Tribune Blago Analysis

As hinted at in Saturday's post:

Good read, the whole article is here.

Key excerpts from the article:

"Now, despite two years of massive borrowing and fee increases, sizable budget cuts and an array of fiscal tricks to stave off the need for income- or sales-tax hikes, Blagojevich is back where he started and facing a budget hole as high as $2 billion by some estimates."

And there is this:

"Illinois has learned some things about Blagojevich the man during the first half of his term: his fixation with his thick head of hair, his infatuation with Elvis Presley, his chronic lateness to everything, and his strained relations with a wide array of fellow Democrats, among them his own father-in-law, Ald. Dick Mell (33rd).

But in Springfield, very different images have emerged of Blagojevich the politician and steward of the public purse and trust.Blagojevich sees his record as one of impressive action and accomplishment, holding the line on taxes despite the constant struggle with deficits, trimming the state payroll and imposing higher ethical standards on a government in bad need of a cleansing.

To his critics, the Blagojevich era is highlighted more by grandiose claims, initiatives crafted primarily for the media pop, inattention to detail and a strategy of trying to humiliate those who get in his way."

And more:

"Running a perpetual image campaign, Blagojevich has adopted the tactic of using bogeymen to further his populist causes. He has attacked federal regulators and pharmaceutical makers over his inability to import prescription drugs, launched a drive to outlaw the sale to minors of violent video games and railed against the "Soviet-style" facelessness of the State Board of Education, which he has stripped of its independent advocacy."

And finally:

"The fragility of Blagojevich's relations with the legislature could prove a minefield for him as he struggles to overcome the latest round of deficit problems while ramping up for re-election in 2006 and, many in Springfield think, a possible White House run two years later."