman who pardoned a Capone bootlegger after he killed a state policeman. He’s not former Gov. George Ryan, whose staff shook down trucking companies for campaign contributions. He’s not former Congressman Dan Rostenkowski, who got busted stealing postage stamps.

The difference between Blagojevich and all of those politicians is that those guys actually got a lot of things done. They were all successful at the the jobs they were elected to do.

And that, basically, is what has made Illinois so different from most other states.

Illinois has almost always valued “getting things done” over partisanship, or ideology, or regionalism or whatever. Corruption was part of that “whatever.”

So, we’ve tolerated corruption because our corrupt political leaders have mostly been competent, able people. You go with what works, I suppose.

Blagojevich has been so incompetent, divisive and goofy, particularly since his reelection two years ago, that he would’ve been universally reviled even if he hadn’t been an alleged crook.

The same pretty much goes for Cook County Board President Todd Stroger. His sheer incompetence enrages people far more than putting half his genealogical chain on the public payroll.

Maybe Blagojevich’s arrest will finally make the scales fall from our eyes, in much the same way as people all over the nation have reacted to “too big to fail” corporations since the international financial meltdown.

But voters may not like what they see. The real problem hasn’t been with our politicians. The problem has been us.

* Related…

* With latest scandal, is Illinois the most corrupt state in the nation

* Blagojevich Calls to Mind Clarence Darrow and Chicago Corruption

* How Blagojevich fits into Illinois history

* What would Lincoln say?

* We’re No. 18

* Pining for the days of Al Capone

* Not just Chicago-style

* Not exactly a contest for bragging rights

* Chicago’s karma

* Studs was right: ‘The big boys are not that bright’

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 9:26 am

Comments

Heh, you mentioned incompetence. I found out last night that the governor of Oklahoma was impeached on a charge of general incompetence. For Henry Johnson the issue was the sway his private secretary had over him.

Comment by Levois Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 9:35 am
So what’s the process for committing Todd?

Comment by Bill Baar Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 9:35 am
Seems like Todd Stroger might be the biggest loser from the recent news cycle. I think these comparisons might continue to be made…

Comment by Thomas Westgard Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 9:37 am
=Blagojevich has been so incompetent, divisive and goofy=

…and to top it all off, since his first year as governor, he has always considered himself budding candidate for President of the USA (my “first year” comment based a statement to me by a Democratic state representative some years ago).

And the fed’s tapes indicate that Blago believed that if he could get his current troubles to blow over, he was in line to run for President in 2016! What a piece of work…

Comment by Conservative Republican Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 9:43 am
If people in the media didn’t take such joy in rehashing this scandal over & over again, I might accept your patronizing finger-pointing. Just make sure you count out those of “us” who voted for Judy Baar Topinka.

Comment by Roosevelt370 Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 9:55 am
Rich, you’ve hit the nail on the head. I’ve told the same story to many people in the last week. People in Illinois will put up with alot, even corruption, as long as things get done. It’s part of the game…part of the process. Blago just couldn’t get things done. When he tried, he screwed it up…made things worse. He didn’t know how to play ball. He kept trying until he went way, way over the edge. It is his own incompetence in so many areas that did him in.

Comment by Deep South Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 9:56 am
Why commit todd? County government hasnt stalled nor is it in gridlock, the hospitals havent closed, courts still open?

Comment by westsider Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 10:04 am
Hmm, Blagojevich and Stroger, I wonder if they have any supporters in common… let’s look and see what big name, fast-rising Illinois politicians were, say, on Blagojevich’s gubernatorial campaign committee, or made a crucial endorsement of John Stroger over Forrest Claypool just before the election.

Comment by Mgmax Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 10:09 am
So the cost of getting things done is corruption?

