Rod Blagojevich
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Milorad "Rod" R. Blagojevich (pronounced IPA: [blə.ˈgɔɪ.ə.ˌvɪtʃ] [listen] , born December 10 1956) is an American politician from the state of Illinois. A usually moderate Democrat, Blagojevich served as a representative of Chicago in the United States Congress and was later elected Governor of Illinois, an office he holds today. He is the second Serbian American to be elected governor of any state of the United States (George Voinovich from Ohio was the first).
Blagojevich is married to the former Patricia Mell, daughter of Chicago Alderman Richard Mell. The couple has two daughters, Amy and Anne. Anne was born just months after her father was sworn in as governor.
Education
Blagojevich was born and raised in Chicago's northwest side in a working-class family. His father was a former Chetnik who immigrated to the United States and found work as a steel plant laborer. Blagojevich spent much of his childhood working odd jobs to help the family survive. He was a shoe shiner and pizza delivery boy before working at a meat packing plant. In order to afford college, Blagojevich worked at the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline System as a dishwasher.When he was not at work, Blagojevich found time to become an accomplished Golden Gloves boxer. Upon graduating from Chicago's Lane Technical College Prep High School, he enrolled at Northwestern University in suburban Evanston where he obtained his bachelor's degree in 1979. He briefly left the state to attend Pepperdine University Law School where he obtained his doctorate of jurisprudence in 1983. Upon his return to Chicago, Blagojevich entered the legal profession in the public sector. He served as Cook County Assistant State's Attorney, prosecuting domestic abuse crimes and felony weapons cases.
Legislator
With the backing of his influential father-in-law, alderman Richard Mell, Blagojevich ran for a seat in the Illinois General Assembly and won in 1992. Most of his legislative accomplishments centered around crime and justice issues. He took from his experiences as a prosecutor to pass laws that he argued would strengthen the state's judicial system and cut down on crime.The Fifth Congressional District, in which Blagojevich lived, had long been represented by powerful Chicago Congressman Daniel Rostenkowski, who served as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. However, following his loss in 1994 (Rostenkowski pleaded guilty to mail fraud), the overwhelmingly Democratic district was represented by Republican Mike Flanagan.
However, in 1996, Blagojevich defeated Flanagan with support from his father-in-law, and served three terms in the United States House of Representatives. (Following Blagojevich's election as governor, the Fifth District elected former Clinton aide and 1992 financial chief Rahm Emanuel. Emanuel was chosen to head the DCCC for the 2006 election cycle.)
In Congress, Blagojevich continued to champion anti-crime measures, especially gun control legislation. In general, though, he was not known as a particularly active Congressman. Blagojevich was thrust into international prominence in the late 1990s when he traveled with Jesse Jackson to Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia to negotiate the release of American prisoners of war with president Slobodan Milošević. Blagojevich also voted in favor of the Iraq War Resolution.
Governor
In 2002, Blagojevich ran for his party's nomination to become governor. Blagojevich won a close primary campaign against former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris, whose base was largely African-American voters, and Chicago Public Schools Superintendent Paul Vallas, who ran strong in the suburban "collar" counties of Chicago. Blagojevich won the primary largely by dominating the downstate Illinois (i.e., outside Chicago and the collar counties) vote.In the general election, Blagojevich defeated Republican Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan handily (Ryan chose to run for Governor instead of running again for the Attorney General position, which is now held by Lisa Madigan). Ethics scandals had plagued the previous administration of Republican George Ryan (no relation to Jim), and Blagojevich's campaign focused on the theme of "ending business as usual" in state government.
Administration
After the 2002 elections, Democrats had control of the Illinois House, Senate, and all but one statewide office. Since taking office, Blagojevich has since signed numerous pieces of progressive legislation such as ethics reform, death penalty reform, a state Earned Income Tax Credit, and expansions of health programs like KidCare and FamilyCare. Blagojevich signed a bill in 2005 that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, public accommodations, and credit.Other notable actions of his term include a strict new ethics law and a comprehensive death penalty reform bill that was written by now-U.S. Senator Barack Obama (back when he was serving as an Illinois State Senator), and the late U.S. Sen. Paul M. Simon.
