'Corruption as usual' in Illinois

Inter Lake editorial

The scandal surrounding Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's alleged attempts to sell a Senate seat may strike most Montanans as a jawdropping display of audacious corruption.

But what's most striking is how normal this flavor of corruption has become to Illinois voters. How can it be that three of the state's previous governors have been jailed on corruption and fraud charges in the past 40 years? How can it be that over the last three decades, 79 local elected officials have been convicted of crimes in Illinois, including 27 Chicago city aldermen?

Here's how: Although one of those governors previously convicted was a Republican, Illinois and particularly Chicago have been dominated for decades by a single party - the Democrats - using "machine" politics to control the distribution of contracts, jobs and social services to those who "pay to play."

From a Montana perspective, it is truly puzzling how and why Illinois voters keep coming back to the Democratic Party machine when it has let them down so often. Think about, for instance, the notorious Daley dynasty which has ruled the Chicago mayor's office for 40 of the last 53 years.

By contrast, Montana voters have a healthy habit of maintaining a two-party system: Control of the Legislature and the governor's office seems to change from one party to another on a cyclical basis. While the majority of voters in this state have tended to lean toward Republican presidential candidates, they have handed statewide offices to Democrats in recent elections.

There also seems to be a very low tolerence in Montana for any whiff of impropriety in politicians.

Consider how former Montana Sen. Conrad Burns, a powerful incumbent, was damaged by alleged associations with Jack Abramoff, a former Wasington, D.C., influence peddler who was convicted on fraud and corruption charges.

Burns wasn't indicted or convicted of anything, but the Abramoff allegations certainly had an influence in his narrow loss to Democrat Jon Tester.

That's just not how it works in the Land of Lincoln.

True enough, Illinois voters elected Republican Michael Patrick Flanagan in 1994 after Democratic Rep. Dan Rostenkowski was indicted on corruption charges.

But that didn't last long. The next election cycle, voters tossed Flanagan out and elected none other than Rod Blagojevich.

Go figure.