 Blagojevich -- who drew laughs around the nation for his goofy
haircut, foot-in-mouth quotes and affinity for Elvis Presley -- will
also be remembered here for six years of dysfunctional leadership.
He contributed to a massive budget deficit, nearly paralyzed the
government with his stubborn inaction and damaged the reputations of
some fellow Democrats in President Barack Obama's home state.A
day after Blagojevich was convicted on wide-ranging corruption
charges, experts and veterans of Illinois politics said his attempt
to sell Obama's Senate seat was only the most heinous example of the
harm inflicted by a lazy, disinterested chief executive.
"Clearly he was one of the worst governors that we've seen in
modern times," said Chris Mooney, a political science professor at
the University of Illinois at Springfield. "Not only in terms of
ethical shenanigans ... but he really was incompetent. He didn't
understand what he was doing."
Testimony at Blagojevich's two trials depicted a governor who all
but left the state to run itself. Lawmakers quickly concluded they
couldn't trust him to spend money fairly and refused to work with
him -- a political breakdown that carried lasting consequences.
If Blagojevich was in his office -- which was rare -- he seemed
unwilling to do his job. Aides said he was known to hide in the
bathroom to avoid discussing complex issues.
They talked about tracking the governor down at his tailor or
even a bowling alley to force him to sign legislation. He showed up
late for meetings and public events and explained that he had been
busy jogging or playing video games with his children.
The lack of cooperation that developed with lawmakers delayed
many proposals, including major public works projects that would
have created jobs.
"His approach tarnished everything he touched," agreed Debbie
Halvorson, a former Democratic state legislator and member of
Congress.
Blagojevich didn't create the state's budget problems, which
began under Republican Gov. George Ryan and were caused by national
economic trends. But there's ample evidence that Blagojevich made
the crisis worse at a time when decisive action might have helped.
He didn't cut spending when tax revenue plummeted. Instead, he
got lawmakers to go along with temporary fixes like skipping the
state's annual pension payment. Those maneuvers got the state
through one budget season but left an even bigger hole to fill the
next year.
Blagojevich's core political promise was that he wouldn't raise
income taxes or sales taxes, and he kept that pledge even when the
state's deficit grew to billions of dollars. But that didn't keep
him from spending more money, sometimes without legislative
approval, on things like expanded health care for children and free
prescription drugs for the elderly.
Mooney said Blagojevich also hired unqualified candidates to run
programs and drove competent people out of government. His handed
jobs to campaign donors and circumvented laws that give preference
to veterans so he could hire political allies.
State employees flocked to unions under Blagojevich's tenure,
partly to gain protection from his salary cuts and political hiring
decisions.
But Alan Gitelson, a Loyola University political scientist,
cautioned against blaming all of Illinois' problems on Blagojevich.
"There's a limited amount of damage any governor can do because
he is dealing with the Legislature," Gitelson said. "These are joint
efforts."
Blagojevich's troubles did not extend in any lasting way to his
party.
The state still has a Democratic governor, Pat Quinn, who was
elected despite twice serving as Blagojevich's lieutenant governor.
And Obama's name surfaced repeatedly in Blagojevich's two trials,
but there was never any suggestion that he did anything wrong as
Blagojevich schemed to benefit from his power to choose Obama's
Senate replacement.
[to top of second column] |
Last fall, when Rahm Emanuel left his post as White House chief
of staff, some political analysts warned that his dealings with
Blagojevich could doom his chances to be elected mayor of Chicago.
But Emanuel easily won. And while he testified briefly at
Blagojevich's second trial, he was never accused of any wrongdoing.
In fact, on the charge directly involving Emanuel -- that
Blagojevich tried to shake down Emanuel for a fundraiser -- jurors
were unable to reach a verdict.
The politician hurt most by his association with Blagojevich was
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., whose name arose in a scheme by the governor
to solicit campaign contributions in exchange for naming Jackson to
the Senate.
By the time jurors convicted Blagojevich, Jackson had been badly
damaged.
Gitelson said Jackson had been "a bright light" for the party who
might have been a contender for Chicago mayor or U.S. senator.
Now it's unlikely that Jackson "is in any sense a viable
candidate outside his congressional district," Gitelson said.
Blagojevich gave the public reason to question the judgment of
Democratic leaders who supported the governor long after evidence of
misconduct had surfaced.
House Speaker Michael Madigan, also chairman of the state
Democratic Party, eventually refused to attend meetings with the
governor because he felt it was a waste of time. That did not stop
Madigan from serving as co-chairman of Blagojevich's re-election
campaign, however.
Quinn vouched for Blagojevich's honesty. Obama endorsed
Blagojevich for re-election.
"We've got a governor in Rod Blagojevich who has delivered
consistently on behalf of the people of Illinois," Obama said in
2006.
Republicans seemed to pay a higher price after one of their own,
Gov. George Ryan, left office amid scandal in 2003 and eventually
went to prison. The GOP lost every statewide race in the next
election, and four years later their candidate for governor lost in
large part because the Blagojevich campaign portrayed her as Ryan's
best friend.
Still, Ryan will also be remembered for his stance on the death
penalty. He is an international hero among death penalty opponents
for pardoning wrongly convicted death row inmates and eventually
halting executions and commuting 167 death sentences to life in
prison.
Blagojevich has no such legacy. His biggest initiatives, such as
providing health care and preschool for all children, were hobbled
by the state's record-setting deficit. They're footnotes in an
administration that will always be associated with scandal.
Stephen Schnorf, budget director under two Republican governors
who preceded Blagojevich, said the disgraced former governor never
seemed to have any ambition to lead.
"It was as if not working was the purpose of the whole thing, as
if that was the goal," he said.
[Associated Press,
By CHRISTOPHER WILLS and DON BABWIN]
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
 |