Comment by Johnny USA Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 10:10 am
“The fault, dear readers, lies not in our stars but in ourselves”

Comment by Carl Nyberg Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 10:11 am
The New York Times yesterday had a story in which they compiled statistics on how many public officials in each state (or state-like jurisdiction, such as District of Columbia) had been convicted over the last several years, and normalized it to the population of the jurisdiction. For those who take a perverse pride in the level of Illinois corruption—sorry, we are not even close to the top; we rank #22 out of 54. District of Columbia is the most corrupt, and Nebraska is the least. We are statistically sort of ordinary with respect to level of corruption, but seem to have a knack for spectacular individual cases.

Comment by jake Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 10:21 am
==The real problem hasn’t been with our politicians. The problem has been us.==

No, it is not. You cannot begin to address our situation when you so define the problem so broadly, it cannot be solved. It might sound nice and bipartisan to say that the “The problem has been us”, but it is not true.

There will be no satisfactory solution when no one takes responsibility or we allow the corrupted ones to claim that “everyone is doing it”. Saying that “we” are the problem is not actually demanding accountability or responsibility. By condemning all of us, you make the resolution more difficult.

The problem is the politicians. We dutifully vote, based on the best choices we could make for each of us. We depend on each political party’s nomination to mean something. We depend on each political party to be organizations of state leaders and prospective state leaders with varying degree of competence and honesty - not lack thereof. We depend upon the news media to inform us, not propagandize for one party over the other, as was shockingly prevalent this year in favor of Barack Obama.

Don’t like an electorate voting for Candidate A over Candidate B because A comes from the same family as voters have already chosen? Don’t like these fiefdoms? Then political parties need to step up and throw out losers and idiots, not reward mercenaries and blow-hards based on their polling and deep pockets.

The Illinois GOP in 1998 and the Illinois Democrats in 2006 knowingly nominated a guy who should not have been nominated. Each party failed us. Yet both parties have been allowed to deny their responsibilities for their actions by fingerpointing and spreading their responsibilities around. If neither party is willing to claim that their nominees are competent, deserving, honest and experienced enough for their nominations, why do they exist except as criminal organizations and wish-lists?

The Republicans were ousted due to George Ryan. The Democrats should be similarly treated for their digusting support of a disgusting man.

Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 10:22 am
As long as the voting process in Cook County is designed in a way that the election judge can see the voter’s ballot, people like Stroger are guaranteed election. I’m an election judge in the City and have been a pollwatcher on the south side. Some Aldermen were surprised when the voter turnout in the predominantly-black precincts was actually lower in November. I am sure that is because no voter’s job or other personal success factor was dependent upon showing up to vote.

When I was pollwatching the captain informed all of the judges which of the races mattered. There were only two –my guess is that there are always only a few—and I spent the day watching the Voters show their ballot to the judge before it went into the scanner. [I didn’t get any threats that day but a colleague in the next ward was told her tires would be slashed if she caused any problems.]

But if that doesn’t work, a judge can easily reboot the scanner, zeroing out the votes, scan in “correctly-voted” ones and the Board of Elections would have no way of telling. Board of election officials have told me that scanner reboots are common. It happened in the precinct where I am now a judge and we still don’t know the cause. Also, there is no official tally of the number of ballots issued to precincts. No one could ever prove legal ballots were destroyed and replaced with bogus ones.

From what I can tell, this is all beyond the capability (or at least willingness) of the Board of Elections personnel to fix. It will take a court order to change the design of the voting system. Until then the crooks will control the outcome.

Comment by RBD Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 10:28 am
Regarding “the sainted Abraham Lincoln”, it is also interesting to note that Abe didn’t even bother twisting arms at newspapers. When editorials offended him, he closed the paper and threw the owners in jail. If Abe is “rolling in his grave”, perhaps he is just dumbfounded by this amateur.

Comment by Bubba Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 10:28 am
We’re on a good rip, and let’s face it, we take some perverse pride, but I don’t think Illinois is unique when it comes to corruption.

You’ll find government corruption in every system, in every age, everywhere on Earth since the crust cooled. There are some who argue that corruption is the grease that makes the engine of government work.

Back in Philly, the drafters of the Constitution didn’t include the concepts of separation of powers, federalism and a Bill of Rights because they thought they were creating a utopia. They did so because they were acutely aware that the greed and lust for power of ambitious men needed institutional checks.

