The Cost of Corruption in Illinois

The corruption in Illinois is so excessive, the state has become a national punchline. Blagojevich's national humiliation tour was the most recent event, but Illinois and Chicago have a long history of tolerating corruption.

In Chicago the phrase "vote early, vote often" is usually said with a laugh. It is also widely accepted the dead in Chicago rise every two or four years to vote.

With the conviction of patronage chiefs Robert Sorich and the HDO's Al Sanchez, does any reasonable person think Mayor Daley is not complicit? These convictions occurred after the Shakman decree was signed stating the city would not partake in hiring based on political clout.

Even employees at the Board of Review which evaluates property tax assessments state it is a cesspool of corruption.

It is stunning how this level of corruption is tolerated. Republicans are even culpable because they are terrified Jesse Jackson Jr. will become Mayor and immediately devolve into a race-baiting poverty pimp like his father.

Some think the corruption is tolerated because it has slowly built up over time like a frog in a pot of water on a stove. Does this excuse the apathy?

At political events it is painful to hear the aphorism "people get the government they deserve." There is truth in this saying.

There are always two ways at looking at voter disinterest. Either people are very happy with their lives or they are too self-absorbed to care about voting. Half of the people eligible to register to vote are registered. And half of the registered voters vote. Therefore, our elected officials win with 12.5% of the population supporting them.

One of the barriers to voting is people do not understand the true cost of corruption. Most Chicago residents think corruption is awarding snow removal contracts to the Mayor's friends.

The awarding of clout contracts and no bid contracts is the 300% to 1000% increase in contract value to fair market. $300,000 value contracts are charged well in excess of $1million. Repeat this process thousands of times and you will start to see a massive budget gap developing.

It is less of a concern that a politically connected person gets a city job (assuming they do it adequately) than the long-term impact of corrupt no bid contracts and their corresponding debt.

Governments operate at significantly less efficient levels than the free markets, but Chicago and Illinois governance essentially does not work. The state of Illinois is a year behind in paying their bills. Many Illinois businesses, espesically pharmacies, will not take a check from the state of Illinois.

When patronage and no bid contracts go to a small circle of corrupt power hungry cronies, the needs of the people are not met. There would be revenue to renegotiate the police contracts if but for the corruption tax.

Public safety, mass transit infrastucture, education, and healthcare have all degraded to unacceptable levels because of the cost of corruption. Blagojevich is not the problem, merely a symptom. If voters do not hold elected officials to higher standards, expect more of the same.

Chicago is more dangerous than Baghdad. How many lives are lost every year as a cost of corruption? Less than 50% of Chicago Public School high school students graduate and less than 6% graduate from college. Patients go to Stroger hospital with bags of food because they know they will be there 2-3 meals before seeing a doctor. The jails are overflowing. Public transit is falling apart. And they cannot afford police services.

This is the cost of corruption.

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Black Ministers Call for Burris' Resignation

A group of black ministers who previously supported U.S. Sen. Roland Burris now plan to ask for his resignation, one of the ministers told The Associated Press on Thursday. Many of the city's influential black pastors supported Burris because of his supposed "scandal-free reputation" — even though he was appointed by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich after the governor was arrested.  Of course, black pastors in Chicago are obviously not opposed to supporting candidates who do not have a "scandal-free reputation."

But, prompted by revelations Burris attempted to raise money for Blagojevich while seeking the Senate job vacated by President Barack Obama, some of those pastors will ask Burris to resign, according to the minister, who spoke on condition of anonymity because a meeting with Burris had not yet been scheduled.

Sentiment in the black community is not unanimous, but the clergy's silence as the maelstrom of criticism swells around Burris "speaks volumes," said another minister, Ira Acree, of the Greater St. John Bible Church.

"I'm a little disturbed, but because of his track record, don't want to rush to judgment," Acree said Thursday. "But neither will I attempt to defend his actions."

Burris spokesman Jim O'Connor would not say whether the senator would meet with the ministers, and referred to Burris' previous pleas that fellow politicians and constituents alike "stop the rush to judgment." 

Burris lied to an Illinois House committee in January when he testified that he hadn't had contact with key Blagojevich staffers or offered anything in return for the seat.  Last weekend, Burris released an affidavit admitting that he had spoken to several Blagojevich advisers, including Robert Blagojevich, the former governor's brother and finance chairman, who Burris said called three times last fall asking for fundraising help. This week, Burris admitted trying, unsuccessfully, to raise money for Blagojevich.

Not surprisingly, Burris has resisted a growing chorus of calls for his resignation, including from within his own party.  Burris is clearly following the Bill Clinton example.

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More Scandal in Illinois

It would seem that there is no end to the corruption in the Democratic party, and particularly in Illinois.  While the Democrats certainly do not have a monopoly on corruption, by all appearances, they have as strong a hold on it as they do on Congress at the moment.

Roland Burris clearly obviously and intentionally lied to the Illinois State legislature when testifying for Rod Blagojevich.  Most likely, he did this because he knew that telling the truth would tarnish his own appointment to the Senate Seat that had been held by POTUS Obama.

A month after he testified that he had no contact with people in Blago's administration regarding the seat, he filed an affidavit clarifying (changing) that testimony.  It seems obvious to anyone looking objectively at this that he filed the affidavit quietly, with the aid of a Democratic State Senator, in hopes that nobody would notice.  Republican Senators read about the "clarification" in ... hold on to your seats ... the NEWSPAPERS!!!

