Call It A Comeback
About the contact with a lobbyist who was acting as a gatekeeper to the Governor for state contracts and potentially an appointment to the US Senate. Why would Roland even think that was anything close to appropriate?
I know it’s Illinois people, but c’mon. Durkin didn’t even follow up on this. What the hell.
Roland describes the situation as having run into Lon–apparently trying to drum up state business, and saying to Lon that Roland didn’t know what would be happening, but that Roland would be qualified to fill the Senate seat and Lon agreed.
While trying to drum up state business from a fricken’ lobbyist.
Let me repeat, Roland Burris, went to a lobbyist, who used to work for the Blagojevich Administration, while asking about state work Burris’ firm might be able to get and asked a lobbyist about an appointment to the US Senate if Obama won the Presidential race. We have a problem here.
And then he blathered on about how he was approached by so many people…..
He’s taking some flack on comment threads and such, but the point of most of his comments is to corral the discussion to the impeachment hearing and interactions with the Governor. These things tend to sprawl all over and this would never end if you didn’t restrict the scope somewhat. Currie is pretty loose with questioning though so it’s not hurting anything anyway other than to get colleagues to think about what they are asking.
Roland just said he cannot remember who all of his clients are and suggested going to the state database to get the information and that if the Lege did they would know better than he.
He might have mentioned that before–given Lon is the lobbyist in the criminal complaint.
Oh wait, he didn’t read the complaint.
Can’t. Make. This. Shit. Up.
Now that Rod is obviously a non-entity in Illinois politics, expect more of these kind of stories:
But when Arya’s run with Blagojevich came to an end, he had a story to tell — one of intense jealousies by the governor toward President-elect Barack Obama, House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) and others, a terrorized staff, and emotional instabilities that Arya said demonstrate the need for a psychological evaluation by the legislative panel weighing the governor’s impeachment.
It’s an amusing story only to the point you can block out all the crap that underlies it. Let me suggest that one of the first actions of Governor Quinn should be to expunge that nurse’s record.
I have to think that part of the problem here is a press corps that tried to play by the normal rules. I don’t mean this as critically as I often do. These kind of stories were rarely assembled in one place, but these type of stories have been everywhere since at least 2005. In trying to be fair, the press got stories from both those pro and con in regards to Blagojevich and this blunted the full impact of how terrible of a human being he was. He was so far off the charts, the press wasn’t able to handle him. I see this as very different from a case like George Ryan where there were people who could show something good Ryan had done while at the same time being involved in corruption. Rod just asserted he was always right and boldly proclaimed it and no one was in the position to challenge him sufficiently.
The Demuzio funeral incident where Rod held up the ceremony for an hour or more (the time grows every time it’s told, but I’ve never heard it under an hour) and then didn’t go to the graveside is one of those issues Illinois politicians tell, but never fully made it into the press other than some smaller mentions. That incident, while only one incident, poisoned the well in Springfield to a degree few people understand. Actually it goes beyond Springfield to Senator Durbin who tells the story to people when Rod comes up.
This kind of insider tale goes into some depth about Blagojevich to a greater degree than most can because it’s told by a guy who catalogs a pattern of behavior and reinforces ever view of Blagojevich that once seemed to only possibly be a caricature.
Hoffman is on board for impeachment:
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Illinois state Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Collinsville – a close friend and the arguably top legislative ally to Gov. Rod Blagojevich – confirmed today that he intends to vote for an impeachment resolution expected Friday.
“I can’t imagine how he can provide the type of leadership that is necessary for us to address the issues” facing the state, Hoffman said in a conversation outside the House chambers this morning. “I’ll be voting tomorrow to move forward with the process and impeach the governor.”
Hoffman, a former Blagojevich roommate and unofficial advisor, has been a vehement supporter, at times shouting down House colleagues in heated floor debate as the only voice in defense of the Democratic governor.
Today, though, Hoffman spoke in somber tones, saying he is “disappointed” at the controversy that has engulfed Illinois since Blagojevich’s Dec. 9 arrest on federal corruption charges, and the resulting impeachment proceedings.
Hoffman said he hasn’t spoken to Blagojevich since the arrest. While he didn’t comment directly on the charges against Blagojevich (including the allegation that he attempted to auction off the U.S. Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama), he said the situation has made governing impossible. “If it were me, I would have resigned,” Hoffman said.
I don’t find this particularly surprising given his comments soon after the arrest. It’s interesting that they haven’t spoken. They are were close and if they aren’t talking, Rod is truly as isolated as I’ve been hearing. Hoffman is the guy I would have said was who needed to go to the Governor to tell him it’s over. Apparently that isn’t even a possibility.
Via Rich
Carol Marin covered the sad shape medical providers are in who depend upon state payments:
On Monday night, on WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight,” State Rep. Patti Bellock, a Republican from Woodridge and a member of the House Impeachment Inquiry, put a spotlight on it. Bellock said that while Blagojevich fiddles with the feds, a state of crisis is building in this state when it comes to critical health care and health providers.
Bellock said a doctor called her office six weeks ago. “She was in tears” saying the state was $200,000 behind in Medicaid payments to her family clinic and that soon they may have to close their doors.
When that call came in, Bellock said, she called Blagojevich’s office. “It was two days before the governor was arrested,” Bellock recalled later. “I talked to one of his aides” but the aide quickly quit or took a leave of absence after his boss was taken into FBI custody. Just one of too many examples of how state government has been frozen by this scandal. “The chain of communication is broken,” she said.
Another of Bellock’s regular calls comes from the COACH Care Center in Naperville. COACH stands for Coordinating Action for Children’s Health.
“We take care of medically fragile children,” CEO Debbie Grisko said by phone Tuesday. “Children with trachs, ventilators, feeding tubes.”
Seventy-eight percent of Grisko’s clients live at or below the poverty level — families from Champaign to the Wisconsin border, who can’t keep their kids in hospitals forever and who need help learning how to care for them at home.
“Our bills are five months behind in being paid,” Grisko said. And the irony, she points out, is that her agency estimates it actually saved the state $4.6 million in the last year by helping children transition into home care and out of more expensive facilities.
We are looking at almost another month by most estimates and then we will have Pat Quinn trying to move quickly to transition into power, and then time for any solutions to work their way through the House and the Senate which also has a new leader (that’s a good thing in this case).
It should not take 2 months to get rid of a Governor caught on tape selling state resources for bribes. Taking 2 months in the middle of the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression is unbelievably stupid especially when he has been the barrier to passing decent solutions.
is reporting tonight at 10P a Sun-Times/NBC5 exclusive….it’s a story that will focus on developers Bill Cellini & Michael Marchese, and Patti Blagojevich
That ought to be fun .
ArchPundit