Corruption in America

The Chicago way

ROD BLAGOJEVICH has the hair of a Kennedy and the tongue of a crook. When he first arrived on the political scene in Illinois, many thought he was a rising star. Some even murmured that the Democrat might climb as high as the White House. Mr Blagojevich, young and handsome, was elected as a congressman in 1996 and then as governor in 2002. He took office vowing to bring ethics reform to Illinois.
How things have changed. “Fire those fuckers”, said the governor about his critics at the Chicago Tribune. “If they don’t perform, fuck ‘em”, he said of an effort to squeeze contributions from a state contractor. Barack Obama’s Senate seat, Mr Blagojevich explained, “is a fucking valuable thing, you don’t just give it away for nothing.” These were some of the pearls of eloquence included in a 76-page complaint against Mr Blagojevich. At about 6am on Tuesday December 9th an FBI agent telephoned the governor at his home in Chicago to say that he was about to be arrested. Mr Blagojevich asked if the call was a joke. He denies any wrongdoing.

The arrest may have been a surprise to the governor, but many others were expecting it. Investigations of his administration’s hiring, contracting and fundraising stretch back to 2003. (His re-election in 2006 had much to do with the ineptitude of state Republicans.) Thirteen people had been indicted or convicted in the debacle, among them Tony Rezko, a developer and fundraiser who was once a friend of Mr Obama. Patrick Fitzgerald, the tireless prosecutor for Illinois’s northern district, shows no signs of slowing down.
Few, however, expected the prosecutor to present such a feast of bad behaviour. The most stunning charge is that Mr Blagojevich, who has the power to appoint Mr Obama’s successor in the Senate, wanted to sell the seat to the highest bidder. But almost equally shocking are the alleged efforts to fire his critics at the Tribune and to withhold money from a children’s hospital unless its executive contributed to his campaign. If convicted of wrongdoing in these and other schemes, Mr Blagojevich would have the honour of being the most despicable politician in Illinois’s recent history. This is no small feat in a state where three of the past seven governors have gone to jail. Though he may have been ambitious, however, he was not particularly clever. His conversations about Mr Obama’s seat, for example, came at a time when everyone knew federal investigators were watching him closely.
It is unclear whether or when Mr Blagojevich will resign. The leaders of the state Senate and House say that they will vote next week to strip the governor of his appointment powers, and that a special election should be held to fill the Senate seat. Mr Obama himself should be anxious that the mess will become, at the least, a distraction. David Axelrod, his chief campaign strategist who will be a close presidential adviser, has reversed a statement made in November suggesting that Mr Obama had spoken to the Illinois governor about the Senate vacancy.
Illinoisans, meanwhile, have been jerked from the hazy bliss that blanketed the state since Mr Obama’s election. They have long suffered from the state’s penchant for corruption. Mr Fitzgerald, one indictment at a time, has been pushing Illinois in the right direction, but his exposure of Mr Blagojevich represents a new low.
Beyond Illinois, too, Democrats have reason to be worried. William Jefferson, an indicted Louisiana congressman, lost a special election on Sunday—he is best known for stashing $90,000 in his freezer. And in New York Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means committee, continues to be accused of scandal. The most recent matter involves suggestions that a bill was dropped in exchange for a donation to a pet project. Democrats have seized power from the Republicans. They are in danger of seizing the mantle of corruption too.

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