Illinois Election Guide: Choosing the Wrong Governor, Again

I hope he's wrong, but I can't see it happening. The current governor is a Chicago Democrat and is ahead 9 points in the polls. The Republican challenger is a woman and a Republican is the wrong year to be a Republican.
I wish my fellow voters were astute enough to see the Judy Baar Topinka candidacy's has nothing to do with the pay to play politics of George Ryan, the former governor just convicted in a bribery scandal. I'd like them to look more closely at Rod Blagojevich and the continuing questionable money issues surrounding him...a $1000 gift to one of his children from a woman seeking a political appointment, the federal indictment of one of his top fund raisers and the newest allegation, his wife's only commissions this year (she is a real estate agent) came from people who have large, no-bid contracts with the State of Illinois.

In Patti Blagojevich's defense, the people paying her have had large state contracts since before her husband was elected, but you'd think that given its history, Illinois would want to avoid event he appearance of corruption. But, it doesn't.
Instead, spoken or not, one of the biggest hindrances for Topinka is that she is....gasp...a woman. She is a strong, intelligent, independent thinker who has the misfortune of being the same party as the convicted former governor.
But, in my not-so-humble opinion, it's her sex and not her politics that are keeping her out of the governor's mansion.
I'd like to think that my state is more progressive than that and that it is Topinka's politics that are keeping her from winning. And, to be fair, she is faced with a nasty smear campaign from the governor.

But she should be the more elect-able of the two candidates. She has not been embroiled in any personal controversy. I think she made a bad decision two years ago as head of the Illinois Republican Party in choosing Allan Keyes to run against Barrack Obama, because it made it look like there were no qualified Republicans who actually lived in Illinois. It's no wonder Obama won with 70 percent of the vote.

And, I think her attacks on the current governor have been too cerebral for the masses. Her attacks generally have been vague and related to his policy, although she has mentioned the federal investigations. The governor has been direct, accusing her of being Ryan's lapdog and making sure that all film footage of her used in his campaign ads is unflattering, from footage obviously shot in a 100+ degree Southern Illinois summer parade to a windblown outdoor press conference.
Topinka is a fiscal conservative with moderate social leanings. Despite the tendency among many Democratic candidates to try to scare people with the loss of social programs if the Republicans are elected, no one has even tried that with Topinka. Instead, they tie her to the scandalous former governor and blame her for the state's huge financial troubles, even though as state treasurer she had no say in how the state's money was spent or how it was raised. She simply was in charge of keeping the books.

In the end, Topinka may be too nice to hold the governor's job in Illinois. I tend to believe that's why Jim Edgar decided not to run again after his term ended in 2000. Edgar was one of the few politicians untouched by the graft and corruption around him. Topinka has announced that if she wins, he will lead her transition team and even that was not enough to bolster her poll ratings despite Edgar's beloved status in the state.

Though she has proven herself a shrewd businesswoman and apt politician, Topinka may simply not be smarmy enough for the average Illinois voter. After all, when George Ryan ran in 2000 for governor, there were already whisperings of federal investigations on-going in the secretary of state's office.

His opponent, a Democrat, called for investigations into his corruption and was brushed aside by the media and the authorities as a sore loser. (He was from way downstate too, J.C. That's probably why no one took Glenn Poshard seriously). When Ryan was convicted, everyone expected an "I Told You So" from Poshard, but no one got it. Still, I think he probably slept better at night knowing he had been right. So, based on the evidence, I have to conclude that Illinois voters don't care about the specter of corruption. Instead, they seem to revel in it.

And, although Topinka is a moderate candidate from the suburbs, which should give her a good voting base and the governor is playing fast and loose with the rules and with taxpayers' money, she won't win. Once again, Illinois will send the good public servants home and let the tradition of Chicago corruption reign supreme.

Saddest of all is that the only candidate who seems to be talking about real solutions to the state's economic woes, Rich Whitney of the Green Party, will at best get a little asterisk by his name as an also ran. Whitney's the only candidate who has openly supported an increase in the state's income taxes to balance the budget and has yet to have his party marred by scandal. He's gaining in the polls, but not enough to pull a Jesse Venture and win as a third party candidate. And, it's too bad, because if he could clean up Illinois like Ventura cleaned up Minnesota, he would be the best thing to ever happen here.
Instead, we will get four more years of the same old garbage. Is it any wonder intelligent people feel like voting is a waste of time?