Senate says ‘bye bye Blago’

He’s more than just a long surname and a silly haircut. The removal from office of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has spelled the end of a hugely unpopular

political career.

The governor was impeached after a corruption investigation which began in 2005 and culminated as the police obtained recordings of ‘Blago’, as he is dubbed in the US media, trying to

sell the senate seat just vacated by then President Elect Barack Obama. His arrest came a

day after he held a press conference at which he said, “Whatever I say is always lawful and the things I’m interested in are always lawful.” This is not the only pledge he broke – he ran for the governorship on a promise to clean up the corrupt politics associated with Illinois, and even said in an interview that he had promised his late mother that he

would never be involved with any sort of

dishonest dealings.

Illinois does indeed have a less than spotless record when it comes to political corruption. Blagojevich is the seventh governor of the state to be indicted or arrested; if sentenced to prison, he will be the fourth to serve time behind bars since 1971. It would appear the man’s crimes are merely indicative of a more serious problem in Illinois: as the FBI investigator Robert Grant told the press, “If it isn’t the most corrupt state in the United States, it’s certainly one hell of a competitor.”

As corruption is tackled, the question remains regarding Blagojevich: does anyone care that he’s gone? According to Rasmussen Reports, the man who considered himself a strong candidate for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination was ranked in 2008 as America’s ‘Least Favourite Governor’, which zero percent of those surveyed describing him as ‘excellent’ and only four percent describing him as ‘good’. His approval ratings in Illinois were lower than those of George Bush in the traditionally Democratic state even before the allegations about his affairs were made public. Tellingly, only eight percent believed he had followed through on his campaign pledge to end Chicago corruption. The Chicago Tribune listed some of his “multiple ineptitudes”, including “his reckless

financial stewardship, his dictatorial antics, [and] his penchant for creating political

enemies”.

Nor is this the first controversy that Blago has had to endure. In 2005 he closed

down a landfill being run by his wife’s cousin and father, praising his own “testicular virility” – yes, that’s a genuine quote – in having the chutzpah to take such a decision. The Tribune noted that three quarters of organisations or individuals who had contributed twenty-five thousand dollars or more to his campaign received state benefits in some form or other. He has insisted on living in Chicago instead of state capitol Springfield, drawing criticism both for his perceived shunning of the southern part of Illinois as well as his six thousand dollar daily round trip on a state plane at the expense of the tax-payer. He then criticised lawmakers for not working a five-day week, despite testimonies stating that he on average only spends three days a week in Springfield, often staying for just a few hours. In all, he has been the subject of at least twelve separate federal investigations, all the time playing the victim of political enemies he himself

has made.

Even this does not cover all of his controversies. With Blagojevich’s removal from office, Illinois has managed to be rid of someone so inept and unpopular that even members of his own party in his own state wanted him out. The question on a lot of people’s lips now is one about whether this will tarnish the early days of the administration of Blagojevich’s fellow democrat, President Obama. So far, the answer appears to be no. Despite having worked closely with the former governor while they were both serving in Illinois and even helping him to get elected and re-elected, the newly elected premier was quick to call for Blagojevich’s resignation after the revelation of the allegations, and has spoken of how the governor abused public trust. Nevertheless, only time will tell if, in four years time, the Republicans make use of this aspect of Obama’s past as they did with his association with Bill Ayers during last years election campaign. This affair could come back to haunt the

Democrats yet.