In a democracy like ours, corruption is excised through the courts and the ballot box. In a totalitarian state, it’s excised by the coup d etat and the hangman.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 10:28 am
VanillaMan, Republicans blame George Ryan, but is it true?

Other factors contributed:

* Bush
* the GOP pursuing a Southern strategy
* the GOP rewarding industries like military and oil while neglecting Illinois industries, like manufacturing, transportation and agriculture
* the GOP had a long run of success in Springfield and voters were ready to flip to Dems
* the generally unpleasant nature of Republicans who attack, attack, attack
* the inability of the Movement Conservatives to work with the Illinois Republicans who were more moderate and focused on traditional perks of office (patronage and contracts)
* demographics

The GOP is most likely engaged in wishful thinking to hope that Blagojevich turns people against Democrats more than Obama gets people excited about becoming Democrats.

But when your party is weak on policy and infrastructure, sometimes there’s nothing to keep you motivated but wishful thinking.

Comment by Carl Nyberg Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 10:31 am
Unfortunately, we value getting things done, but we don’t seem to value doing things well. We don’t just tolerate sub-par means to the end, we also tolerate sub-par ends.

Just by way of an example, how much money do you think has been invested in the transportation system in Illinois in the last 10 years? Billions. Yet, drive around and it’s falling apart. We’re thrilled “to get” the fed earmarks, IL FIRST, the RTA/transit funding legislation - but the citizens don’t care what we do with it, really. We don’t demand long life cycles from our infrastructure (and that would be no fun for legislators and contractors, anyway). It can fall apart again in five years (hello, I-55) and no one cares.

The more things fall apart, the more things politicians can be pleased to get done. The more we don’t actually fix things - the more little sub par fixes we get to make. This cycle is entrenched in IL politics - new programs and legislation that provide for contracts and headlines, but make sure not to solve the problem for more than an election cycle. “Me too” slices of the pie, contracts, and campaign contributions are sub-par means to, typically, a sub-par end.

I’m feeling so cynical this week, I’m struggling to sustain my moniker. I’d love to hear some examples of things we Illinoisans are proud to have “gotten done”. Not just because they got done, but also because they got done well.

Comment by Keep Smiling Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 10:32 am
Nyberg
Your “Republican hatred” is showing.

Your post simply reflects that the Democrats have been successful, with the assistance of the Illinois MSM, in “selling” a mythology about the dysfunction of Republicans, thereby motivating the voters to default to electing corruption-prone Democrats.

The Democrats succeeded in one thing only: convincing female voters that Republicans would strip them of the “right” to an abortion. That caused a sea-shift on what would otherwise be a dependable Republican voting bloc to the Democrats.

If the female vote syndrome was reversed, the Republicans would return to power, outside of Chicago, in a snap.

Comment by Conservative Republican Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 10:40 am
I don’t think finding succor by choosing one party over another is going to work this time.

The Democrats had been handed the governor’s mansion for the first time in a generation. Kerner, Walker and now Blagojevich. Thanks to the first two, Illinoians had another reason to elect Thompson, Edgar and Ryan.

Now, thanks to how badly they screwed up after being given another chance, the Illinois Democrats have given us another future gubernatorial felon.

Comics have been laughing over the 50% jail rate for the last eight Illinois governors - but the rate is 100% for Illinois Democratic governors.

I am just not in the mood to hear how we should be giving these idiots a break. They got their break in 2002 and proved for the third time, in a row, they should not be trusted with anything.

Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 10:45 am
>Illinois has almost always valued “getting things done” over partisanship, or ideology, or regionalism or whatever.

This is foolishness, as proven by your own story about incorporating in the 19th Century.

The key to machine politics is to put legal roadblocks IN THE WAY OF GETTING THINGS DONE, so that people have to pay you to get through. It’s the Illinois version of Iraqi mafias that set up literal roadblocks and demand a bribe to pass.

The problem here is not that we “value” getting things done. It’s that we’ve empowered legislators to get paid off for anything that we might need done.

