Gov. Quinn refuses to apologize for calling Blago honest

Twice Patrick Quinn was Rod Blagojevich's running mate, a beneficiary of Blago's dirty campaign cash. The second time around, Quinn said his fellow Chicago Democrat was "honest." Reasonable people knew better then. But Quinn, who succeeded the disgraced Blagojevich as Illinois governor, refuses to apologize, as the Chicago Tribune reports:

"No, I don't think apologies are necessary," Quinn said after an Earth Day event at the Executive Mansion. "I think, what we want to do is, if people find out things that aren't right, you roll up your sleeves and you correct them. That's what I have believe in all my life."

Quinn defended Blagojevich as they sought re-election in October 2006--just weeks before voters went the ballot box and five months after federal investigators revealed they were investigating "endemic hiring fraud" in the Blagojevich administration.

Quinn, then lieutenant governor, maintained Blagojevich had "always been a person who's honest and one of integrity."

Since moving into the Illinois Executive Mansion, Quinn has proposed a 50 percent state income tax increase.

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