Friday, November 2, 2007
News / Chicagoland Eff Rod
Posted by Whet Moser on 11.02.07 at 09:23 AM
I can't really get too excited about the Tribune's honorable but futile gesture towards removing Blago from his sinecure, mostly because it seems like his incompetence is par for the course in Illinois politics. Kevin Robinson at Chicagoist thinks the takeaway lesson is that "the voters don't really control the political process in this state," which raises compelling questions about how a governor not heretofore known for his leadership abilities won a second term (in a craps game? did he get the Golden Ticket?). Hell, during the previous election he was running ads that were the political equivalent of "I know I haven't been good to you, baby, but I promise I'll change." We got the guy we voted for.
No, Illinois voters have plenty of control. They may not have many options, thanks to the total implosion of the state Republican party, which bottomed out with the Alan Keyes Adventure, and the continuing strength of the city's Democratic machine, but I'm hard-pressed to think who else to blame for Blagojevich and Todd Stroger, both of whom were victorious over not-crazy, tolerably moderate Republican opponents.
As someone who still believes in the redemptive power of journalism, I actually think the Sun-Times's effort to become a progressive voice is a good first step. Having two Republican papers in a Democratic-machine city, while impressively contrarian, has left Illinois Dems with no powerful internal critique. And they've gotten very, very lazy. Unless the netroots can gain a strong local foothold, which is a slow and complicated process, converting one of the state's two most powerful papers into a Democratic voice that's not part of the Democratic machine might [crosses fingers] be a turning point.
Comments (2)
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How exactly do Illinois voters have plenty of control of the political process in this state? Did the citizens control the selection of Todd Stroger or Dan Lipinski for their respective seats? Are the courts filled with judges who merit sitting on the bench and have you any understanding on how they are slated? Did you have a say in who is slated for any of these positions? Nearly half of our city council is filled with people who got their position by initially being appointed by this Mayor. Several of our state legislators are appointed to their seats prior to running as the sitting incumbent. I think the selection of Ms. Reed at the Sun-Times is a step in the right direction as editor of their editorial page, but the nepotism that exist within our governments replicates itself in the press as well (Jennifer Hunter, who plays fast and loose with facts, is the wife of the recently departed editor in chief of the Sun-Times). The netroots is fragmented when it comes to local races and is all but nearly exclusively focused on national races. I think this paper, the Reader, should strive to be the progressive voice you think the Sun-Times is making an effort to become. After all, the Sun-Times has consistently endorsed the Daley/Stroger/Blago candidacies in the name of progressive representation, and none of them provide any proven progressive leadership. The Democratic machines only interest is in remaining in power. Until the citizens of this city/county/state start insisting on representation that is accountable to them, the taxpayers, and wrest control of the political process in this state away from the press or the current corrupt political establishment parties, hoping for a progressive voice at either daily paper seems futile.
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