* Former governor Jim Edgar did a good job of diagnosing the problem the other day…
“We have a governor who just doesn’t quite understand his responsibilities, and we have the leaders of his party in the Legislature who spend more time being mad at the governor than doing what needs to be done,” Edgar said, adding he has no future plans to run for political office.
But his solution was far from perfect…
“I think (Blagojevich) has got to admit he’s made some mistakes and buckle down and spend a little more time in Springfield and reach out to the Democrats and Republicans he hasn’t been able to get along with,” Edgar said. “There’s a lot of lack of confidence in state government today.”
* The governor’s word is mud. There is almost nothing he can do to salvage that. Admitting his past mistakes won’t help, partly because he is so thoroughly trapped by those old mistakes…
Back in 2004, when (surprise) the state was going through financial problems, Blagojevich complained that many of those problems were caused by “the biggest borrowing binge in Illinois state history.” Specifically, the Illinois FIRST capital program pushed through by former Gov. George Ryan.
For the record, that biggest borrowing binge in Illinois history cost $12 billion. Blagojevich’s capital plan is $34 billion.
Not all of that is based on borrowing, but you get the idea.
* And this is what you get when you have no more credibility or influence…
Blagojevich began the year with an ambitious wish list: A massive infrastructure program; universal health care; and a $300-per-child state income tax rebate. He suggested paying for it with a major expansion of gambling.
But by the time the Legislature adjourned for the summer, virtually all of Blagojevich’s agenda had been ignored. Instead, the Legislature unanimously sent him a campaign ethics bill that clearly was a swipe at the governor’s own fundraising methods.
Blagojevich’s failure to win passage of his $33 billion proposed infrastructure plan has been an especially bitter one.
* Speaking of the capital bill, did you know this?
In one example, as the plan relates to the money earmarked for all nine Illinois Department of Transportation districts, the two southernmost districts would get 16 percent of the $14 billion for road and bridge projects. Yet those two districts only make up about 9.3 percent of the state’s population.
The Chicagoland district would get 37 percent of the funding, while it has nearly 64 percent of the state’s population.
* Related…
* Kane lawmakers ‘frustrated‘ over Springfield antics
* Illinois: NIU remodeling will have to wait
* Union wants details about IDOT jobs
* Transit Systems To Get State Funding
* Transportation Funding Comes Up Short In Many States, Forcing Mission Changes
* AFSCME, state talks getting contentious
* Illinois governor to release all agriculture money
* Not shocked by audit findings
* Britt: Cartoon on Gov. Blagojevich and impeachment