Untitled Document
The oldest axiom in government is that it’s
always easier to kill something than it is to pass something. That was
proved true yet again last week when Senate President Emil Jones and Gov.
Rod Blagojevich teamed up to kill off the proposed constitutional amendment
for recall of elected officials. Jones gave marching orders to his leadership team to
get in line and recruit as many no votes as possible before the proposal
came up for a vote. Blagojevich’s team was apparently busy wheeling
and doling out state money and jobs, releasing grants, and moving one state
facility while promising not to close another. Only two of the no votes among Senate Democrats have
Republican opponents this fall: Sens. Terry Link and Mike Jacobs. But
neither of those Republicans is considered a top-tier type yet. Jacobs
covered himself a bit by calling on the governor to resign before he is
impeached. Link, who has had some problems locally with his own nominating
petitions and with some of his candidates’ campaigns, will
undoubtedly be moved up the target list, but his district is so Democratic
that it will be tough to dislodge him. Even so, expect a lot more money to
be spent there — if, that is, the Senate Republicans can raise it. Jones is philosophically opposed to recall, and he
also sent a very clear message last week: Enough with the
Blagojevich-bashing — but the heat is not off the governor, not by a
long shot.
Ali Ata’s devastating plea bargain and
testimony at Tony Rezko’s federal corruption trial has reinforced the
view among many Statehouse types that Blagojevich probably won’t
survive this investigation. Ata talked about delivering a campaign check to
the governor in Rezko’s office, after which the two talked about a
state job. He also claimed that he gave Rezko — a top Blagojevich
insider — $25,000 to help pay off contractors working on
Blagojevich’s house. It seems even clearer now than it was before (and it
was pretty clear then) that the governor is the ultimate target of U.S.
Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation. Jones’ actions with recall show the length he
will go to protect Blagojevich’s back. Those considering the idea of
impeaching the governor in the House have to be wondering what Jones will
do if the House takes that drastic step against the governor. The Illinois
Constitution directs the Senate to hold a trial and designates the chief
justice of the Supreme Court to preside, but nobody knows who is in charge
of actually convening the proceedings. A call last week to the Supreme
Court came up empty. They don’t appear to know, either. Because no
definitive timeline is set forth in the Constitution, Jones could postpone
convening a trial almost indefinitely.
The longer the legislative session drags on, the more
that comes out of the Rezko trial, the lower the governor’s poll
numbers drop, and the closer the election becomes will all contribute to
the momentum building in the House right now to do something —
anything — about this governor. The passage of recall might have
“lanced the boil,” but its failure in the Senate means that
there is almost no other alternative except waiting until January 2011 for
a new governor to take office. Impeachment might instead be used as a threatened
weapon to get things done at the Statehouse. The theory goes that Madigan
could use the threat to push Blagojevich to wrap up the spring session in a
timely manner rather than allow it to drag on into the winter, which is
what happened with last year’s session. The Senate’s vote to
kill recall was partially a move to prevent Madigan from doing just that. But even if the Senate never puts Blagojevich on
trial or votes to remove him from office, no Illinois governor has ever
been impeached by the House. Getting tagged with that ignominious badge of
dishonor throughout the rest of history can’t be something that
Blagojevich would relish, particularly when he is fighting off a relentless
federal prosecutor. This game is far from playing itself out.
Rich Miller also
publishes Capitol Fax, a daily
political newsletter, and
thecapitolfaxblog.com.
This article appears in May 1-7, 2008.
