Marathon Pundit: Blago-style "pay to play" still alive in Illinois?

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Blago-style "pay to play" still alive in Illinois?

Twice Governor Pat Quinn was Rod Blagojevich's running mate, benefiting from the hair-brained one's dirty money. Jurors are now deciding the fate of the disgraced Blago who shamed Illinois by instituting "pay to play on steroids" in the Land of Lincoln.

Earlier this month scenes of Operating Engineers striking such as the one pictured, which was taken a mile from my home, were common in the Chicago area. The strike ended while I was on vacation, but as this Tuesday Illinois Republican Party press release explains, "pay to play" hasn't any taken time off here.

(CHICAGO) – As jurors begin deliberating the fate of former Governor Rod Blagojevich, Illinois State Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady today questioned whether pay-to-play politics is still part of Governor Quinn's game plan.

"Campaign finance disclosure reports now available show us that Pat Quinn received more than $500,000 from two labor unions which benefitted from the unprecedented, heavy-handed intervention of his Illinois Department of Transportation into the labor dispute with private road contractors," Chairman Brady said.

"Did Governor Quinn inappropriately use his influence on their behalf - reminiscent of the pay-to-play politics already on trial in Illinois and driving up costs for taxpayers? I think it's a legitimate question to ask," Chairman Brady said.

Quinn received $500,000 in a late June fundraising scramble from the Operating Engineers and Laborers unions. In mid-July IDOT Secretary Gary Hannig effectively threatened contractors to force a settlement. In its July 19 letter to the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association, IDOT announced it would “take steps” including re-bidding the contracts, imposing penalties for missed deadlines and imposing Project Labor Agreements which would have re-started the contract.

"Despite its claims, IDOT was anything but impartial," said State Senator Kirk Dillard (R-Naperville), a leader in ethics reform and who made transportation and road projects a center-piece of his campaign for governor earlier this year. Dillard noted the pattern emerging with Governor Pat Quinn is strikingly similar to that of Blagojevich, Quinn's two-time running mate.

"In recent weeks, we’ve seen extensive media coverage of abuse," Dillard said. "Pat Quinn took $75,000 from the Teamsters and then vetoed a bipartisan agreement on McCormick Place in order to benefit that union. He’s been flying around the state – and according to reports – campaigning on the taxpayers' dime. Now campaign finance reports show he’s getting a half million dollars – or more -- from labor unions which benefitted from his apparent intervention into a labor dispute."

Chairman Brady added that Quinn is tone deaf when it comes to Illinois taxpayers. "It's sickening that citizens could again be subjected to the same pay-to-play politics that rocked Illinois. This certainly seems like an abuse of power and it's got to stop."