Illinois audacity is getting famous
And obviously, president-elect Obama doesn’t have a corner on it. Audacity, that is.
It’s the legacy of hometown politics in Chicago, and by extension, Illinois. It’s about to descend on Washington, as if they can get any more outrageous.
As U.S. Senate leadership developed an elaborate set of contingency plans Wednesday to keep Roland Burris from taking over President-elect Barack Obama’s seat, the disputed appointee promised not to “create a scene” when the Senate convenes next week.
If Burris shows up Tuesday to claim the seat given to him by disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the outcomes range from a denial of entry to a limbo where he can hire staff but not vote.
Here in Chicago, it’s just beyond politics as usual. But while the rest of the country celebrates the New Year, politicians here and in Washington are making all sorts of contingency plans, with Governor Blagojevich still on the loose (the Illinois General Assembly’s fault), and Roland Burris acting erratically.
On Wednesday, Burris’ lawyers took the first legal action in what could be a prolonged court fight, seeking to force Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White to certify Blagojevich’s paperwork making the appointment.
White has dodged attempts to comply with this certification process. For those of you outside Chicago or Illinois, Secretary of State Jesse White is black. Politicians like former Black Panther Bobby Rush insist that Obama’s senate seat go to a black man, just because he is succeeding a black man. Which injects race back into politics after Obama succeeded in all but removing it.
Futhermore…
To appreciate irony on this scale, it was only a few weeks ago that Burris was saying it would be “reprehensible” for Blagojevich to name anyone to Obama’s senate seat after his corruption charges. Something has changed. Welcome to Chicago style politics.
Should Burris appear in Washington without that certification, armed police officers stand ready to bar him from the Senate floor, said a Democratic official briefed on Senate leaders’ plans.
That’s one plan, and it’s pretty dramatic. But they’re planning for all possibilities. And with Blagojevich, it could be anything.
Leadership also is considering the possibility of Blagojevich appearing in person to escort Burris. Ironically, the scandal-plagued governor would be allowed onto the Senate floor, because sitting governors are allowed floor privileges, while Burris would not without certification. Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero said the governor had not decided whether he will appear in Washington next week with Burris.
Anything could happen at this point.
Senate leaders have expressed no willingness to negotiate and have vowed to bar anyone appointed by Blagojevich because of his alleged attempt to sell Obama’s seat.
Interesting side note…
When Republican politicians are caught in a scandal, all we hear in the mainstream media is that “REPUBLICAN governor/senator/congressman” says whatever the latest response is to the scandal. In this case, we’re hearing precious little of the Democrat branding. To say that Obama does not need this just before his inauguration is an audacious underestimation of your intelligence. So I won’t say it.
Read this Trib article to get a sense of how ridiculous this has become, even to those of us locally who have known Chicago and Illinois politics well for decades.
Here’s a matter of minor annoyance: Those highly paid, big name news anchors and analysts refer solemnly to Illinois’ ‘pay for play’ scheme under Blagojevich. Respectfully, we’d like them to get it straight.
Former governor George Ryan is serving time for corruption in the ‘license for bribes’ scandal. Current governor Rod Blagojevich is charged with corruption in the ‘pay to play’ scandal. It may be semantics for some. But for us beleaguered citizens of Illinois, it’s a matter of respect for our integrity that you get straight what we’re dealing with. After all, we just produced the next president of the United States.