Despite an annual budget crunch, Blagojevich has overseen an increase in funding for health care and education every year without raising general sales or income taxes. He has, however, been criticized by Republicans and many moderate Democrats for failing to adequately fund the state pension system. On 10 January 2006, Blagojevich announced a proposal for a new three billion (US) Dollar spending plan for Illinois roads, mass transit, and schools, to be paid for by increased tax revenue and new gambling proposals (such as Keno and Lottery games). [link] The proposal met with immediate opposition by members of the Republican Party in Illinois and many Democrats, who view it as "an election year ploy." The suggestion to legalize Keno within Illinois was later withdrawn (see [link]).
Another early 2006 proposal included "universal preschool" for all three and four year old children in Illinois. Legislation authorizing the program was adopted as part of the fiscal 2007 budget. [link]
Governor Blagojevich is a long time supporter of gun control. He has tried to raise the price of an Illinois Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card from $5.00 to $500.00, saying that such a large increase was necessary so people would think twice about wanting to own a gun (see [link]). Blagojevich vetoed 3 gun bills in 2005,which would have:
- Eliminated the police database of gun purchases
- Eliminated the waiting period for someone wanting to buy a rifle or shotgun,
- Overridden local laws regulating transport of firearms (see [link]).
Criticism and controversies
Governor Blagojevich has been criticized by the Illinois State Rifle Association, saying that "Rod should spend more time catching criminals and less time controlling guns." His support for tightening the already strict gun laws of Illinois has earned him the ire of gun rights groups.Gov. Blagojevich has been criticized for using what his opponents call "gimmicks" to balance the state budget. Republicans have also claimed that he is simply passing the state's fiscal problems on to future generations by borrowing his way to balanced budgets. Indeed, the 2005 state budget called for paying the bills by shortening a state employees' pension fund by $1.2 billion.
In addition, Blagojevich has been ([link]) criticized for rapidly expanding the role of Illinois State government, despite current difficulties in funding existing programs.
In May 2003, Blagojevich passed a series of measures aimed at raising revenue from businesses around the state to help balance his budget. Among the new sources were a 10-fold to 20-fold increase to automobile dealer license fees and a measure to make businesses print their own tax forms (and all other state forms). These measures are considered controversial because they caused a greatly increased financial burden on small business without attracting much public attention [link].
In October 2005, the State of Illinois had $1.4 billion in overdue medical bills, yet in November 2005, Blagojevich created two new government agencies and signed the All Kids health insurance bill into law. The bill, criticized as Socialist medicine by its opponents, obligates Illinois to provide affordable, comprehensive health insurance to every child in the state.
On December 30th 2005, it was reported that a leasing deal reached for occupants of the remodeled Illinois Tollway oases has come under investigation by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. This is in addition to other investigations in the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Department of Corrections and the Department of Children and Family Services (see [link], [link]). Investigations into other programs related to Illinois' Tollway System, specifically the delivery of I-Pass transponders, have also been announced (see [link]).
Blagojevich continues to support a "moratorium" on executions of Death Row inmates, even though no such executions are likely to occur for years (his predecessor, George Ryan, commuted all of the death sentences in the state shortly before leaving office in 2003).
Blagojevich issued a controversial executive order in 2004, requiring pharmacists in the state to dispense "morning after" birth control medication, even if they reject on moral or religious grounds. This order was not well received by some pharmacists (see [link],[link]).
