Chicago Daily Observer

Last year, Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan was able to use his alliance with the House and Senate Republicans to thwart Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Senate President Emil Jones at almost every turn.

Whether it was the budget or the governor’s health insurance expansion or a multitude of other issues, Madigan and the Republicans were a solid team throughout the long overtime session.

This year, the Republicans have flipped on Madigan, allying with Blagojevich and Jones on the $34 billion capital construction package, funded by expanded casino gambling and by leasing the Illinois Lottery to a private company.

“Looking for Bobby Jindal.” That’s not a recent movie, or a sequel to “Looking for Mr. Goodbar.”

Instead, it’s a quest, perhaps utterly forlorn, by Illinois Republicans to find somebody to run for governor in 2010 like Jindal, Louisiana’s new Republican governor. Stressing the issues of competence and honesty in a state where corruption and cronyism are the norm, Jindal won a solid 54 percent victory in October, in a field with 11 other candidates.

Like Louisiana in the past, Illinois is a cesspool of corruption. A former Louisiana Democratic governor, Edwin Edwards, is vegetating in a federal prison, as is a former Illinois Republican governor, George Ryan. The current Louisiana governor, Kathleen Blanco, a Democrat, is roundly reviled as inept and incompetent, due to her handling of the Hurricane Katrina aftermath. The current Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, is roundly reviled for his arrogance, ineptitude and mendacity. Blanco ... Read More...