Comment by lincoln street Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 10:46 am
I think Blago’s arrest, related to his outrageous political extortion schemes, will be a political tipping point in Illinois and maybe even Cook County. I don’t think Todd Stroger is dishonest or even a bad guy personally, he’s just completely in over his head.

Comment by Captain America Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 10:47 am
Bubba, the circumstances regarding Lincoln’s shutting down newspapers and jailing editors was a tad bit different than Rod’s beef with the Trib, don’t you think? Depending on your point of view, I think they called it the Civil War or the War Between the States.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 10:48 am
VM- Some of his loudest critics have been dems. Let’s be somewhat objective about this instead of trying to play partisan politics amidst the very serious reality of a possible impeachment

Comment by Kevin Fanning Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 10:49 am
What continues to amaze me is that some people (VanillaMan, Conservative Republican, et al) continue to believe that corruption is the problem of one party or the other.

WAKE UP PEOPLE. Corruption is not a problem that is exclusively Democratic or Republican, CORRUPTION IS AN ENDEMIC, STATEWIDE PROBLEM. However, so long as we continue to think otherwise, Illinois will continue to be a laughing stock.

There are no easy solutions, but term limits would certainly be a good start.

Comment by Cynic Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 10:56 am
VM- Some of his loudest critics have been dems

Lately, yes. But with the possible exception of Jack Franks, Lou Lang and a few others, most of the state’s top Dems (including Pat Quinn and MJM) have, until recently, been among his enablers in word if not deed.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 10:57 am
cynic-

You are correct that the more significant divide is not between parties, but in those who want to serve vs. those who want to serve themselves.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 10:59 am
With what? The GRT, the Capital Plan? I think you can argue that many of the Republicans have been his biggest enablers as of late.

Comment by Kevin Fanning Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 11:00 am
I don’t think any reasonable or intelligent person believes corruption is limited to one party.

But whenever someone in Party A gets caught, promoters of Party B pick up the banner of virtue (despite any recent evidence to the contrary), not in an effort to rid the world of corruption, but to boost their own interests.

Such it has always been, such it will always be.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 11:05 am
KF- True, because the Gov holds the keys to the execution of any capital plan, they have to play ball if they want one. If they’d a known what was coming down and when, maybe the Repubs wouldn’t have bent over like they did.

I was referring to Quinn’s endorsement of Blago’s ethics as late as 2006, and MJM’s chairing of Blago’s reelection effort.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 11:05 am
Hey Rich, did you see the picture of Rod and his wife on the front page of the Chicago Tribune’s website. He’s holding a rather large suitcase. I wonder, what’s in the bag?

Comment by Feldman Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 11:07 am
The Democrats succeeded in one thing only: convincing female voters that Republicans would strip them of the “right” to an abortion.–Conservative Republican

Aren’t the Republicans trying to convince the people who oppose abortion that the Republicans will outlaw abortion?

Isn’t there something condescending about Republicans assuming women don’t have the sense to vote their interests in elections?

BTW, what’s the basis in what I wrote that I hate Republicans?

I pointed out that factors besides George Ryan contributed to the woes of the Illinois GOP. Do you disagree with this position? Or do you believe that Ryan sank every statewide Republican candidate (minus JBT for treasurer) since 2002?

I claimed the GOP is weak on policy and infrastructure.

Do you disagree that the GOP is weak on infrastructure in Illinois?

On what policy issue is the GOP strong on either the state or national level? What are the most important issues facing the country? Illinois? What are the GOP policy prescriptions?

Conservative Republican, it seems like you equate telling the truth about Republican Party to “hating” the Republicans. Perhaps it’s your hate of Democrats combined with your failure to imagine anything besides binary choices (the two party system) that keeps you loyal to the GOP.

Comment by Carl Nyberg Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 11:08 am
All I know is that the GA better get this one right or THEY will be the laughing stock. The national media is in town, and the whole world is watching. The GA can’t have another one of their come to town and do nothing sessions. They had better do something even if it is wrong.

