Obama avoiding chance to change Illinois

The last time I checked, Barack Obama was still a US senator from Illinois. Although the former state senator has no official role in the Illinois General Assembly, his voice is a powerful one in Springfield, particularly with the man Obama once called his "godfather," State Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago), pictured on the left with Obama.

Two years ago Obama's longtime political supporter and friend, Antoin "Tony" Rezko, was indicted on various charges related to schemes that US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald called "pay to play on steroids." Rezko's plan worked like this: You donate money to the campaign fund of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, another Chicago Democrat, you receive state business.

Amazingly, a bill passed the Illinois legislature this spring that effectively bans "pay to play." But Blagojevich, who is believed to be under federal investigation for his alleged "pay to play" misdeeds, used line-item vetoes to render the bill essentially meaningless.

Dave McKinney of the Chicago Sun-Times reports on what appears to be a missed chance to invoke badly needed change in Illinois:

"As a presidential candidate, this is small potatoes. But as Illinois' U.S. senator, this is a place he could come in and quickly clean up some of the damage and serve his state," said Cindi Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, which has pushed for the donation restrictions for three years.

On Wednesday, the Illinois House rejected Blagojevich's rewrite, 110-3. Under the state Constitution, the Senate has "15 calendar days" to follow suit, or the plan as originally written will die.

Jones announced Thursday he would not reconvene the Senate until Nov. 12 but claimed the stopwatch wouldn't start until that date. That interpretation of the Constitution is not believed to have been tested in the state courts, possibly inviting a legal challenge.

The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform is a group Obama worked with while serving in Springfield.

More:

If (Obama is) the reformer he says he is, why would he not encourage cleaning up his home state, which is one of the most corrupt at this point in the United States?" said Sen. Christine Radogno (R-Lemont). "He has an opportunity to really put some action behind his words, and he won't do it.

Obama couldn't fix Springfield during his eight years there. And he won't fix it now.

How is he going to institute "change" in Washington?

Related posts:

Ill. House Speaker circulating papers on impeachment of governor

The con is on in Obama-land: Emil Jones' son takes dad's place on the ballot

Technorati tags: politics Illinois Election Democrats Chicago Obama Barack Obama Emil Jones Rezko Illinois Politics Blagojevich