"Land of Lincoln" becomes "Land of Looney Rod Blagojevich".

From Carl Sandburg's 1916 poem "Chicago" -

"Hog butcher for the world, Tool maker, stacker of wheat, Player with railroads and the nation's freight handler; Stormy, husky, brawling, City of the big shoulders."

Forgotten in Mr. Sandburg's ode to Chicago are the Windy City, Chi-Town, Sweet Home, My Kind of Town, FIB-Land (OK - I'm from Wisconsin...what did you expect?), and finally...And-As-Corrupt-as-a-Child-Molester-on-a-Middle-School-Playground.

Course, this news isn't new to anyone. However, it's punctuated by the arrest yesterday of Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich ("Blago" to his friends, I'm sure, and former 3-term U.S. Congressman) by federal law enforcement agents for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud as well as solicitation of bribery (there's a slew of charges, with these being the main ones).

Poor Mr. Lincoln...rolling over in his grave right, I trust. The rest of us trying to earn a living in times such as they are today, you have another politician thinkin' his shit don't stink. Alright, Illinois - you're batting 1.000! Blago is Illinois' 2nd crooked governor in a row. Jim Ryan was governor from 1999-2003, and is now serving six years in a federal pen on federal corruption convictions in 2006. Then there wa ex-Illinois congressman Dan Rostenkowski , who served from 1959-1995, who was indicted in 1994 on corruption charges for his key role in the House post office scandal. In 1996, he pleaded guilty to reduced charges of mail fraud, was fined and sentenced to 17 months in prison, of which he served 15 (Rostenkowski was pardoned in 2000 by US President Bill Clinton). These are the more recent higher-ranked officials - there's plenty more where they came from = 3 governors, 29 alderman - in all, nearly 80 elected officials have gone down the tubes in the Windbag City in the last 3 decades alone.

( I don't understand "pardons". Unless an individual was later found innocent of the crime he/she was originally found guilty for, why are they being "forgiven" for their crimes. I think it's bullshit.)

I have a numerous close friends from Wisconsin who live in Illinois - most of them migrated there because of their jobs. So I'm somewhat familiar with the uneven political climate in the City of the Big Con. Had a recent conversation with a Chicago cop in August about the state of Chicago politics and how concerned he was if Obama won the election...all the "favors" he'd have to grant to fellow Chicago politicians (this sentiment echoed by another ex-Chicago sheriff whom I know).

My personal disdain for Chicago and the state of Illinois stems from the Packer-Bear rivalry (though I'm boycotting the Packers in favor of Favre and the Jet this season, the animosity runs deep. We (Wisconsin) hate them. They hate us. Life goes on. I don't like the people (arrogant), their cars, their license plates, the state is flat and ugly; I hate their sports teams, the guys are slimy and that state, in general, sucks my ass. And right after FIBS rip on my state of Wisconsin, they all jump in their SUV's and Beemers for a vacation in - you guessed it, Wisconsin.

So I stumbled upon this Wordpress blog, 12 Angry Men and I see a post yesterday by Angry Immigrant, admonishing the Illinois governor for his latest 'ef up. Then I find another post dated March 9, 2007 from Angry Midwesterner titled, "Shut Up about Chicago and Illinois Corruption", in which this idiot, though calling attention to Illinois' political corruption, goes on to defend that corruption with reasoning so 'effed up that I'm thinking perhaps Rod Blagojevich IS Angry Midwesterner . If "Immigrant" and "Midwesterner" are two different people...well now I'm confused.

I encourage you to click on READ MORE! to read the further adventures of the idiocy that is Angry Midwesterner in Illinois. And read the comments at the end of the article. They all think this guy's on crack.

(WAIT! There's more...)

Angry Midwesterner goes on to acknowledge the corruptness prevalent in Illinois politics (and that it's wrong), yet defends it by espousing everything that's good with Illinois - jobs, school, scientific research, etc. As if the crime is necessary for things to flourish in Sweat Home, Chicago. Here are some highlights of the psycho rants from Angry Midwesterner's post in March 2007:

"...shut up about corruption in Illinois politics in general. We don’t care, and we don’t want to hear your ignorant views."

