Jonah Goldberg raises the alarm:
The conviction of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich coincided with the release of a new study that finds that, since the 1970s, a current or former Illinois governor is more likely to be in the criminal justice system than out. This is a shocking state of affairs that deserves more public attention and more dedication from the governor community. If only someone had reached out to these Illinois governors earlier. If only they had more positive role models. Perhaps if video games and TV weren’t full of images of politicians ripping off their states. Who knows what causes this epidemic? What we do know is that something must be done to stop this crisis in the heartland, to halt this inter-generational pattern of gubernatorial criminal pathology.
It’s only a matter of time until the pathology extends to other Chicago-based politicians, all the way to Washington, DC.
I get the sarcasm, but the humor based on reality is a bit too real. It really is a sad, shocking, and even scarry state of affairs that Illinois is so full of corruption that it can’t elect a leader that not only has poor ethics but is likely to violate the law outright. Such activity leads to a less than shocking situation in which the state may go bankrupt. At that point, Illinois’ spending and debt problems will likely be marginalized by becoming all of the US taxpayers’ problems.
I’m sure there are honest Illinois politicians. They spend their summers up at the North Pole with Santa.
I still find it impossible to believe that the Community-Organizer-in-Chief deliberately chose to start His political career on Chicago’s South Side (and live in the whitest part) and during His swift rise to the top, not once did He become tainted by the corruption surrounding Him. The only possible explanation is that it’s a miracle and He truly is The One.