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* The Daily Herald has more on that poll I told you about yesterday…
Most Illinois residents believe the corruption allegations against impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich - that he schemed to sell off state business for personal profit in profanity-laced phone conversations - are nothing new to politics in their state, a recent poll finds.
The poll released Thursday by the watchdog Illinois Campaign for Political Reform also shows residents list state corruption as one of their top concerns, above even the tanking economy.
People are upset, said campaign deputy director David Morrison.
Of the 802 adults surveyed statewide, 61 percent said they were “extremely concerned” about state corruption compared to 50 percent for the economy and 45 percent for jobs.
Things are way out of whack if the majority of Illinoisans think Blagojevich’s extreme venality is common.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich took a taxpayer-funded flight to southern Illinois in November on the same day he raised $42,000 from contributors in the area, including the family of a man he had recently appointed to a university board, records show.
* You can see all the poll results by clicking here.
* Here is a brief summary from the SJ-R…
*58 percent of respondents think that the charges of corruption against Gov. Blagojevich are common for Illinois public officials.
*78 percent of respondents feel that Illinois is on the wrong track.
*49 percent of respondents feel that the legislature is doing a “poor” job, up from 26 percent in the spring.
*61 percent of respondents were “extremely” concerned about corruption in state government. That compares to 50 percent “extremely” concerned about the economy, 46 percent “extremely” concerned about the budget and 45 percent “extremely” concerned about jobs.
*More than 70 percent of respondents supported various kinds of limits on political contributions, ranging from barring corporate and union contributions to limiting the money legislative leaders can give to their candidates.
*89 percent of respondents said that their legislator’s support of a law reducing the influence of money in politics would be an important factor in their decision to re-elect that legislator.
*88 percent of respondents support the creation of a new agency to enforce campaign finance laws in Illinois.
That last question is a bit curious. Are the goo-goos gonna push for their own state agency? Everybody wants a pension these days.
Discuss.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jan 16, 09 @ 9:02 am
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People in Illinois are very concerned about corruption.
Right up until they become employed by it and start collecting paychecks from it.
Comment by Randolph Jackson Friday, Jan 16, 09 @ 9:07 am
No doubt people are angry. Whether they plan to do anything about it but complain is another thing.
Comment by wordslinger Friday, Jan 16, 09 @ 9:15 am
How long until the first ‘campaign finance cop’ gets convicted of taking bribes?
Comment by Vote Quimby! Friday, Jan 16, 09 @ 9:17 am
Well, I doubt pension deals were what the goo-goos had in mind there, Rich–that last item seems more about creating toothier enforcement—but if we’re going to fork over a pension, I sooner give it to the person who’s working more than their own self-interest.
Comment by Suzanne Friday, Jan 16, 09 @ 9:30 am
Things are way out of whack if the majority of Illinoisans think Blagojevich’s extreme venality is common.
The poll reflects what it should reflect, an anger towards a political system that repeatedly backstabs them, regardless of the political party in power.
Voters are not stupid. For twenty years we have been watching our neighbors stop producing tangible industrial goods, and start answering phones and waiting tables without benefits and less salaries. We’ve been watching our neighbor and his wife, take two jobs to make ends meet, when they used to simply depend on his union-wages.
For twenty years we have been waiting for the Illinois government to address the problems we see in our neighborhoods. Instead of leading, we have watched our state leaders dither. They will not address our state’s structural deficit when times were good. They will not address our state’s pay-to-play political culture until the Feds bust through their doors and bug their offices.
When Blagojevich was elected, Illinoians wanted him to succeed. After thirty years of GOP rule, with the last ten of those years in economic decline, Illinoians wanted the new administration to make the changes they knew we needed to make.
Blagojevich destroyed all of that. Instead of tackling our structural deficit during the Bush Boom years of 2002-2007, Blagojevich threw our fiscal house into an unpayable second mortgage. Democrats didn’t address our state’s budget woes, and instead spent our credit to fill their troughs.
Finally, we discovered that Blagojevich was a bigger crook than the old one we threw out in 2002. What hope is there when you have a two-party system that elects crooks to the governor’s office? After Kerner and Walker, Illinoians felt they had no other choices after Ryan, and they elected Blagojevich by 1% of the popular vote.
Now this? Yes. We are angry!
I don’t believe we are out of wack here. We are out of patience and furious at how the Democrats and Republicans have let us down.
No more government growth.
No new agencies.
No new taxes.
Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Jan 16, 09 @ 9:33 am
Talking about pension reductions or eliminations is a political death sentence (exhibit A: con-con vote). It should absolutely be on the table, and the same goo-goos who trumpet the need for campaign finance reform and stronger ethics legislation would gain more credibility, in my eyes, if they addressed this issue and provided some meaningful alternative, like a solid defined contribution plan.
Comment by The Doc Friday, Jan 16, 09 @ 9:39 am
We already have an appropriate (federal) agency: the FBI.
Comment by Bust 'em all Friday, Jan 16, 09 @ 9:48 am
Many good government groups have, Doc. As for goo goo pensions, Illinois Executive Ethics Commission already has a few staffers on the books.
That aside, can’t we bat these ideas around in terms of efficiencies instead of dismissing them with derisive terms like googoo? I place myself squarely in that category but I also recognize that it’s not a t-shirt that would sell well in the statehouse.
Comment by Suzanne Friday, Jan 16, 09 @ 9:53 am
{Things are way out of whack if the majority of Illinoisans think Blagojevich’s extreme venality is common}
Are you suggesting that something is out of whack with the perception of the electorate with this statement, or recognizing, acknowledging, and affirming their perception of the elected?
Comment by Blago Sphere Friday, Jan 16, 09 @ 9:54 am
I thought there already was a defined contribution plan for new state hires. Did I dream it?
Comment by cermak_rd Friday, Jan 16, 09 @ 11:40 am
What I fear is that once our Blago (we elected him–twice!) departs, citizens will be so exhausted that they will fail to look closely at other officials and projects for signs of corruptions. And that would be a big mistake, especially with the federal cash tsunami coming, along with enormous opportunities for local and tate corruption, no matter what the feds say.
Corruption is build into the structure of Illinois government and politics and the structure hasn’t changed much even with recent changes in ethics laws. With only minor exceptions, there are still no limits to the amount of money one can ontribute to candidates, for example. Seats on important boards and commissions, hundreds of them, can still be effectively “sold” for campaign cash.
Eternal vigilance is tiring but major ethics legislation seems unlikely.
Comment by Cassandra Friday, Jan 16, 09 @ 3:47 pm