CNN and other news outlets are all over the story about Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich getting nailed in several "pay to play" schemes.
A corrupt politician in Illiois? What'll they think of next? It's almost a given. Heck, the prior guv is currently serving time in the slammer, if I recall correctly. And if you want to go back to the days of Otto Kerner some40 years ago, Blago could be the fourth Illinois governor to spend some time in the hoosegow.
It seems that the Illinois Governor's mansion is just a stepping stone en route to the Big House.
One of the funniest things I've ever heard is a person from Chicago talking about a matter before the Louisiana legislature.
"All those politicians from Louisiana are crooks," the guy from Chicago said. "I wouldn't trust 'em."
Guess that's the pot calling the kettle black.
The concern for horse racing is that sitting on the Guv's desk is a bill that would allocate some Illinois casino revenues for horse racing in the state. This is an important piece of legislation for horsemen in the Land of Lincoln and it now seems to be among the "pay to play" matters being investigated. That ain't good news.
In a story on CNN's web site, the federal prosecutor said that Blagojevich was getting ready to sign the racing legislation, which was supported by someone who made a $100,000 contibution to the governor's campaign.
"To let that bill be signed, to me, would be very, very troubling," said U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitizgerald.
The ironic part of all this is that perhaps the best and cleanest governor in recent decades in Illinois was Jim Edgar, who was the state's executive throughout the 1990s. Edgar was a close friend of Dr. Ken Walker of Walker Standardbreds and showed up at many tracks and fairs where harness racing was being held. In fact, former governor Edgar has owned many Standardbreds.
Not every politician is as honest and honorable as Jim Edgar,as Governor Blagojevich has proven. I'm concerned that this casino funds for racing legislation may take a fall along with the governor.
I know he often attended the
I know he often attended the races at Springfield and DuQuoin, and seemed supportive, but racing in Illinois has not gotten any help at the present time. No one offered him enough to motivate him to act???
unreal, do you know what his
unreal, do you know what his position/dealings have been with horse racing/casinos?