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Governor's stock dropping in his hometown, too

Posted November 30, 2007 10:00 pm

Bernard Schoenburg

Needless to say, Gov. ROD BLAGOJEVICH's style of governing(?) has generated some heated reactions from folks in Springfield for all of the nearly five years he's been in office. But similar strong feelings are showing up in Chicago following a television news story that raised questions about the governor's attention to his job.

About 200 comments were sent to WBBM-TV in Chicago following JIM FLANNERY's report that, with the governor's help, ended with a bang. The help was the governor's quick trip to Chicago so the story included video of him attending a Chicago Blackhawks hockey game at the same time the Illinois House was debating - and defeating - the latest bailout plan for Chicago-area mass transit systems.

I've often said these past five years that state government is not the top story in the Chicago area. People pay far more attention to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and Cook County government. But Flannery's story - which ended up running almost eight full minutes - clearly struck a chord with many people, and the comments were telling.

Here's a sampling:

n "Blagojevich is a lightweight that somehow fell into a high position. … It would be laughable for him to run on his record."

n "…The industrial world would not tolerate such ineptness. Blagojevich serves as a living example of the "Peter Principle."

n "Can't believe you had footage of Blago at the Hawks game while RTA is going in the tank. Awesome."

n "The report … definitely reinforces the belief by many that he is a totally incompetent governor. He shows the same interest in the state of Illinois and its problems as King George did when dealing with the colonies."

Some commenters discussed a gubernatorial recall, some wondered why the station hasn't gone after President Bush in the same way, and some criticized the station for not believing the governor can conduct business adequately from anywhere, given modern technology. But by far, the people who took time to respond were not happy with what they saw.

The governor's office has called the piece "sleazy journalism" and said the governor is in touch with staff and doing the state's business around-the-clock.

The story and follow-ups are available at www.cbs2chicago.com. The comments are at http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/rod.blagojevich.feedback.2.598510.html.

Meanwhile, the Republican Party of Illinois is taking a cue from the story. On Friday, it announced a "governor for a day" contest.

"The winner … will begin the day at the hour of their choice. From there, they will be ushered to a salon for a haircut and massage. Following their time at the salon they will be treated to a first-class lunch, which will be followed by a tour of the City of Chicago including visits to the Sears Tower and other Chicago landmarks.

Ensuring they are treated just like our current governor, the winners will end their day by attending a Chicago Blackhawks game."

Entry tickets were handed out near the Statehouse and the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago Friday. Others who want to enter can do so via email at GovernorforaDay@ilgop.org. The winner will be announced at noon Wednesday at WeAreIllinois.org, a party Web site.

Who says politics isn't fun?

Blagojevich spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch, however, was not amused.

"If Republicans spent as much energy on trying to pass a long term funding solution for mass transit and a capital infrastructure bill as they do on silly gimmicks like this, than their work in Springfield would be done by now," she said. "An idea like theirs is indicative of why they still have unfinished business."

Cooley replacing Seiber

A guy with lots of politics in his background is taking over for a guy outside those circles in a job designed to take politics out of law enforcement.

But both men think things will work out well.

RON COOLEY, 55, deputy director of intergovernmental affairs for Secretary of State Jesse White, is leaving that job to become executive director of the Illinois State Police Merit Board at the beginning of the year. He's taking over from Jim Seiber, 61, who is retiring after 35 years with the state and 22 years in the merit board job.

The five-member board is appointed by the governor, but the board names the executive director and operates independently of the governor's office, Seiber said.

The small staff is responsible for recruiting state police officers, selecting cadet classes, and overseeing promotions and discipline.

Late Gov. Adlai Stevenson formed the board to take politics out of the state police in 1949, Seiber said, ending an age when new governors would fire many officers and hire new ones.

