I agree with Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass when he writes around the absolute joke Illinois is becoming in the political arena.  Kass recently wrote that the events we are all witnessing on a daily basis are so bizarre that not even television icon Jerry Springer could not even write a script for this comedy.  All the time I keep running into fellow democrats who used to laugh and call me names when I ran all over Southern Illinois with democratic candidate for Governor Edwin Eisendrath.  Now these same democrats are looking for a way out of this jam.

          I mean I don’t want to say I told you so, but hey, I told you so!  Democrats are getting exactly what they deserve!  Anyone who did not know that the feds were closing in on the reformer/unreformer simply failed to think for themselves.  Consider the educator; complete with a Masters Degree that I am friends with who used to think I was some off the wall rebel when I would not support Blagojevich in the last primary election.  In a conversation recently with that same teacher it was revealed to me in the form of an excuse that the only reason for that was; orders were handed down by the party and that as a precinct committeeman this person tells me they felt required to do what they were told to do.  My response was a curt reply something like; one would think that after working hard to achieve a good education you might want to consider thinking for yourself.

          It never ceases to amaze me that highly educated people will follow thugs like this governor right over the cliff.  It’s a good think Blagojevich was not handing out Kool-Aide or we would have a bunch of dead democrats instead of the truly embarrassed party we are looking at today.

          By the time you read this the House of Representatives might have impeached the Governor.  As of this writing it appears that Blagojevich will become the first Governor in Illinois to be impeached.  Leading the charge for impeachment is the infallible Speaker Mike Madigan.  Hey, isn’t this the same guy who co-chaired Blagojevich’s last campaign?  Interesting!

          Once the impeachment takes place in the House the actual trial will be conducted in the State Senate.  The actual trial will be handled by the Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court.  At this juncture, despite the overwhelming evidence of Blagojevich being deserving of a guilty verdict, I would not count on it just yet.  Remember this Senate contains the same members who time after time supported this Governor by blocking changes that would have solved this problem long ago.

          We had a chance to vote for a constitutional convention and all of our politicians opposed it.  We had a chance to allow for recall of elected officials, including Mayors, but this same Senate blocked that provision.  We had a chance to have a special election to fill President elect Barack Obama’s Senate position, but it was blocked in the House of Representatives simply because Speaker Madigan thought democrats might lose the election to a republican.  I understand his thinking here, this is politics and not a lesson in good government.

          Incoming Senate President John Cullerton, who has been in the legislature for 30 years and is a poster boy for term limits, is truly one of the good old boys.  I found it interesting that when he is sworn in as the Senate President next week he is throwing a bash in downtown Springfield that will cost $100,000.00.  Now here is the party of the working men and women off to a good start.  In the same newspaper that broke that story I also read that food stamp use is way up in Illinois, meaning that people are without jobs and cannot get by.  There were also stories about record numbers of foreclosures, homeless people, and folks who cannot pay their heating bills.

          So while the elite of the elite who are democrats in charge sip their expensive champagne and eat their imported caviar at this reception hopefully there will be protesters outside calling their attention to the working class that once upon a time the Democratic Party represented.  Who is paying for this extravagance you ask?  Why Senate President elect Cullerton has sent out solicitations asking for a minimum of $7,500 then $15,000 and topped out at $35,000.  This is all being done in the name of good government and even though this bunch of public servants just passed new ethics legislation, it does not address functions like this.  I find this truly amazing that even though we are greasing up the rail to send Blagojevich out of town for “pay to play” here we have the same group of Senators who are going to try him not only soliciting huge contributions but at the same time seeing nothing wrong with their actions.  Talk about the proverbial pot calling the kettle black, this is a classic.  I would assume those contributing to this noble cause will be common folks here in Illinois that don’t want anything in return for their cash; they just believe in god government and simply want their Senators well oiled and well fed!  If you happen to believe that, give me a call and I’ll see if I can find some swamp land or a bridge for you to buy!

          State Representative John Bradley is calling for an increase of 8 cents in motor fuel tax for fund a capital plan.  On the surface some folks have already jumped up and down on this idea but I for one think it merits discussion which is why Rep. Bradley proposed it in the first place.  He did not say this was the only idea, but that it is one idea to be discussed and I agree.

          We simply have to get away from the concept that somebody else is going to pay for our constructions projects.  It seems as if every time we come up with a capital plan the only way to fund it is to increase gambling in Illinois.  I agree that motor fuel taxes are high in Illinois.  I also understand that if we want good roads, bridges, schools etc it is foolish to think we can gamble our way to these projects.  A lot of people have to lose a lot of money for gambling to do its’ thing.  It is time for the taxpayers in Illinois to belly up to the bar and pay the fiddler if we want a capital program.  Give Rep. Bradley credit for at least proposing an idea.  It beats the pie in the sky proposals I have seen thus far from others.  Raising taxes is never popular, but we do need to pay our own way and get away from poor people taxes such as gambling to quench our thirst for projects.

          Congratulations to the group of men and women in the Sesser area who again sponsored a pheasant hunt fund raiser for the Brandon Dame scholarship.  This year the group raised $7,700.00.  The festivities started with breakfast at the Double R Bar in Sesser, went to Rend Lake for the hunt and then returned to the Double R for raffles, auctions, and dinner.  Bar owner Randy Gutzler sponsors the event each year and has a lot of VOLUNTEER help to make this event the huge success that it is.  Thanks to all who contributed to this cause!