Although he had been previously convicted in August of 2010 on one count based on lying to a FBI agent in 2005, the verdict he was handed yesterday in Chicago’s Dirksen Federal Building placed his and the Illinois Statehouse’s legacies in much more pathetic historical and civic contexts. By being convicted on 17 of 20 charges ranging from wire fraud, to conspiracy and extortion, Blagojevich will join the man he replaced as Illinois Governor, George Ryan, in a federal prison. Not only is this disturbing, but when Otto Kerner and Dan Walker are included, it means that four of Illinois’ last eight former governors will have served time in prison.
The irony of Blagojevich has been chronicled ad nauseum. He actually and successfully campaigned in his first run for Illinois governor on a pledge of state government ethics reform and used the plight of Ryan as an effective campaign issue. In 2002, the specter of Ryan’s demise propelled Blagojevich into the Illinois Governor’s Office as the first Democrat to serve in that position since 1977. Even with federal agents already looming over him, Illinois elected Blagojevich to a second term four years later.
Ryan’s legal woes forced him to not seek a second term as governor and he eventually was found guilty on 18 counts and is currently serving a 78 month prison term in Terre Haute, IN. He could have served as many as 20 years in prison. To put this in perspective, the 17 counts Blagojevich was convicted on carry harsher penalties and could technically lead to a 350 sentence. However, legal experts predict that Blagojevich will probably be sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison. At 54 years old now, he will leave prison with no pension, probably penniless and absent during his two daughters’ childhoods.
Even though Blagojevich was all-over the media, competing on Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice television show, hosting a radio show and appearing on any talk show that would have him, the last mention of Blagojevich related to the Illinois Statehouse was during the 2010 gubernatorial campaign, but even that was tepid. If the Republicans tried to mention Blagojevich, the Democrats could counter with a reference to Ryan, thus making the issue of ethics essentially moot in that campaign. Since then, the Illinois Statehouse politicos, in both parties, have essentially tried to forget that Blagojevich even exists.
As an example of that, Blagojevich was not given the honor granted to his predecessors of having his portrait placed in the rotunda of the state capitol building in Springfield. The reason/excuse is that he was impeached and removed from office. But, does that actually matter? The paintings of Ryan, Kerner and Walker are still hanging there. Their dubious fates have apparently had minimal impact on weaning Illinois voters from electing politicians that end up in prison, even though the rate is alarming and should be embarrassing.
Blagojevich’s legacy on the Illinois Statehouse may be campaign fundraising reforms that led to his imprisonment. It will take a few more election cycles to see if that influences the behavior of Illinois politicians. If Illinois voters were more discerning, it would not matter.
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