"I'm probably the only person in town that got his job because I didn't have political connections," Seiber said last week. He said his wife, Susan, took early retirement five years ago from the Department of Public Health, and "she's been twisting my arm ever since" to do likewise. He said he'll stay on for six months, on contract for "a lot less" than his current rate of pay, which is $100,080 annually, to help with transition.

Cooley said he'll be paid about the same as the $86,952 he's been making with the secretary of state.

Cooley said he's been involved in campaigns since, as a Pekin High School student, he organized college students for the U.S. Senate campaign of Adlai Stevenson III (son of the former governor) in 1970. He joined state government in 1991 as special assistant to the comptroller under Dawn Clark Netsch. He's campaigned for politicians including Netsch, Chicagoan John Schmidt for governor and for state Sen. John Cullerton of Chicago. And he has an advertising specialty business, RPC Program Consultants, that provides some materials to candidates.

That company served as broker back in 2003 when the state initially contracted to buy 30,000 Illinois State Fair stickers that prominently included Gov. Blagojevich's name. After questions were raised, Blagojevich's campaign fund paid for the stickers. Cooley said he got about $200.

Cooley said he will consult agency attorneys to ensure everything he does outside his regular job is allowable.

He said he came to the new job because he knows DuQuoin Mayor John Rednour, who chairs the merit board.

"There wasn't a formal posting," Seiber said.

Seiber said he's met with Cooley on several occasions, and they've talked about keeping politics away from board work.

"I feel that Ron will be able to do this job and be fair and impartial, with some experience, of course. People will take him to school pretty quick. I feel very, very comfortable turning over the reins to Ron."

Cooley, by the way, is married to LINDA MORRIS-COOLEY. When her name was just Linda Morris, she came within a vote of being Springfield Ward 5 alderman in 1991.

A political legend passes

Illinois lost a political legend with the passing Thursday of former U.S. Rep. HENRY HYDE. Known in Congress for his pro-life stands and because he was chief House manager of the BILL CLINTON impeachment proceedings, Hyde was a force previously in the Illinois House.

"Henry got a lot of notice immediately because of his articulation," said former state Rep. PHIL COLLINS, now of Springfield, who along with Hyde was first elected to the Illinois House in 1966 from Chicago.

Collins recalled that freshmen Republicans in 1967 helped elect Republican RALPH SMITH speaker of the House. Hyde later became majority leader under GOP Speaker W. ROBERT BLAIR, but following an unsuccessful challenge to Blair, ended up out of leadership and with a seat in the rear of the chamber.

Hyde's congressional win in 1974 started him on the road to national prominence.

"Henry went to Congress and became an outstanding spokesman for a number of causes," Collins said. "He just became more respected at the years went on. … He had his beliefs, his principles, and he stood by them."

Collins also said Hyde had an engaging personality.

He was the great storyteller of our time," Collins said. "It was always fun to be with him."

Condolences

Meanwhile, newspaper readers in Springfield and many other cities also have lost someone who contributed much in his time - retired Copley News Service Washington reporter BOB ESTILL, who before that was a columnist and reporter in Springfield. He spent 36 years working for Copley, including about two decades in Washington.

Estill, who received a heart transplant in the late 1990s, lived in Springfield, Va. He died Thursday at age 66.

"He was an absolutely amazing colleague and an amazing reporter," said GEORGE CONDON, longtime Washington bureau chief for Copley. "Even in his fourth decade on the job, he never lost the freshness or the enthusiasm for a good story. And what was really amazing about him (was that) no story was too small for him.

"He loved the big story," Condon said, but while others might dismiss something merely about what a local congressman was doing, "he loved it. And he never lost his love for a painfully bad pun or just a good joke."

I remember how hard Estill worked when we covered the 1984 Democratic National Convention together for different news outlets. And he also was great to work with once I joined the Springfield paper.

Condolences to his family and friends.

Bernard Schoenburg is political columnist for The State Journal-Register. He can be reached at (217) 788-1540 or bernard.schoenburg@sj-r.com.

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