Tuesday, December 30, 2008 9:50 PM CST
Rose: Guv's legal woes costing taxpayers millions
Area rep, a member of impeachment committee, says panel looking 'at the totality of the circumstances'
By NATHANIEL WEST, Staff Writer
nwest@jg-tc.com
MATTOON — Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s legal problems are costing the state millions, while the governor retains opportunities to exert the power he still has — like his appointment Tuesday of the former Illinois attorney general to fill President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat.
But the House panel investigating Blagojevich’s alleged misdeeds is moving as fast as it can and wants to collect the “best evidence” before it recommends whether to impeach Blagojevich, one of the committee’s members said Tuesday.
Rep. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, said the 21-member panel is willing to wait on issuing its findings until a court decides whether to release audio from some of the wiretaps that led to Blagojevich’s arrest Dec 9. However, lawmakers have a case against the governor without the actual recordings, Rose added.
“I don’t necessarily think we need it,” he said. “We are (looking) at the totality of the circumstances and not just an individual problem.
“But you would like to have the original source material ... It’s my opinion we can move forward without it, and if we get it, great.”
He said an expedited but careful investigation is important because Blagojevich’s attorneys have all but promised to sue the state over the impeachment proceedings. “We’re heading for a lawsuit no matter what, (so) to shotgun something in a day or two would only play into” the plans of Blagojevich’s attorneys, Rose said.
Blagojevich has been accused of attempting to barter for Obama’s seat in the U.S. Senate, which the governor has the authority to fill. However, the House impeachment committee is gathering evidence well beyond that which is outlined in the federal charges against the governor, Rose said.
The panel should know by Monday whether it will be granted access to some parts of the original federal
wiretap recordings. The committee has vowed not to seek testimony from certain individuals so as not to interfere with the criminal case by federal authorities.
“The last thing anyone wants is for the U.S. attorney to have his case screwed up by anything we’re doing,” Rose said.
He said the committee members are “the police officers collecting information,” and the panel will make a recommendation to the entire House, which would vote on whether or not to impeach Blagojevich if the process gets to that point. If a measure to impeach did pass by a two-thirds majority in the House, the state Senate would effectively serve as a jury, and ultimately rule on whether to oust Blagojevich from office.
Rose, a former prosecutor who grew up in Charleston, was appointed to the impeachment committee by House Minority Leader Tom Cross.
Rose did not say when he expects the committee to offer its opinion or whether he thinks an impeachment would occur. “I know people want this over yesterday, but it has to be done right and it has to be thorough,” he said.
And despite this need to “cross your t’s and dot your i’s,” Rose said he does not want the panel to drag its feet. On Dec. 16, state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias reported that after Blagojevich’s arrest, creditors lowered the state’s credit rating, which in combination with market volatility drove up the interest on $1.4 billion in bonds issued that day so state vendors could be paid.
With the state’s bond rating downgraded, the interest rate for this debt jumped from an expected 1 percent to more than 4 percent, Rose said. Consequently, the state will pay out almost $27 million in interest over the life of the loan.
According to Rose, that means that the governor’s legal troubles — whether he is found guilty or exonerated — already have cost the state about $21 million in this one instance of bond issues alone.
In addition, Rose on Tuesday said state officials believe this credit downgrade will affect all Illinois debt, although Rose did not know how much extra the state will have to pay.
“Every day that goes by is costing the taxpayers money,” Rose said.
He shared his thoughts with the JG/T-C Editorial Board on the same day that Blagojevich ignored entreaties from U.S. senators and other leaders and made his own appointment for the Obama seat: former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris.
Rose indicated he was frustrated with legislative leaders for not doing something to prevent Blagojevich from making what U.S. senators already have said would be an unsuccessful appointment. “You don’t address the underlying conduct that got you there in the first place,” he said.
Apart from obtaining what it can of the actual secret recordings from federal officials, the House panel has essentially concluded its gathering of evidence, Rose said, noting he is waiting on a written opinion from Blagojevich attorneys about whether the governor considers the cost of the credit downgrading to have an adverse effect on Illinois taxpayers.
The governor’s personal attorneys previously pledged that Blagojevich would step down if his legal problems started harming Illinois residents.
“I think everyone is trying to be expeditious with respect to thoroughness and fairness,” said Rose.
He also said caution is necessary because of the uniqueness of the circumstances. “We’re in uncharted territory,” he said. “We’ve never been down this road.”
Were it to come to impeachment and a trial by the state Senate, Rose said senators would adopt their own rules, which, under the Illinois Constitution, need not follow the same guidelines as criminal or civil courts.
“This is a political process,” said Rose.
Contact Nathaniel West at nwest@jg-tc.com or 238-6860.
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NeoCon Academician wrote on Dec 31, 2008 2:44 AM:
Now that Illinois is the laughing-stock of the nation due to the rampant corruption of Chicago democrat politics and the actions of our DEMOCRAT governor, I would like to ask you to propose a motto change in the assembly for the State of Illinois. It's not like there is anything else constructive going on in the assembly. Instead of of being known at the Land of Lincoln I propose the following mottos for the state:
11) Illinois - "The Corrupt Governor State"
10) Illinois - "The State of Perpetual Disarray"
9) Illinois - "One Big City and the Rest are Hillbilly's"
8) Illinois - "The Pay-to-Play State"
7) Illinois - "The Backroom Deal State"
6) Illinois - "The State of Contempt"
5) Illinois - "The State of Corruption"
4) Illinois - "The State of Denial"
3) Illinois - "The State of Chaos"
2) Illinois - "The State of Confusion"
and my number one recommendation for a new motto for the state, considering what Illinois used to be known as.....
1) Illinois - "The Sucker State"
Sincerely,
NeoCon
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Dear bloggers please feel free to add to this list of proposed motto changes for the state! "