Well folks, I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so.

For the last 6 years of the Blagojevich administration there has been a cloud of suspicion hovering over this Governor over pay-to-play politics. In 2002, Rod Blagojevich campaigned across this state pledging to end the business-as-usual that was the status quo in the state of Illinois at the time. He pledged to ride into Springfield on a white horse and clean up this state. I didn't support him in 2002, I thought then that former IL Attorney General Jim Ryan was the right man for the job. My candidate lost. I was willing to give Blagojevich a chance to follow through on the promises he had made because Illinois desperately needed to put the George Ryan years behind us. George Ryan was a person I looked up too. He was a Republican and he and I shared a decent name haha. George Ryan let me and the rest of the state down by putting his own personal interests ahead of the interests of this state. When Blagojevich took office, I had hopes that we could finally put that behind us. Unfortunately, that trust was wrongfully placed by the people of Illinois.

Early on we began to see that business-as-usual in Illinois simply transferred from the Republican administration into the Democratic one. Instead of putting the interests of IL first, Blagojevich began doing whatever it took to enrich himself, his family, and his friends. This is why I became actively involved in Judy Baar Topinka's campaign for Governor in 2006. The entire campaign Blagojevich falsely used George Ryan to link him to Topinka. He was able to spend millions and millions of dollars, a lot of which was raised by now convicted felon Tony Rezko, to air TV ads linking Topinka to George Ryan. Remember, Judy Baar Topinka, What's She Thinking? During the campaign, I was able to get to know Judy very well and Joe Birkett as well. But because Blagojevich had a massive campaign war chest, he was able to distract the voters of IL away from his own failures and create a false impression that Topinka was just another George Ryan crony. Judy Baar Topinka warned us in 2006 of what lay ahead for IL. She was right. She and Joe Birkett fought for an Illinois that worked for working families. In the last 2 years since his re-election, we have seen what can happen when we have a Governor more interested in being served than serving the interests of this state.

Public service is about serving the people, not to be served. It is a sad fact that we have TWO consecutive Governors that have been arrested. This corruption does not belong to one party or one group. This is a bipartisan problem in Illinois that needs to be dealt with. For too long our elected officials have routinely betrayed the public trust and engaged in pay-to-play politics. It's time to put our state first. It's time to put forth leaders that are interested in putting the business of this state ahead of their own personal agenda. We can do better than what we are getting out of Springfield. Because quite frankly, we deserve better. We deserve better than having 2 Governors involved in corruption. We deserve honest, decent, and honorable people to serve in the rank and file of State Government. We face serious challenges in Illinois and its time for Governor Blagojevich to step aside and put the interests of Illinois first, because he has lost all credibility that he might have had. This isn't a partisan issue. This is an Illinois issue. All of us, Democrats and Republicans, need to stand up for Honest Government and a government that will work for all of us.

So, now it's time for Governor Blagojevich to step aside. If he does not, the General Assembly should convene and begin immediate impeachment hearings and allow Lt. Governor Pat Quinn to take over. He has opposed Blagojevich on many key areas and I think will lead this state honorably and will help to put this state first.

Labels: Blagojevich Arrest, rod blagojevich, tony rezko