In early 2006, after the appointment of Claudette Marie Muhammad, chief of protocol of the Nation of Islam to an Illinois anti-discrimination commission, five other members of this commission resigned. Muhammad has distanced herself from statements made by Louis Farrakhan, and Blagojevich has promised to "oversee meaningful dialogue with leaders of the Jewish, black and gay communities." Despite this, the Anti-Discrimination League has been calling for her removal from the state panel. [link] The resignation or removal of fellow commission member Rick Garcia has also been called for by the Illinois Family Institute, over statements made by Garcia about Francis Cardinal George. [link] Republican candidate for Governor Jim Oberweis echoed the call for Garcia's removal or resignation in an e-mail release as part of his campaign for the Illinois Republican gubernatorial nomination. [link]
On June 30, 2006, it was revealed that state Attorney General Lisa Madigan had received a letter from United States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, stating that Fitzgerald is looking into "very serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud" in the Blagojevich administration, and thanking Madigan for turning over her office's investigation to the federal authorities.[link][link]
Daily Show Appearance
In early February, 2006, Blagojevich appeared on The Daily Show to discuss his executive order that pharmacists must dispense any drugs for which a customer had a valid prescription, including birth control pills and Plan B. Blagojevich was interviewed by Jason Jones and at one point he turned to the camera and asked "Is he teasing me or is that legit?" Two weeks after the interview, Blagojevich admitted that he was unaware of the nature of the show.[link]
Feud
A major event of 2005 was Blagojevich's feud with his father-in-law, Richard Mell. The feud went public when Blagojevich shut down a landfill owned by a distant cousin of Patti Blagojevich for environmental problems and it was revealed that Mell had served as an advisor to the cousin. Legislation was eventually passed giving the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency more authority over landfills and preventing relatives of top Illinois officials from owning landfills.In June, Mell served as honorary co-chairman of an event for state Representative Jack Franks, a longtime Blagojevich critic. Blagojevich's lieutenant governor is Pat Quinn, with whom he has had a sour relationship since taking office. Quinn tends to be more popular among liberal voters and activists.
Future
Blagojevich is considered a skilled campaigner who may have presidential ambitions. During 2005-2006, he served as Federal Liaison for the Democratic Governors Association. With the defeat of John Kerry in 2004, Blagojevich was one of many Democrats mentioned as a potential presidential contender in the next election. However, his chances for re-election in 2006 are not assured. Numerous scandals brought the Governor's approval rating as low as 36%, with 56% "disapproving" near the end of 2005 [link] However, the Governor soon rebounded and his approval rating was up to 43% (with 51% disapproving) by the most recent polling in June 2006. [link]By early 2006, four Republicans ran in the primary for the right to challenge him in the general election, with state treasurer Judy Baar Topinka eventually winning the nomination.
Blagojevich formally launched his 2006 re-election campaign for Governor of Illinois on February 19, 2006 [link]. He defeated challenger Edwin Eisendrath in the Democratic Party primary election on March 21.
Trivia
As Governor of Illinois, Blagojevich is entitled to live in the Illinois Executive Mansion, located in the state capital. However, he and his family have opted to remain in Chicago. One reason he gave was an unwillingness to move his infant daughter away from home. In the governor's absence, the Illinois Times, a newspaper based in Springfield, held a satirical contest in 2003 for readers to decide how the mansion should be used. Suggestions ranged from using it as a hotel or homeless shelter to converting it to a "house of ill repute." [link]
The governor also has his staff carry the "football," which is a large hairbrush, to every event that he attends so that his hair is always perfect (Chicago Magazine, 2003).
Electoral history
- 2006 Race for Governor
- *Rod Blagojevich (D) (inc.)
- *Judy Baar Topinka (R)
- 2002 Race for Governor
- *Rod Blagojevich (D), 52%
- *Jim Ryan (R), 45%
- 2000 Race for U.S. House of Representatives - 5th District
- *Rod Blagojevich (D) (inc.), 87%
- *Matt Beauchamp (Lib.), 13%
- 1998 Race for U.S. House of Representatives - 5th District
- *Rod Blagojevich (D) (inc.), 74%
- *Alan Spitz (R), 26%
- 1996 Race for U.S. House of Representatives - 5th District
- *Rod Blagojevich (D), 64%
- *Michael Flanagan (R) (inc.), 36%
References
[Il. Gov. creates Office of New Americans Policy and Advocacy][Gov. Blagojevich signs law creating new Illinois Juvenile Justice Department]
[Governor signs bill for All Kids health care]
[State pays $6.27 out of $2,000,000 due]
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