MSNBC is reporting that the Speaker is going to hold a press conference at noon. Should be interesting.

Comment by Jaded Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 11:08 am
===If they’d a known what was coming down and when, maybe the Repubs wouldn’t have bent over like they did. ===

He was being investigated by Patrick Fitzgerald in an ethics probe at the time. Isn’t that enough of a signal to stay away?

Comment by Kevin Fanning Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 11:08 am
One significant problem the GOP had aside from Ryan, et. al., was the lack of up and coming young talent to replace the old guard. The Dems. in Hynes, Madigan, Alexi, etc. had better talent. Heck, the grew their own… literally.

Comment by Ron Burgundy Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 11:14 am
Now I understand. One can be as corrupt as the market will bear if one gets things done.

Comment by Enemy of the State Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 11:17 am
KF-

My business-oriented grandmother would tell me that good things come to those who wait, and hurrying the deal to get it done usually makes you look like the fool. Good advice.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 11:20 am
Kevin,
Get serious. The Senate Democratic Caucus (until only recently) has been the biggest enabler to Blago over the past 6 years. It is no contest.

Comment by Jaded Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 11:21 am
Wordslinger, I’m just saying that “Saint Abe” ain’t exactly “rolling in his grave”.

Comment by Bubba Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 11:22 am
Jaded, there is a lot of truth to that.

Comment by Kevin Fanning Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 11:26 am
“Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) — A federal grand jury is investigating how a company that advised Jefferson County, Alabama, on bond deals that threaten to cause the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, did similar work in New Mexico after making contributions to Governor Bill Richardson’s political action committees.

The grand jury in Albuquerque is looking into Beverly Hills, California-based CDR Financial Products Inc., which received almost $1.5 million in fees from the New Mexico Finance Authority in 2004 after donating $100,000 to Richardson’s efforts to register Hispanic and American Indian voters and pay for expenses at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, people familiar with the matter said.”

Blago wanted to be in the Cabinet. Richardson has already been picked.

Comment by True Observer Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 11:28 am
A play on words if you will, when MJM and Emil Jones signed on as the gov’s campaign co-chairs,
“what were they thinking”. And yes as a Republican while I feel for those poor little girls I am dancing in the street that after 6 years of absolute corruption the democrats are going to be forced to answer for what they have allowed to happen.

Comment by leigh Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 11:28 am
Just for the record, Carl and CR, there are a good number of women (myself included) who do NOT consider an official policy of abortion on demand to be in their “best interest” or that of their children or their society.

That being said, I do think the Republicans use abortion and other social issues which they don’t really have much power to change simply as a convienient way to “energize” their “base” at election time; after that, such promises are convieniently forgotten.

The GOP cannot win without BOTH social AND fiscal conservatives. Both sides err when they attempt to throw the other under the bus. There are ways I think they can do this which I have explained on other occasions.

If the Illinois GOP wants to make hay out of this crisis, I suggest they hit more on the fiscal damage Rod has done to our state than on which Democrats talked to him when and how often. Point out how little money closing the state parks really saved, when compared to his “mistaken” $1 million grant and other schemes. Remind voters of his attempt to give away $50 gas cards to get people to sign up for All Kids — and how hard it is to get an All Kids provider. Things like that.

Comment by Bookworm Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 11:31 am
bookworm, what is a “fiscal conservative” at this point?

A Republican administration (Bush) and a Republican Congress proved to be the most fiscally irresponsible POTUS and most fiscally irresponsible Congress since WWII.

Republicans are simply deceiving themselves to claim that their party stands for fiscal discipline. Republicans are for stopping money being spent that benefits Democrats (like the Big Three bailout). But if the money is going to Republicans (the financial sector bailout) Republicans will give away 10 X the money while asking 1/10th the questions.

This follows the historical pattern of Republicans wasting big money on weapons systems that don’t work while complaining about much smaller expenditures to alleviate poverty.

