REASONABILITY HAS LEFT THE CAPITOL BUILDING

Home

About Us

BLOG/Editorial

Events

Links

Donate

Media

News

JOIN THE MOVEMENT

Email Enrollment

REASONABILITY HAS LEFT THE CAPITOL BUILDING
By: For The Good Of Illinois | Category: Editorial | Published: 1/28/2008
Views: 490 | Comments: 7 |

REASONABILITY HAS LEFT THE CAPITOL BUILDING

Adam Andrzejewski
January 28, 2008

In November of 2002, on the night of his gubernatorial victory, Rod Blagojevich echoed Elvis by saying, “… I’m all shook up!” As we start 2008, it is reasonability that has left the building and it is the state that is “…all shook up.” Unfortunately, our Elvis governor is still at the podium of power.

The Blagojevich antics have become headlines. The Governor was commuting from Chicago to Springfield to Chicago on a state airplane costing taxpayers $5,800 per day. Blagojevich covertly manipulated the budget by executive order imposing $10 million to fund a human cloning experimental project which had previously been rejected by the General Assembly. As of January 1st, Illinois is in arrears of $1.7 million of state bills. Undeterred, the Governor gives away free mammograms, free health care, free preschool, and free transit rides; Illinois mud wrestles with a $106 billion state debt.
Respect of the citizen has left the building.

Consider the second most powerful man in Illinois government, Senate President Emil Jones. His stepson has contracted with the state for more than $700,000 in computer work. The third most powerful man in Illinois government, Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, runs a law practice in Chicago whose focus is property tax challenges. He will not recuse himself when property tax legislation comes before the House. When asked by the state’s Property Tax Appeal Board to render an opinion on her father’s behavior, the Attorney General of Illinois Lisa Madigan remains silent.
The spirit of public service has left the building.

Passed this fall, Illinois Democrats criminalized employers who use E-Verify to check the legal status of an employee. Over this issue, Homeland Security sued Illinois on national security grounds. In 2004 on constitutional grounds, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce sued the state of Illinois in a victorious challenge of excessive, discriminatory, special purpose fees paid by companies. Late last fall, Governor Blagojevich sued Speaker Madigan over not convening the called for special session in the House; the ‘session’, convened a hundred times and lasted until December 31st!
The rule of law and proper lawmaking has left the building.

Last summer, the state legislature asked the State Auditor General to request of the state agencies a count of the number of state programs. In November, in writing his report, the Auditor concluded that the responses of the agencies were inaccurate. Illinois agencies can not even quantify the number of programs within their own purview.
Efficient and productive government has left the building.

Illinois trails the country in job growth, population growth and in educating our kids, while we lead or top the nation in state debt, public corruption, juvenile violent crime and in highly compensated lawmaker pay.

REASONABILITY NEEDS TO MAKE A RETURN.
FOR THE GOOD OF ILLINOIS

Comments

On 2/25/2008 Adam Andrzejewski said:

From Chicago Tribune, 02/25/2008, Dennis Byrne: Gov. Rod Blagojevich did it again last week. The roof is leaking, the electricity has been shut off, they're coming to repossess the car, and he's talking about adding a swimming pool and taking a Caribbean cruise. Illinois is perhaps in the worst financial shape in memory and has the largest budget deficit of any U.S. state. But he's proposing new programs and bigger giveaways. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-oped0225byrnefeb25,0,6621593.story

On 2/17/2008 Adam Andrzejewski said:

From the 2/17/2008 Chicago Tribune Editorial Board writing about Gov. Blagojevich and Illinois http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/health/chi-0217edit1feb17,0,3678098.story ... "We're a disgrace. We have no right to spend taxpayers' money on our golly-whiz new ideas until we pay for the care and services people already have delivered to the sick and disabled citizens we're sworn to protect." Illinois finished 2007 $3.6 million in deficit spending. Worst in the USA! That's not hardcore, that's just going to be hard to pay!

On 2/12/2008 Adam Andrzejewski said:

I admonish the entire mode of "free" governance that Blago substitutes as leadership. I grew up at the poverty line in a small town: we still had to pay for our lunches. Where does anything "free" come from in a state that is $1.7 billion in arrears on Jan.1, 2008 (on current bills, with $107 billion of debt. #1 per capita in state debt in the USA! In the end, we can disagree about anything "free", but I'm glad that you conceded all the other points. Thanks for the post...

On 2/11/2008 clay said:

You're actually going to admonish the man for giving away free mammograms? Wow, you ARE hardcore. Yikes.

On 1/29/2008 jeff said:

I agree-but we need wholesale change in state government. We have some truly tremendous assets in this state to leverage. Need to get rid of union rules, lower taxes, and make our state more competitive. Free rides for seniors based on raising sales taxes was just another indication that we need change. In the city of Chicago, the machine is so ingrained that it will be difficult to beat.

On 1/28/2008 Dexter Means said:

Adam--Thanks for another accurate and alarming Editorial on this sorry state leadership. We need the folks to throw the Bums out. I think Steve Sauerberg, MD will shake things up challenging Dick Durbin.

On 1/28/2008 carson sterling said:

I sure hope people are reading Adam..keep it up!