The Illinois primaries from afar

California has the lowest credit rating of any of the states, at A-. The second
lowest credit rating, interestingly, is Illinois, at A+. I am astounded that
Illinois has a worse credit rating than Michigan, Mississippi, Alabama, West
Virginia and New York.
 
We all know about California’s problems. They have an insane budget process, an
unworkable political process and a variety of natural disasters that strike on
a yearly basis.
 
What is not as well-known is the complete collapse of Illinois’s fiscal
integrity. Sure, unemployment is high, but Illinois has so many natural
advantages, from the greatest city in the world (Chicago) to an abundance of
natural resources like coal, rich farm country and great companies like
Caterpillar, All-State Insurance, Boeing and a host of other corporate leaders.
 
Illinois also has a diverse and talented workforce, a bunch of top-notch
universities (Northwestern, the University of Illinois, the University of
Chicago, etc.) and a beautiful Great Lake.
 
And yet Illinois is completely broke, despite suffering from high taxes. Why?
 
Because politicians have run the state into the ground. Giving the Democrats
complete control has turned out to be a big mistake. One-party Democratic rule
in Illinois is a disaster. Corruption has become so ingrained in the soul of
the political class that it is hard to know who is on the take and who isn’t.
The former governor, Rod Blagojevich (D), is trying to negotiate a reality
television deal even as he tries to avoid spending time in the slammer. There
are so many federal investigations going on in Springfield and Chicago, the wiretaps
cross in the night.
 
But this isn’t just about corruption. The first Mayor Daley, who coined the
term “The City That Works” as a nickname for Chicago, was no stranger to
corruption, but at least he made the trains run on time.
 
The problem is that corruption is now having a serious impact on basic
services. There is no reason that Illinois has the worst bond rating of any
state other than California, except, for, well, the politicians.
 
The Illinois primaries can only be seen through the prism of this desperate
situation.
 
Mark Kirk has a squeaky-clean reputation, despite having a less than stellar
conservative voting record. Some right-wingers may have wanted to take him out,
but the rank-and-file Republican voter is so fed up with politics as usual that
he didn’t want to give the Democrats a chance to win the seat. These folks coalesced
around Kirk, who has the best chance to keep the seat away from Alexi Giannoulias,
a close confidant of President Barack Obama and his friend Tony Rezko, who is
currently spending some quality time of his own in the slammer.
 
One further example of disgust with the status quo is the performance of Cook
County Board President Todd Stroger. The incumbent came in a distant last place
in a crowded Democratic primary. Stroger is best known for making Cook County
the most taxed county in America. When even Democrats say, “Enough is enough,”
you know you have a situation.
 
On the Republican side, in a surprise (at least a surprise to me), Ethan
Hastert lost a tough race to Randy Hultgren. Hastert, like Martha Coakley, had
all the disadvantages of being an incumbent and none of the advantages. While
his father is still beloved by many in Illinois, the fact of the matter is that
Ethan couldn’t run away from his dad, but couldn’t really run with him, either.
So anybody who didn’t like the retired Speaker found a reason to vote against
Ethan. But many who did like Denny Hastert liked the fact that Hultgren had
more experience as a state senator, and some of those folks also voted against
Ethan. The snow didn’t help, and the low turnout doomed the first-time
political candidate’s effort.
 
The races for governor in both primaries are still close, reflecting an
ambivalence toward the political class and the lack of consensus in the state
on how to move forward.
 
Illinois is broken and broke. The president, the favorite son from the Land of
Lincoln, hasn’t done much to help turn it around.
 
It appears that only the voters can do that. And they took the first step
yesterday.

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