"Our economy is so strong that we manage to carry the fourth highest tax burden of any state, which in layman’s terms means that our state finances your state’s inadequacies."

"Combine all of this with our generally low unemployment, the fifth largest gross state product in the country at over $560 billion (and 17th world wide, yes that is higher than most European nations), a consistently growing economy and population, and you can see why we have very little to complain about..."

"...our state is fundamentally not as corrupt as yours."

"It is for these reasons that it really pisses me off to see the mainstream media accuse Illinois of being corrupt...Is Daley corrupt? Sure he is! But Chicago is not only the third largest city in the United States, but one of the fastest growing, most successful, and culturally rich cities in the country. The Daley family, in their long reign over Chicago, have made the people of Chicago happy and gotten the job done. He has the support of 71% of the population for a reason. I applaud Obama for his support of Daley, he had the courage to realize that the problem with Chicago is not corruption. The problem with the rest of the country is an unwillingness to admit to its own corruption."

"So the next time you decide to criticize Illinois or Chicago for corruption while sipping a glass of wine on your veranda, take a moment to think about who is paying to subsidize your standard of living. That’s right, it isn’t your sorry excuse for a state, it is Illinois. So sit down and for goodness sake, shut up."

If you're unfamiliar with Chicago's history of corruptness, read this short article from the website, Slate, "Why is Chicago so corrupt?". It provides some insight into why Illinois as 'effed up as it is.

You know...Al Capone, was well-liked by a large percentage of the people in Corrupt-town, Chicago, opening soup kitchens and helping the unemployed. HE was still a crook - no one denies this fact. His "generosity" didn't make his actions right (or legal). The fact that I have to actually say this to an idiot like Angry Midwestern shows just how dull the mentality is out there. I informed Angry Midwesterner that, as we speak, Illinois faces a $2 billion deficit, and is ranked in the highest tier regarding it's cigarette, gas and property taxes. So much for his rants applauding all that's good with the "Land of Lincoln".

Getting back to soon-to-be ex-Governor/soon-to-be-someone's bitch in prison Rod Blagojevich, in a recent article from 12/10 on Msn.com, Kent Redfield, a professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Springfield, “The combination of arrogance and stupidity that would prompt him (Governor Blagojevich) to continue in these types of behaviors is just stunning,” Dr. Redfield said. Dr. Redfield said he had little sympathy for a man who regarded “the state of Illinois like it’s a big Chicago ward, where a U.S. Senate seat is like granting a zoning variance or liquor license.” He added: “The damage to the state, it’s going to take a long time to dig out.”

To confirm Redfield's assertions, take a look at a couple quotes from Blago yesterday:

“This is America, you know, and I’d appreciate if you want to tape my conversations, give me a heads-up and let me know,” Blagojevich said.

“I don’t care whether you tape me privately or publicly. I can tell you that whatever I say is always lawful,” Blagojevich.

Both comments were followed by his arrest for (among many, many other things) having been recorded saying “I want to make money” (trying to sell off the senate seat recently held by President-Elect Obama.). Blag should be convicted on two counts of stupidity based on these quotes alone. You know his prospects for work after he gets out of prison will be - well, he couldn't land a job as Head of Dog Catching for Cook County, IL. Best thing for Blag and all of us is that he goes through the trial process, gets sent to prison, then commits suicide while in prison. It'll spare a federal penitentiary the expense of housing this scumbag. He betrayed the trust of an entire state; he will always be scum; it's obvious in his demeanor and his flippancy upon his arrest that he's not hiding, nor cares about what he did.

NOTE: I'm listening to NPR right now and the Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan just said the word, "taint", while referring to the recently arrested Gov. Blag in an interview. That is awesome.

Corruption exists in politics. We all know that. Illinois politicians - partly due to their arrogance (which I've alluded to earlier) - just seem to get caught. Dumb Fucking Illinois Bastards.