After three-and-a-half years as governor, Illinoisans are figuring out that Blago's promise of ending "business as usual" meant that the Land of Lincoln would become more corrupt. Luckily, residents of Illinois can do something about it: Blagojevich is up for re-election in four months.
Very bad news hit Blagojevich recently.
From today's Chicago Tribune--free registration may be required:
Nearly two years ago, Gov. Rod Blagojevich's inspector general issued a searing confidential rebuke that called the governor's patronage office "the real machine driving hiring" in one state agency for jobs that were supposed to be free of political influence.
The investigation concluded "the governor's office improperly exercised a great deal, if not all, control over the hiring" at the Illinois Department of Employment Security since shortly after the Democratic governor took office in January 2003.
The report said Blagojevich's patronage office--known formally as the governor's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs--played a key role with compliant agency officials in subverting state laws that give veterans a preference in getting state employment and ban political considerations in hiring for most state jobs.
"This effort reflects not merely an ignorance of the law, but complete and utter contempt for the law," wrote Zaldwaynaka "Z." Scott, who served as Blagojevich's first executive inspector general under an ethics law he signed. Scott, who left the post to join a private law firm last year, said she could not comment on her report.
And from the Daily Herald, which describes the unwelcome "Fitzmas" present that was dropped on the governor's doorstep late last week:
Back in October 1998, then-U.S. Attorney Scott Lassar took the extraordinary step of announcing that Republican governor candidate George Ryan was not a target of his just-begun probe into license-selling in the secretary of state's office.
Ryan's reprieve, however temporary, deflated the campaign of Democrat Glenn Poshard and paved the way for Ryan's narrow victory.
Nearly eight years later, current U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's decision to send a letter confirming a widespread criminal probe into hiring fraud allegations in Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration could have the exact opposite effect on the governor's race, political analysts say. The major development comes little more than four months before Blagojevich stands for re-election against Republican Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka.
"This does the inverse (of Ryan-Poshard). This gives Topinka something very tangible to point to," said Cindi Canary, director of the nonpartisan Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, who adds that Fitzgerald tends to "build his investigations and work on his own time. He's not particularly concerned with the calendar of the election cycle."
Blagojevich has a ton of money in his political fund, his Republican opponent has very little, although President Bush is coming to Chicago Friday for a Topinka fundraiser.
A few months ago, despite the drip-drip-drip of assorted charges of corruption against the Blagovevich administration, Rod's odds of winning a second-term looked darn good.
Now the momentum is swinging towards Topinka.
Technorati tags: illinois politics judy baar topinka democrats Politics Republicans corruption elections Fitzmas Patrick Fitzgerald
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