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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Boy Blunder Update

If it wasn't bad enough that we're stuck sitting through the interminable last days of the Bush administration, we lucky residents of Illinois must also wait out the term of our Boy Blunder himself, Gov. Rod Blagojevich. It takes a lot to make me ponder whether you are a worse executive than Bush, but Rod does that on a near daily basis. One of the fringe benefits of an Obama election is that Rod may appoint himself Senator-designate, and then we would have him out of his North Side state house for good. Let Washington take him. If he remains here, I may send Robert Novak after him while he's jogging.

Rod can't get his fundraising bill passed, so he's taking the high road as usual and raising as much money from state contractors as he can, the Tribune reports.

The events are kept quiet and closed to the public. They're usually sponsored by top state lobbyists who, like the governor, work to keep details a secret. The Tribune learned about several of the undisclosed fundraisers and showed up to document the story behind the bi-annual campaign ledgers that Blagojevich is required by law to file.

After a photo opportunity to support Mississippi River flooding victims, a state plane sped Blagojevich back to Chicago and his state SUV dropped him at the door of Carlucci's restaurant in Rosemont to meet with clients of a top fundraiser, lobbyist Milan Petrovic.

On a different June night, another top fundraiser and lobbyist, John Wyma, was waiting inside Chicago's trendy Naha restaurant when the governor balked at the sight of Tribune reporters and photographers outside. With his security detail running interference, the governor dashed through a crowd of amused passers-by and into the restaurant.


Yikes! Poor Rod. He can't do anything but draw negative press coverage. Only in Illinois would a leader try to force fundraising reforms by abusing existing loopholes. Add to that his continued use of a state plane to fly him back and forth to his family because he won't move to Springfield, and well...how many more months left in his term?

Washington, D.C. please take him. We're ready to transfer custody.

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