Don’t Drink the Water

When traveling, I’ve heard it’s best to avoid drinking local water, since you never know what may be in it…unless you are in Illinois, where apparently corruption, deception and deceit come with every glass.

In case you haven’t heard, Gov. Rod Blagojevich attempted to sell or trade the Senate seat left open by President-Elect Barack Obama in order to pay off Pat Sajak for the number of vowels he used to spell his last name…or something like that.

Blagojevich is the latest in a train of Illinois governors of questionable morals. George Ryan, Blagojevich’s predecessor, is currently serving six years for racketeering, fraud, corruption, etc. All in all, seven (including Blagojevich) Illinois governors have faced arrest or indictment as a result of their crooked conduct…and that’s just the governors. The history of Illinois politics is stained by dirty money and bad blood.

In 2004, the City of Chicago overhauled its Hired Truck Program, after the Chicago Sun-Times revealed that private companies contracted by the city had connections to city employees, convicted felons and organized crime. The hired trucks often simply idled for hours at a time, costing Illinois taxpayers just over $50/hour. This did not help Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, as 25 percent of all Hired Truck money went to companies from Daley’s 11th Ward power base. All in all, $108,575 in campaign contributions flowed to the mayor from companies in the program, beginning in 1996.

And that’s not the end for Daley. In 2004, he hired John Boyle (a.k.a. John “Quarters” Boyle), who stole $4 million from the Illinois Toll Highway Authority (in quarters, mind you), for a job with the Dept. of Transportation. Daley discussed this decision in a press conference in October, 2004:

Reporter: “Would stealing $4 million from another public agency disqualify somebody from a city job?”

Daley: “No, I don’t think so….”

Keep in mind that Daley is still serving as the mayor of Chicago. His (remarkable) re-election in 2007 put him in the running to be the longest-serving mayor in Chicago history – a record currently held by Daley’s father, Richard J. Daley (also known for the corruption in his administration). Apples seldom fall far from the tree…

Here’s the point: With the long list of corrupt officials in Illinois, it begs the question whether or not there is something in the water in Illinois…and whether or not Barack Obama sipped the Kool-Aid.

Of course, President-Elect “Teflon” Obama denies that he ever had anything to do with Blagojevich, calling for him to step down, etc, but with so much corruption in the state, how can we believe him?

I know the phrase “honest politician” has a oxymoronic ring to it, but is it really so much to ask that our elected officials keep their hands clean? Only one thing is certain: if you plan on moving to Illinois, bring bottled water.