for those of us not in Illinois, what is The Combine.
sounds nefarious
The political marriage of corrupt politicians, regardless of party.
Nefarious doesn’t START to describe it.
“for those of us not in Illinois, what is The Combine.”
The Dems and Repubs who all work together for mutual benefit.
“for those of us not in Illinois, what is The Combine.”
The Combine - the democrat machine, centered mostly (but not exclusively) in Chicago, aided and abetted by lapdog Republican enablers, who are rewarded with scraps from the table.
What Obama has in mind for the country as a whole - be forewarned.
If you have not lived in Illinois for a certain amount of time, it is not easy to grasp what the "The Combine" really entails.
It is certainly not the same as one-party control of a state that tends to lead to abuse and corruption (recent examples of which are available from both the Democrats in Massachusetts and the Republicans in Alaska). Both the Democrats and Republicans are guilty in IL. It is no surprise that 3 of our last 5 former governors were either convicted of felonies or currently are under indictment (Blago).
Nor is it the same as one finds in a state like California where you end up with a RINO like Arn-uld running things for two terms with the help of a wacked-out liberal legislature. In reality, "The Combine" has nothing to do with liberal or conservative. It is about power and the $$ that flow from that.
"The Combine" is an agreement (which I sometimes wonder if it is even informal) between the Dems who control Cook County (including Chicago) and the Republicans who control the outer suburbs of Chicago and much of the downstate area to share in the spoils of power, much like two Mafia families. And my choice of the Mafia's structure as a metaphor is no accident - the third crucial component of "The Combine" is the Chicago mob (better known as The Outfit) itself.
To accomplish this both sides tend to "look away" when any wrongdoing is exposed in the opposing party. What kind of anti-graft efforts do you expect from the state when the Attorney General (Lisa Madigan) is the daughter of the immensly powerful Speaker of the Illinos House and Chairman of the state Democratic Party (Mike Madigan)? But the irony is that not only does she leave the Dems alone, she does not bother the Repubs either. It is a nonpartisan sort of corruption. The only way that anyone tends to get into trouble is when the feds catch them.
This agreement allows both parties to share the wealth, even when one party is firmly in control of all statewide offices such as the current situation where the Democrats pretty much hold all the elected offices and control both the state house and senate.
The reach of "The Combine" is not limited to a bunch of politicians and their party hacks. It stretches into the judiciary and even into the business community.
If you really want to get a good flavor of the shenanigans that go on in Illinois, read some of John Kass' columns from the Chicago Tribune.