Illinois Horse Trading – Your Money for More of Your Money

 

Deals

No one should be surprised.  Remember, this is the governor who, in the heat of a campaign, promised not to fire any AFSCME public employees in exchange for their support.  Illinois voters need to learn that you get what you pay for.

Although former Governor Rod Blagojevich is a little unbalanced and did not deserve the office, when he speaks of old school politicos wanting him out of their way so they could make deals, that particular rant makes sense at times.

This particular Blagojevich rant made sense on Thursday when Governor Quinn appointed Carenne Gordon a member of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. Carenne Gordon was a Democratic state representative from Morris, who lost her November re-election bid. After her term ended Wednesday, Governor Quinn appointed Gordon to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, earning $86,000.00 annually.

Gordon was given this job after she was one of the 60 legislators who voted for the 66% tax increase demanded by her new employer, Governor Quinn. It took 60 votes to pass the measure; without Gordon’s vote, the tax hike would not have passed.

This gets to the heart of the fundamental injustice of the tax increase.  Although the tax increase was debatably essential because of the bond markets, there’s no way of knowing how much spending could be cut if the state would just cut the decision-makers out.  Similarly, there’s no reason to expect things to get any better until these crooks start actually going to jail (which is unlikely so long as the House Speaker/King of Illinois’ daughter is the Attorney General).

Related Articles

• Did Governor Pat Quinn trade an $86,000.00 job for a “yes” vote on the tax increase? (chicagonow.com)
• Illinois Lawmakers Pass Massive Tax Tike (npr.org)
• Governor Quinn: Nothing good happens after 1:00am! Illinois taxes increase 66%! (chicagonow.com)
• Illinois Governor Quinn Inaugurated In State of Denial (chicagonow.com)
• “Illinois State job goes to ex-lawmaker who supported tax hike” and related posts (nalert.blogspot.com)
• Illinois Tax Increase: Tax Hikes To Address Massive Illinois Debt (nowpublic.com)