Will He Stay or Will He Go?

Our beloved, okay, not so beloved as bedeviled, Governor, Rod the Mod, is not going to leave quietly, is he? It is quite evident that he should be gone. It is sad that it appears that his wife, Patti, has been complicit in his dealings for more and more money. Shakedowns, extortion, backroom dealings, and selling his soul for a few extra (alright, a lot of extra) dollars.

How does this happen when he knew that he has been under federal investigation since 2003? It boggles the mind to think that he is that brash, brazen, unrepentant, and ignorant all at the same time. Word from the New York Times is that Rod the Mod even blows up at his own personnel when they can't find his prize hairbrush. This is a man who manages to never take responsibility for his actions. I spoke with a relative this past weekend who works with a former elementary school classmate of Rod's. The former classmate is not surprised by the outcome of his governorship. She said that as a student, he never accepted blame for any of his actions. He always managed to blame someone else, or get them in trouble. His "goody-two shoes" act wore thin with his classmates, but he managed to hoodwink the nuns in charge.

There is no excuse for his actions. When reading the Federal Complaint it is apparent that the hubris of our governor is beyond even our worst expectations. Trying to sell a Senate seat, influence peddling with regards to the Tribune and the sell of the Cubs and Wrigley Field, garnering cash for the "Green" lanes of the Illinois Tollways, and shaking down the CEO of Children's Memorial Hospital for public aid money to be released. Holy bleep!

I have written about the Gov for the past several years and wondered when, not if, he would be indicted. I thought that it would most likely be because of his dealings with Tony Rezko. It seems that this was just the tip of the iceberg. How derelict of his duties could one person be? Well, he could have been an investment banker like Bernard Madoff who managed to fraud people of more than $50 billion, but he wasn't running a state into the ground in the meantime.

Complicit in the Gov's dealings was his wife, Patti, or so it appears according to the tapes transcripts. She was at least aware of the Gov's actions against the Chicago Tribune, based on her foul-mouthed tirade against the editorial board. Her father, Ald. Dick Mell, from whom Blago's family has been estranged for the past few years, tried warning us of his son-in-law's actions. Was anybody besides John Kass actually listening? Apparently the FBI was, but they waited for concrete information in order to file the Federal complaint. The Trib is to be commended for withholding information about the wiretaps until the FBI had the necessary information to arrest Rod the Mod.

Now, we need to get on with the process of selecting another Senator for our state. I'm split between getting Patrick Quinn has soon as possible in order to allow him to make a selection, or going with a special eleciton in order to allow both parties to submit potential candidates. I think that the most expeditious option of getting Quinn into office and allowing him to select a Senator who could serve out Barack Obama's term may be the best option for now. Then we can hold our regular election in two years and vote in a well-vetted candidate. Perhaps, the public will actually take a good, long look at the people running and not just vote for the person with the most money in his/her campaign chest and the best television appearance.

Who Will Buy this Senatorial Seat?

So, Rod the Mod finally gets his comeuppance. Patrick (the Elliot Ness of today) Fitzgerald and his crack team of investigators and prosecutors have once again put faith into our system. More than two years ago I wrote about the Governor seeking a way out of an indictment and the column was censored by the Journal Standard, because he wasn't "charged" with anything at that time. There was plenty of evidence at that time that he was being investigated, but no charges were forthcoming ... yet. One can clearly speculate that the investigation would one day lead to enough evidence, but the editor at that time was unwilling to allow an opinion to be voiced. Of course, that editor, as well as the publisher and much of the staff there are no longer there.

I wasn't prescient at the time, only well-read and well-versed in Illinois politics. The situation was being followed closely, despite the fact that Illinois voters once again voted a probable criminal into the office of governor. Didn't he learn anything from George "Fed" Ryan? Didn't our citizens learn anything about Chicago politics and the machine that continually produces the "above the law" politicians that screw over the citizenry in order to line their pockets with as much cash as they can take in.

What brashness, hubris, "testicular virility", or ignorance by a member of the government! He should be taken from office as soon as legally possible. This man has created a travesty for our state and the office of governor. What part of a sworn oath to uphold the office of leader of this state did he not understand?

Please, please take him to join George Ryan as quickly as he can be driven to Club Fed. Extortion for money for "green lanes" with a state contractor. Withholding money from Children's Memorial Hospital for shake-down money from their CEO. Threatening to keep money away from the Tribune Company and the sale of Wrigley Field unless editorial board members are fired. Asking for a union position to guarantee a $300,000 a year salary once he is out of office. Selling the Senate seat vacated by President-Elect Obama to the highest bidder. 76 pages worth of the brash acts of a village idiot and his stooge, John Harris.

The criminal complaint against Blago and his chief of staff shows the depths to which this elected official has sunk and how far down he is willing to take this state with him for his personal gain and for his wife. Heaven help us!