Blagojevich another stain on Illinois' reputation

Today, Illinois residents would probably scoff at the notion that there will ever be any salvageable aspect of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's legacy. But they may end up surprised. Even in the near future, the now-infamous Democratic governor may be looked upon as a case study and cautionary tale on the shocking extent to which power corrupts.

It is, after all, hard to imagine how such a high-profile public official could carry out illegal activity of this caliber with such brazenness, arrogance, greed, and most of all, stupidity. Blagojevich knew that he had long been under investigation for campaign and hiring fraud and that federal agents were watching him closely. But profanity-laced excerpts of his phone conversations reveal open discussions about the potentially lucrative nature of his authority to appoint a senatorial replacement for President-elect Barack Obama, and the leverage he could use to achieve the firings of Chicago Tribune editorial board members who had been critical of his administration. Such carelessness on the governor's part in the commission of his crimes is reflective of a man drunk with power beyond reason or common sense and to the point of self-delusion.

Blagojevich's arrest on Tuesday was hardly surprising. A completely inept governor with a historically low approval rating, he has managed to isolate himself even from members of his own political party, which controls the Illinois General Assembly but has routinely stalled on state budgets and legislation because of fights with him. Couple that with a dubious moral character and arrogant style of governance that was widely scrutinized long before this week's developments, and there should be no question as to how this Illinois politician ended up where he did.

Sadly, however, he's hardly the first Illinois politician in recent memory to travel such a road — though, incredibly, he may have even gone farther than his predecessors. Republican George Ryan, Illinois' preceding governor, is currently serving time in federal prison after being convicted of racketeering and fraud for selling driver's licenses for bribes as secretary of state. Two other former Illinois governors — Otto Kerner in the 1960s and Dan Walker in the 1970s — were convicted of bribery and fraud, respectively, and both served time as well. In the 1990s, former Illinois Rep. Dan Rostenkowski pleaded guilty to mail fraud. In a state whose largest city has a long-lived reputation for machine politics, another crooked public official is hardly what the Land of Lincoln needs to improve its image. As a native of that state, I'm embarrassed and appalled by this week's developments.

Two things need to happen in short order. First, Blagojevich needs to resign. He's likely way too arrogant to do that, so the Illinois Legislature should begin impeachment proceedings immediately. Second, the state law needs to be changed so that the governor alone is not charged with appointing senatorial replacements. Such appointments either need to require legislative confirmation or should simply be decided by the state's voters. The bottom line is that any measure necessary to prevent Blagojevich from selecting Obama's successor should be taken quickly — and the lessons learned from this mess should be applied to prevent similar malfeasance in the future. Hopefully, Blagojevich's misdeeds will finally be the straw that broke the camel's back for the citizens of Illinois.