Comment by Carl Nyberg Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 11:41 am
I believe this is a bipartisan state as both Republicans, Democrats and even the Green party agree. The governor is a moron and should be removed from power immediately! I guess instead of a red or blue state, we can be the first purple state. Can’t we all just get along?

Comment by Illinois.Pundit Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 11:50 am
Carl, Shouldn’t you get back to work and earn you salary for once.

Comment by Anonymous Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 11:55 am
“The only difference between the Democrats and the Republicans is that the Democrats allow the poor to be corrupt, too.” Oscar Levant

Comment by Just the Facts Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 12:58 pm
Carl, the fact that the GOP no longer “stands for fiscal discipline” is a big part of their problem.

Comment by Bookworm Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 12:59 pm
KF and Six, lets add Cellini to your discussion, a major repub, and a big part of the Blago pay to play team (allegedly).

Comment by Ghost Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 12:59 pm
Actually, Illinois Pundit, I think ALL states are “purple” to varying degrees. Break down presidential vote totals county by county and you see plenty of deep red, light red and pink counties in blue states as well as deep blue and light blue counties in red states (e.g. Texas). The so-called red/blue state divide is really more of an urban/rural divide, with suburban voters as the swing group.

Comment by Bookworm Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 1:03 pm
lincoln street, good points. A bit hyperbolic perhaps, but very good.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 1:12 pm
Added more toons to my collection of hot off the internet cartoons dealing with Governor Rod. Today’s favorite: GOP=Goofs on Parade

Comment by IrishPirate Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 1:21 pm
However, lincoln street, what you’re missing is that even with the political toll booths at every turn, things almost always got done. Illinoisans don’t seem to care much how they get done as long as things do get done. Hence, the big problems with Blagojevich and Todd Stroger.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 1:21 pm
Also, what does the word “corruption” mean? It comes via medieval French from the Latin “corrumpere”, which, literally translated, means “completely broken.” It can refer either to moral depravity or to the physical process of rot or decay that occurs to dead or dying bodies. Either way, it signals breakdown. It doesn’t “get things done” but stands in the way of getting things done.

Comment by Bookworm Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 1:24 pm
I believe as a voter, one of the ways we can help is by threatening to pull support from an entire political party. I believe that to break it down to individuals allows our political parties to cop out on something we expect them to do.

To rail against the entire party is appropriate. Just as I railed against the entire GOP when they daudled over Ryan, I am comdemning Illinois Democrats in a similar spirit.

I am not being partisan. I am demanding accountability from a political party that named one of the worst governors in Illinois history as their leader, and making them responsible for it.

That’s my job. Sucking up to them is yours.

Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 1:25 pm
speaking of “political toll booths” -

Ironically, Open Road Tolling and the I-355 extension were some of the few accomplishments that appeared to be done halfway competently during the last 6 years.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 1:31 pm
Six Degrees, thank you. And the I-355 extension was a particularly challenging accomplishment given today’s environmental requirements and community considerations. Sure their were some bumps, but it got done and the result is pretty darn good. And the restructuring of the toll fees was done effectively, too. So maybe Blago deserves his name on the signs… which I suppose we’ll want to take down soon.

Comment by Keep Smiling Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 1:51 pm
Rod Blagojevich’s actions clearly necessitate his prompt removal from office — no disagreement there. But is it really clear that his first-term record was so much worse than George Ryan’s? George Ryan was a get-along guy, but what were his significant accomplishments, before his final-day clearing of death row?

This site has correctly pointed out that a number of his signature accomplishments were just initiatives waiting for any Democratic governor to come along, and others (such as All Kids) have been plagued by implementation challenges. You could even argue that some of the accomplishments of his first term were accomplished despite him, not because of him. But at the time of his reelection in 2006, the record (including All Kids, increased education funding, the I-355 extension, and open road tolling) didn’t look nearly as bad as it does now, when we have two years of chaos in the interim.

Again, the guy has to go — I’m not arguing the opposite. And it’s also clearly right that the last two years have been a total lost cause, and that even before last week he hadn’t done anything in his second term to justify a third. I’m just saying that his substantive record in his first four years isn’t as meager by comparison as Rich’s column makes it sound.

