Slimy Illinois Politicians Take State from Bellwether to National Joke

The question, " How will it play in Peoria?" was a standard of any national political campaign, meaning if you can't win in rural Illinois, you'd better change your strategy. But lately, Illinois has been unable to get it right, becoming more solidly Democratic, including, currently at least, two Democratic senators, a Democratic governor and a Democrat controlled General Assembly.
And, Illinois politics has gained a new reputation - corruption. Do not infer that this means Illinois' Democrats are the problem. This corruption crosses party lines and decades. It's just that the latest accusations are against the Democrats, probably because they are the ones currently in power.

A top adviser and fundraiser for the Democratic governor was indicted today on federal charges that he took, or demanded, kickbacks from people and companies wanting to do business with the Illinois' Teachers' Retirement Fund. The indictment comes after months of speculation regarding a federal investigation into the current governor's administration and some questions regarding gifts to the governor and his family that look suspicious as well.

Now, no one is saying that the accused is guilty, but the charges are starting to look really familiar to the people of Illinois. Last summer, former Republican Governor George Ryan was found guilty of tax evasion, racketeering and mail fraud, with some lesser charges thrown in for good measure. And, he wasn't the first.

Just within the last 35 years, Illinois has had two Democratic former governors sent to jail and a former Republican governor charged with federal tax evasion, but later acquitted. That's three of the last seven governors sent to jail; four charged with a crime. Not a resounding vote of confidence for the voters of Illinois.

The jokes about the Chicago Machine and the dead registering to vote in Chicago used to be an amusing part of the state's history. Now, the reality of political corruption is becoming almost too much to bear.

Everyone talks about "Pay to Play" politics in Illinois, the concept that a state job or state contract or well, anything within politicians' power to give to their constituents, is available at a price. But no one seems to be doing anything about it.
In 1990, a Democrat, whose party was on the outs statewide at the time, won a patronage lawsuit against the state. The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights had been violated when the state considered things like party affiliation and past primary voting history in determining promotions, hiring, layoffs and reassignments. But the question facing voters as they go to the polls next month will be, "Has anything more than the name changed since the Cynthia Rutan case?"

The resounding answer appears to be, "No!" Illinois politicians still seem to be getting by with a "to the victor go the spoils" mentality and it is not even a well-kept secret. The entire nation seems to be able to see what's going on, yet it continues.
When the current governor, a Democrat, took office, several Republicans in state jobs had to sue the state to keep their jobs. The names change, but the mess continues.

A few, a significant minority, of Illinois voters may be getting the point. Green Party gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney has six percent of the votes in the polls. No, he will not be the next Jesse Ventura, but his candidacy is making the major party candidates take notice, so much so that the incumbent, Gov. Rod Blagojevich had side-stepped any debate that includes Whitney.

In addition to the questions that will inevitably arise about the governor's ties to the man indicted today, Blagojevich is still not answering, or answering poorly, questions about a $1,500 check written to his family from a man whose wife was seeking a state job.

The "gift" may have been a birthday present for one of the governor's daughters or a christening gift for the other one, according to official statements from the governor, but most people just assume it was Illinois' politics as usual, no matter how good of friends the couple was with the Blagojevich family.

The entire mess has left me tired of Illinois politics and I'm the political junkie in my house. I can't imagine how frustrating these seemingly non-stop messes from Illinois politicians are to the average voter. I will never recommend that voters stay home on election day, but I am beginning to think that advocating "None of the Above" might be a good idea.

The governor's opponent in November, Judy Baar Topinka, appears, at least at this point, to be above reproach for her own dealings, but she did serve as state treasurer when George Ryan was governor and the entire Illinois Republican Party is still reeling from that black eye.

So far, the smear campaign against her seems directed at her party-affiliation more than a personal moral crises. The ads tying her to Ryan are visually effective and will work on some voters, but the thinkers may see past the rhetoric and vote based on records.

Of course, I'm asking this from a state that's gone (so far) 4 for 7 in the last forty years. And, the sad truth of the matter is that we have honest and decent politicians in Illinois. Unfortunately, you just can't find them beneath all the slime.