Those
of us who toil at the Illinois Statehouse often feel alone and isolated.
State
news usually isn't "important" news to most people, who tend to focus
much more on national and local politics than the goings-on at the Illinois
Statehouse. I suppose it's that way all over the country,
Reporters
will bust their humps on a story, only to see it buried or ignored.
Suburban
and Chicago legislators are little-known in their districts, since the big
Chicago media outlets tend to overlook them. Their campaigns are rarely covered
and most of their legislation barely rates a blink.
A
top campaign staffer for a state legislative caucus told me years ago that he
figured voters gave his candidates just 30 seconds a week of thought. That
isn't much.
Occasionally,
news will break through the clutter. Former Gov. George Ryan's troubles with
the law are widely known, although some of the jurors picked for his federal
corruption trial barely knew he existed.
While
we accept the realities of our own obscurity, it's difficult to understand
sometimes why voters don't pay attention.
Lots
of reporters and columnists were disheartened last year when Rod Blagojevich
cruised to reelection, despite the stories of corruption and federal
investigations that swirled around him for months. It's not that any of us were
hoping he'd lose, it's just that nothing we wrote seemed to have any real
impact. And even though Blagojevich finished a tiny click below 50 percent, he
ended up beating his Republican opponent by ten percentage points. That's a lot
in anyone's book.
I've
been stuck in this sinkhole of a legislative session all year. I had to drag
myself to the Capitol building all spring, all summer and into the fall to
watch Gov. Blagojevich pick goofy fights with just about everyone under the
Statehouse dome. I've waited impatiently for countless hours while the governor
met with legislative leaders, only to discover that the talks actually made
things worse. I've seethed while almost nothing of any substance was achieved
except a pay hike for state officials. I watched in disbelief while the
governor complained bitterly about property taxes in his neighborhood, and
proposed a Cook County-only solution, when I'm paying much more taxes than he
is for a Downstate house worth less than half what his is valued at. I've had
to explain to my wife why there would be no summer vacation, and that Christmas
break was starting to look iffy because the governor was threatening to call
another of his innumerable "emergency" special sessions that never
accomplish anything.
Then,
in late summer, a poll was released that showed the governor's approval ratings
were in the dumpster. In October, two more polls were published with
essentially the same results, greatly buttressing those earlier numbers.
A
Rasmussen Reports poll taken in mid-October showed that just five percent of
likely Illinois voters thought Blagojevich was doing an "excellent"
job. Another 11 percent said he was doing a "good" job. Most of the
rest, 83 percent, said Blagojevich was doing a "fair" or
"poor" job.
Illinois
Wesleyan University also released an October poll showing Blagojevich's job
approval rating at a miserable 23 percent. Those who disapproved totaled 60
percent.
The
poll numbers were bad for the governor throughout every possible demographic.
No region, no gender, no race, no age group, no income level, no philosophical
position believes the governor is doing an acceptable job.
Even
his own Democrats have turned on him. The Illinois Wesleyan poll found that
just 38 percent of likely Democratic voters approve of Blagojevich's job
performance, while 41 percent disapprove. A whopping 54 percent of liberals and
65 percent of independents disapprove.
Everybody
finally seems to "get" Rod Blagojevich. I'm not exactly sure what
attracted their attention in the first place. It could be the gapers' block
effect. Voters may simply have been fascinated by the ugly spectacle of the
massive train wreck that is our state government. The governor's proposals,
like his gigantic tax hike idea from earlier this year, may have sparked their
ire.
Whatever
the case, lots of people out there are finally paying attention. At least my
cohorts and I know we're no longer alone. So from all of us, to all of you,
thanks.
But,
frankly, I could use a little boredom right about now.
-30-
Rich
Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and
thecapitolfaxblog.com