Posted on 12/11/2008 12:43:22 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
We voted for change. But it appears we may be getting some real change here in Illinois. The differences between Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn and indicted Governor Rod Blagojevich are staggering, and that's simply from a (good) government perspective. (Can't wait for Rich Miller to start calling me a goo goo!)
First of all, when Pat Quinn takes over as our Governor we will have an engaged governor, someone who not only puts the people of Illinois first but is incessantly thinking about how to improve our lives. If Pat Quinn ever chooses to "work from home," you will know that real work is getting done. But I wouldn't count on Quinn taking the slacker path. You'd probably see him more at the Thompson Center, not less. There's no question that he'd been seen more doing the people's business than we've seen of Rod. (In the indicted Governor's defense, it's probably a good thing that he was conducting his illegal activities based out of his house and not the 15th floor. You'd hope that fewer state employees were engaged in Blagojevich's illegal activities that way.)
Secondly, imagine all the state employees who's time will be freed to do the people's business instead of taking part in Blagojevich's aggrandisement! Quinn walks around the state (and the country!) without all the "bodyguards" that are detailed to "protect" the indicted governor. Imagine state troopers protecting our highways instead of Rod's ego! Now that's real change!
On a (almost) tangential point, we will also benefit from the fact that Quinn won't be holding up state employees as has been the practice of our indicted Governor. No more elevators blocked off for hours because Elvis was in the building. State employees will have to worry more about their job performance than about whether they "offended" him.
This benefit will clearly filter down to the rest of us. Not only will we be getting our money's worth from our public servants (granted, their lack of efficiency being due to the governor's ego not their willingness to do their jobs), but we will finally be able to work in and around the state without having to worry about Blagojevich trying to extort us (because we live in Illinois). One can only imagine that the indicted Governor's effort to extort money from the head of Children's Hospital was one of a long line of extortion attempts.
The one thing you got out of Patrick Fitzgerald's indictment was that our indicted Governor spent quite a bit of time thinking about how to shake people down. Imagine that same time and intellectual energy spent on thinking about how to move Illinois out of this political and fiscal crisis? It appeared that our indicted Governor never had time to think about us; he was spending way too much time thinking about how to benefit financially from the Governor's office.
There are other, equally dramatic changes in the way the Governor's office will operate once it has been passed from our indicted Governor to the Lt. Governor. No doubt, everyone has their own list. Feel free to add your own in the comments.
No one can say that Pat Quinn isn't a hard worker, someone who is trying to better the state and the people of Illinois. The fact that traditional machine pols are weary of Quinn is just an added bonus. I've heard Barack Obama say many times, "This is our moment, this is our time... We will not just win this general election, but you and I together, we will change this country and we will change the world." Pat Quinn stands at a defining moment in Illinois' history, where a politician coming with a machine legacy tried to borrow the reform mantle only to raise the bar for the standard of corruption in the state. Quinn is untainted by either the wiff of scandal or ties to a long corrupt political machine. Illinois is blessed to have a man of his integrity, his character waiting in the wings...
To “change the country and change the world” you first have to change yourself. Can someone explain how an empty suit can change?
Would be funny if he became Governor and picked Fitz to fill Obama’s seat.
PAT QUINN 2006 contributors
SHAPIRO, RICHARD $20,000 8.40% Lawyers & Lobbyists
CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION $18,500 7.77% Labor
ILLINOIS PIPE TRADES/UA $17,000 7.14% Labor
AFSCME ILLINOIS COUNCIL 31 $14,500 6.09% Labor
PAINTERS & ALLIED TRADES/IUPAT $12,500 5.25% Labor
DEVELOPMENT SPECIALISTS $11,500 4.83% General Business
ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL 15/IBEW $10,500 4.41% Labor
ILLINOIS AUTO WORKERS/UAW $9,000 3.78% Labor
SPRINKLER FITTERS LOCAL 281/UA $6,500 2.73% Labor
BERRY, WILLIAM $6,418 2.69% Lawyers & Lobbyists
SERVICE EMPLOYEES ILLINOIS COUNCIL/SEIU $5,250 2.20% Labor
ILLINOIS PREVAILING WAGE COUNCIL $5,000 2.10% Labor
ASSOC OF FIRE FIGHTERS OF ILLINOIS/IAFF $5,000 2.10% Labor
OBRIENS RESTAURANT $4,957 2.08% General Business
+++++BLAGOJEVICH, FRIENDS OF $4,168 1.75% Party ++++
IRONWORKERS LOCAL 1 $4,000 1.68% Labor
CHICAGO & NORTHEAST ILLINOIS DISTRICT COUNCIL OF CARPENTERS/UBC $3,950 1.66% Labor
FOOD & COMMERCIAL WORKERS LOCAL 881/UFCW $3,500 1.47% Labor
SERVICE EMPLOYEES LOCAL 73/SEIU $3,500 1.47% Labor
PLUMBERS & PIPEFITTERS LOCAL 597/UA $3,000 1.26% Labor
Also, THIS GUY is a BIG contributor to Quinn, to the tune of $31,500 to his 2006 Campaign fund:
Patrick F. Daly
Director
Private Bancorp Inc
Chicago , IL
Patrick F. Daly (59) has been a director since July 2004. He is the founder and chief executive officer of The Daly Group LLC, a Chicago-based group of companies focused on real estate development, brokerage and construction management services.
Mr. Daly is Vice Chairman of the Board of Managers of University of Illinois Research Parks, LLC, and is the immediate past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Academy of Sciences and its Notebaert Nature Museum.
Mr. Daly is also a member of the Board of Directors of the USO of Illinois, and The Chicago Historical Society, and its Chicago History museum
Daly runs something called PRIVATBANCORP in Chicago, also known as “THE PRIVATE BANK”
Private Bank specializes in banking services for “Wealthy Clients” and “Mid-sized businesses” in Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Detroit.
It’s board members include ALEJANDRA SILVA, a Daley Appoimtee to the CTA board, that has come under a lot of fire recently, too. He is the CEO of something called EVANS FOOD GROUP, which is the world’s largest producer of PORK RINDS!
The CHAIRMAN of Private Bank is RALPH MANDELL, who is a member of the “HUNDRED CLUB” of Cook County, etc, etc...
Not sure how all of this links, but it all seems VERY incestuous...
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