Comment by Trent Green's Clipboard Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 2:46 pm
Bookworm, the idea that the GOP ever stood for fiscal discipline has been shown to be a fraud.

When Bush and the Congressional Republicans were busting the budget, no mainstream Republican member of Congress stood up to object. I don’t think they even fretted that it was a little expensive. They just got in line (minus Ron Paul).

And which Republican media personality stood up to criticize the GOP spending money not covered by tax revenue? Nobody prominent.

Sure, Republicans talked about “fiscal conservatism” when the house of cards came crashing down. But when Bush was popular, when the decisions were made “fiscal conservatism” meant cutting the federal income tax, not reconciling revenue and spending.

The GOP is a scam to make a few people rich while a whole bunch of people get suckered on issues like abortion. There is no policy substance to the GOP. At the national level the party is a criminal enterprise taking advantage of the prejudices of regular folk.

Comment by Carl Nyberg Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 2:47 pm
To RBD @ 10:28 ===Also, there is no official tally of the number of ballots issued to precincts.=== I think you are wrong on this point. The end of the day tally has the number of ballots shipped, voted, voided, etc. They are or should be easily accounted for. If they are not then things have changed and I can’t see why such an easy accounting measure would have been removed.

Comment by Been There Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 2:47 pm
Frankly I do not care how anyone GETS their job as long as they DO the job they were HIRED for. The problem with this administration was that they came in in 2003 loaded for bear. Anyone that was a state employee before they arrived was seen as corrupt, not part of the program and had to go. This was the fatal flaw. Instead of replacing ONLY figurehead employees, they launched a full scale attack against any and all career employees. What knowledge base was left after that, either retired ASAP or jumped ship. If it were not for the dedication and desire to serve the public by career employees, many of the critcal programs and services the state provides would have collapsed. We have a lot of upper management hanging about courtesy of this administration, but few who have actually shown any interest in doing the jobs they have been hired to do.

Comment by Sweet Polly Purebred Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 3:18 pm
Been There - Yes, the Judges submit paperwork with the “facts” about the ballots - voted, unused, etc. But it is the Judges who do the reporting. It is whatever number I say it is and there is no way to prove otherwise. Ballots that are destroyed never existed officially. (And I’ve watched judges pitch ballots in the trash.)

Comment by RBD Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 4:09 pm
If there is a hope for GOP future successes in any of this, I think the key is “Don’t make it partisan”. People are so tired of that. It’s a huge part of why Obama is President.

Talk about individual failures, don’t demonize Democrats. Institutionally, remind people that they really knew all along it wasn’t a good idea to put all of state government under the control of one party.

Run good candidates up and down the ticket. Every good name on a ballot, no matter how lowly the office, brings out some people who otherwise wouldn’t have voted.

But in the end, all is lost if people continue to give little attention to governments and politics. Sorry, VM, Pogo was right.

Comment by steve schnorf Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 4:49 pm
=The grand jury in Albuquerque is looking into Beverly Hills, California-based CDR Financial Products Inc., which received almost $1.5 million in fees from the New Mexico Finance Authority in 2004 after donating $100,000 to Richardson’s efforts to register Hispanic and American Indian voters and pay for expenses at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, people familiar with the matter said.”=

G’bye, Governor Chubby.

If anything besides Blago trips up our POTUS-E, it will be this kind of shakedown. It has been spreading like wildfire throughout America over the past few years, with plenty of examples right here in the great state of Illinois, some known to the Northern District US Attorney.

The POTUS-E is aware of the problem and the conspicuous absence of some of his oldest, closest Chicago friends from major positions in the Administration is telling.

Can’t all be blamed on Rev. Jackson any longer, my friends.

Comment by Arthur Andersen Monday, Dec 15, 08 @ 9:51 pm
Rich you are starting to sound like a Sun Times Reporter..biased and untrue reporting..Dont do it.you were a good source of information but yesterdays column seem just like everyone else

Comment by anon Tuesday, Dec 16, 08 @ 6:45 am