From the very beginning, Gov. Rod
Blagojevich sought to centralize the operation of state government as much as
possible in his office. A cadre of deputy governors have overseen daily agency
operations with an iron fist and reported directly to Blagojevich's chief of
staff or to the governor himself.
But Blagojevich is now under siege
and spending much of his days meeting with attorneys about his criminal case.
His chief of staff has resigned, as did one of his deputy governors. Another
deputy governor was hired only recently.
Almost nobody in government really
knows what to do next. Lt. Governor Pat Quinn could be elevated within weeks or
at most a few months. The US Attorney has already raided the Thompson Center
office of one deputy governor, and more raids and grand jury probes are
probable.
There has been talk among top staff
of a mass resignation to send a message to Blagojevich that he must step down
now. The state budget is literally crashing as the nation's economic situation
worsens. Decisions that need to be made aren't being made, and even when
decisions are handed down there is a real fear that following those orders
might lead to trouble with either Quinn or US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald or
both.
Gov. Blagojevich has put on an
appearance these past several days of staying busy at the office, commuting
from his home almost every day to the Thompson Center, signing bills, approving
contracts even issuing commutations.
But, Blagojevich is fighting to
keep a job that he was never really interested in doing to begin with. He's
probably been to the Thompson Center more in the past two weeks than he has in
the past six months, partly for show with the TV cameras around, partly because
his new lawyer is downtown and partly because his campaign office, where he
usually "worked," was bugged by the feds.
So, given all that, would a mass
resignation force the governor to take notice and step down? Probably not. As
mentioned above, he hasn't much cared how the government functioned for six
years. If he did, we wouldn't be in this awful fiscal shape right now. He's all
about himself.
With paralysis at the top, it will
be up to agency directors and their subordinates to run the government from
below. But in some instances, the paralysis has filtered down to the agency
level. "Many are thinking, 'Do I take charge or do I wait?'" said one
longtime Statehouse insider recently. "Nobody wants to commit professional
suicide."
And, considering the state of the
economy right now, many of those agency directors and top administration staff
would be putting themselves in severe jeopardy by stepping down in protest.
They have their own families to care for, mortgages to pay, children to put
through school. Considering this month's ignominious events, it's highly
doubtful that anyone will be able to make a late jump from the Blagojevich
administration to the White House. They're in a no-win situation.
Then there are those like Illinois
Department of Veterans Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth. Ms. Duckworth has been
thought to have a bright political future in front of her. A recent statewide
poll showed her running several points ahead of powerhouse Attorney General
Lisa Madigan in a hypothetical US Senate special election.
But Duckworth's quandary is
immense. Resigning in protest would score her major political points for any
future political bids. There would be gigantic media coverage of any
resignation, and she'd be one of the few people who might move Blagojevich off
the dime a bit. Director Duckworth, a wounded combat veteran, is not a wealthy
person, however. A high-profile resignation might help secure her a job with
the Obama administration, but then again it might not. Obama is rightly
treating Blagojevich as a radioactive pariah.
In the meantime, the people who
always get the shaft are getting it even worse. Illinois' social service safety
net is mostly operated by private providers, and the budget crisis combined
with the leadership vacuum have stretched them to the very limits of their
endurance. Many have been forced to lay off employees at a time when most won't
find a new job. These providers have simply been put in an untenable situation
by an amoral governor.
Somehow, some way, this must end.
Rich Miller also publishes Capitol
Fax, a daily political newsletter, and thecapitolfaxblog.com.