It is only a matter of time before Burris is charged with perjury.  The only question is whether or not he will get away with it, anyway, as many Democrats seem to be able to do.

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Burris Likely to be Seated

Here's the latest:

By ANN SANNER – 2 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Changing course, Senate Democrats emerged from a meeting with Senate appointee Roland Burris on Wednesday and set forth the legal steps under which they're willing to welcome him into the Senate in President-elect Barack Obama's vacated spot.

Praising the former state attorney general, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate is awaiting a court ruling in a case that tests whether the signature of the Illinois secretary of state is needed for Burris to take the seat. He suggested that would be a step toward seating Burris.

"We don't have a problem with him as an individual," Reid said at a news conference in which he dramatically softened his party's opposition to seating any appointee of embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Federal prosecutors arrested the governor last month and accused him of trying to sell Obama's Senate seat.

Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, who also met with Burris, said he hoped the legal matters would be resolved "so we can fill all the vacancies and have a full complement of the Senate."   (...full story)

I don't think this should surprise anyone.  I have wondered all along if the Democrats reluctance to seat Burris wasn't just posturing from the start.  He's liberal.  He's a Democrat.  And best of all, he's black.   For the Democrats, it's a trifecta.  Not seating him would be ... well ... just unDemocratic.

Legally, blocking Burris from being seating is a tough sell.  Blago is still legally the Governor of Illinois, and has the legal right to appoint him.  Burris meets all the qualifications of a Senator, and is corrupt enough to fit right into the Illinois seat.

While it's not yet official, expect that within 24 to 48 hours, Burris will be entrenched in the Senate and will be voting lock-step with the Democrats, who will probably make his voting with them a "behind closed doors" requirement for becoming part of the club.

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Democrats Can Do No Wrong

Ever since Bill Clinton it seems that the only people who can do wrong are Republicans who at least talk about doing the right thing.  It seems that when one is a liberal one can jettison morality and decency and thus not commit the ultimate sin: being hypocritical by having advanced any moral standards and then failed to live up to them.  It would appear that Democrats hate Hypocrisy almost as much as tax cuts. 

William Jefferson Clinton can do Monica in the Oval Office again and again and get grown up adults to BELIEVE that it was not sex because a legal dictionary omitted oral acts as sex and that he didn’t lie because the word “is” is ambiguous, and that his sex life is not relevant in a sexual harassment law suit in which he is the DEFENDANT!!!!!

Now we have the Emperor of Illinois who is determined to hang on to power and to award patronage to his loyal toddies in the face of unanimous opposition from the democrat party and every decent citizen of Illinois and the nation.  The Governor is Clintonian in his belief that he can flaunt his power like Capone, Ignore the voters and rule his empire like a Chicago Politician, and hold his head high like a member of a party that has no standards of decent behavior at all.  If we ever mint a three dollar bill we should put Clintons Portrait on the front of the bill and the winning smile of the foul mouthed crook Blogo on the back!

I understand that democrats have jettisoned any sense of morality on the grounds that they don’t, as lawmakers tasked with governing our society, want to impose their views of right and wrong on people because that would be wrong.  At least that’s what most democrats seem to believe.  Who dares accuse Clinton or Blogo of wrongdoing because they have no right to impose their views of right and wrong on others!  How dare they!  Don’t confuse a democrat by observing that the job description of law makers like senators, congressmen and governors or even Presidents is to make laws that are always in imposition of their views of right and wrong on society.  Every law from the tax code to the stop sign at the end of your block is about a values statement that lawmakers have imposed on our society.  It is the job of legislators and government to codify right and wrong in our society and they have the power and the obligation to enforce adherence to such impositions of right and wrong.

According to the Chicago Sun Times the Governor will appoint Roland Burris to fill the empty Senate chair of President Elect Barack Obama.  Mr. Burris has been a former state Comptroller and Attorney General and is evidently the winner in the Senatorial Sweepstakes that Blago attempted to auction off to the highest bidder.  Is it right to castigate and denounce Mr. Burris for accepting the appointment to this seat from a corrupt governor accused of auctioning off US Senate Seats for his personal gain? 

You betcha!

No honorable man would allow Blogo make an appointment like this on their behalf in direct contravention of decency and honor and integrity.  Apparently Mr. Burris doesn’t care if he’s made to look and act the fool for taking this appointment and thus ending his mediocre career in government.  Burris is 71 years old and would be in for a 6 year ride that will long outlast the corrupt governor who appointed him.  When he’s 77 he can quit having the capstone on his career be the mockery of law, public service and even the intelligence of the most jaded political junkies.

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Corruption On Display

Today's big story:

A defiant Governor Rod R. Blagojevich said Friday that he will continue to fight federal corruption charges.

“I’m here to tell you right off the bat that I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing,” Mr. Blagojevich said, during his first statement since federal prosecutors unveiled a 76-page criminal complaint against him.

“I will fight this thing every step of the way. I will fight, I will fight, I will fight, till I take my very last breath. I have done nothing wrong.” he said.

Mr. Blagojevich is accused of, among other things, trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate seat to the highest bidder.

He  did not take any questions from reporters

On Wednesday, Mr. Blagojevich told reporters that the day “will soon be here” when he’ll tell his side of the story.

“I can’t wait to begin to tell my side of the story and to address you guys and, most importantly, the people of Illinois. That’s who I’m dying to talk to,” he said. “There’s a time and place for everything. That day will soon be here and you might know more about that today, maybe no later than tomorrow.”

....and how much do you want to bet, that will be "Pay-Per-View."

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