The Times Parachutes In, Profiles Blago’s Rezko Problem, Updated X2

1 comment May 12th, 2008

The New York Times today covered Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the Rezko cloud over his career in a story it called “Corruption Case Taints Rising Political Star”:

Blagojevich at the U of I in 2006

When the trial began two months ago, national attention focused on how Senator Barack Obama of Illinois might suffer because of his connection to Mr. Rezko, a former patron who made a fortune on fast food and real estate.

But it is Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, an ambitious chief executive who has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing, who is left flailing in the wake of weeks of testimony. His name and administration have surfaced repeatedly, described as a participant in the kickback schemes of which Mr. Rezko is accused.

It’s been a couple years since any Illinois political insider, perhaps other than the governor himself, truly thought of Blago as a “rising political star.” His presidential hopes were long ago dashed against the rocks.

The Times story reports that Blagojevich “has been so badly wounded by association with the case that he may not be able to recover.” But the fact is that the governor had big, big problems well before this trial began.

His relations with many other Democrats were in tatters. The state’s budget problems worsened under his reign, even as he insisted that everything was going swimmingly. The state’s auditor general was having a field day documenting widespread mismanagement of executive agencies.

And federal investigators were probing the governor’s hiring, contracting and fundraising practices. The Rezko trial appears to be an outgrowth of that probe, and it may be the political death knell for Blago.

Closing arguments in the Rezko trial are supposed to begin today. Jury deliberations will follow.

UPDATE 1

Speaking of the Blagojevich administration’s trouble with management, Illinois Auditor General Bill Holland today ripped the state agency administering the state’s health care programs. From the AP:

A new audit confirms Illinois has a severe backlog of overdue health care bills, but problems with the Medicaid system go much deeper.

Auditor General William Holland found that Illinois ended each of the last three years with an average of $1.5 billion in unpaid bills.

He also found the Department of Healthcare and Family Services did a poor job of handling the bills it did manage to pay.

There was no clear system for deciding who got paid first. The state held bills for nearly two months before even starting the process of paying them.

Illinois could owe up to $81 million dollars in interest on overdue bills.

The department says it will make improvements but defends many of its procedures.

The full report is here.

UPDATE 2

Dan “Seeking Higher Office” Hynes issued a news release saying today’s audit shows the “administration’s hyprocrisy“:

“This audit provides more evidence that the administration has been mismanaging the Medicaid system and has been manipulating the payment process,” Hynes said. “By doing so, they are not helping people as they claim. Rather, they are harming some of the most vulnerable Illinoisans and the dedicated healthcare professionals who are trying to provide those citizens with critical services.”