Professional courtesy
Three recent governors of Illinois [Otto Kerner (D) 1961-1968, Dan Walker (D) 1973-1977, George Ryan (R) 1999-2003) went to jail. There were two governors between Walker and Ryan, Republicans Jim Thompson (1977-1991 and Jim Edgar (1991-1999). Thompson did not go to jail, but Thompson is the guy who really made what the Chicago Tribune’s John Kass calls “The Combine”, the happy two party corruption and patronage operation. William Cellini, the Illinois Republican Party boss, just got indicted for shaking down, with Obama real estate fairy Tony Rezko, a Chicago investor to get money for Democratic Illinois governor Rod Blagojeivich. (Illinois corruption is wonderfully bipartisan.) Jim Edgar was the only reasonably honest governor has had in decades, although he was not particularly effective in cleaning up the mess. So it would be nearly redudant to call Rod Blagojevich the crooked governor of Illinois. Blagojevich has not been indicted, but his administration has more federal investigations than Obama has broken campaign promises.
It should come as no surprise, therefore, that the Democrat Blogojevich has called on Bush to commute the prison sentence of his Republican predecessor.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who rode into state office pledging to clean up the corruption of his predecessor, said today that President George W. Bush should commute the federal prison sentence of former Gov. George Ryan to time served as an act of compassion.
Blagojevich, making a Thanksgiving Day appearance at the Chicago Christian Industrial League, contended Ryan had paid “a significant price” for what he termed “mistakes.”
Citing the frail health of Ryan’s wife, Lura Lynn, and the 74-year-old former governor’s health concerns, Blagojevich said a commutation by Bush would be a “fine decision.”
Talk about professional courtesy. And of course the story would not be complete without this.
Earlier this week, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the chamber, said he was considering asking Bush to commute Ryan’s sentence.
Primo sleaze George Ryan gets a helping hand from fellow primo sleaze Dick Durbin, who did not even have the nerve to stick around to explain himself. You gotta love Illinois politics, the cesspool that gave birth to Barack Obama.