Land of Lincoln or Land of Corruption?

Gov. Blagojevich (D) of my home state (IL) is charged with a "political corruption crime spree." Why am I not surprised?

In IL, if you are a politician that is not under investigation, you probably should be investigated. Political corruption is a way of life in IL. The IL "combine" does not refer to farm equipment -- it's the term used to describe the machine politics that spilled out of Chicago into Springfield (the state capitol).

The "nice" thing about political corruption in IL -- it's bipartisan! Our previous governor, a Republican, is serving time in prison for a licenses for bribes scandal. His greed led to the deaths of a van of innocent children who were literally burned to death. Their van struck some debris that fell off a truck driven by someone who paid a bribe to get a trucker's license in IL. Now George Ryan spends his retirement in prison.

Three governors in 35 years went from the governor's mansion to prison. The others probably escaped by being only slightly more artful in their corruption.

Gov. Blago was just plain ham-handed. Beside the blatant attempt to literally sell the open Senate seat, Blago and his chief of staff reportedly attempted to shake down dozens of people for campaign contributions. The most shocking accusation was his threat to withhold funding for the Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago because the CEO was not fast enough in coughing up a $50,000 campaign "contribution." Apparently, that's the price tag for making sure innocent children get the critical medical care they need in IL.

Selling favors and contracts, seeking a Cabinet position and a board of directors spot for his wife, Blagojevich was way more interested in padding his post-governor lifestyle than in serving the people of IL. Most politicians are greedy, but Blagojevich has taken greed to a completely new level.

As bad as all that is, he is recorded on tape musing about appointing himself to the vacant Senate seat. His approval rating in IL is in the single digits, so he thought that jumping to the Senate would give him a chance to improve his image and run for prez in 2016.

If it isn't the most corrupt state in the United States, it's certainly one hell of a competitor," said Robert Grant, special agent in charge of the FBI's Chicago office.

The people of IL are not surprised though -- this is what we live with every day. There's an unwritten agreement between the people and the pols -- as long as they don't go overboard in their corruption, the people will turn a blind eye to it. Apparently, Blago couldn't be satisfied just sticking a couple of fingers in the cookie jar -- he had to break the jar open, grab all the cookies and then demand even more -- all the while denying that he'd done anything wrong.

Grant had the privilege of standing outside Blagojevich's home about 6 a.m. Tuesday and calling the sleepy governor to say federal agents were outside, waiting to arrest him quietly. "I could tell I woke him up," Grant said. "And the first thing he said was, 'Is this a joke?' "

Even knowing that he was under investigation for the last 2+ years, Blago continued his blatant and obvious selling of anything he could lay his hands on to fill his insatiable money lust. When it all fell down around him like a house of cards, he asks, "Is this a joke?"

Sadly, Blagojevich was elected governor on the reform ticket, promising to clean up the state and end business as usual. He managed to get re-elected even though the clouds were forming over his head.

In his own words: "I'm going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain," Blagojevich allegedly said on tape. "You hear what I'm saying? And if I don't get what I want, and I'm not satisfied with it, then I'll just take the Senate seat myself." Obama's Senate seat, Blagojevich allegedly said, "is a [expletive] valuable thing. You don't just give it away for nothing." Then, on Nov. 5, he allegedly said, "I've got this thing, and it's [expletive] golden and, uh, I'm just not going to give it up for [expletive] nothing. I'm not gonna do it. And I can always use it, I can parachute me there."

In the midst of all this is the irony of Sen. Dick Durbin's request last week for President Bush to pardon or commute the sentence of former Gov. George Ryan. I suppose that was Durbin's way of suggesting that they make room in the prison system for IL's current governor and his aides.

I agree with what U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said yesterday: Lincoln is, indeed, turning over in his grave, if not, spinning.