Despite mounting legal troubles, Gov. Rod Blagojevich still has a number of state government matters on his plate.

But his ability to govern has been crippled because of his arrest Tuesday on federal corruption charges, several political observers said Wednesday.

“He’s governor, and he can sign bills and issue executive orders,” said Kent Redfield, a retired political science professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield. “But anything he does is going to be looked at through the prism of his legal troubles.

“Nothing he does will be taken on its merits. It will all be: How does this fit into the governor’s legal problems?”

A Blagojevich spokesman didn’t respond Wednesday to a question about how the governor’s arrest might affect day-to-day state government. On Tuesday, his press office issued a statement saying the allegations against Blagojevich would “do nothing to impact the services, duties or function of the state.”

One of the items of governmental business still pending before Blagojevich is what to do about nine bills that lawmakers passed in November and await his signature or veto.

The bills cover a wide range of subjects. One would extend the life of a tax-increment financing district in Hoffman Estates. Another would require insurance companies to cover diagnosis and treatment of autism in children up to age 21.

A third — discussion of which makes up part of the criminal complaint against the governor — would require the state’s most lucrative casinos, all near Chicago, to channel some of their profits to the horseracing industry.

Blagojevich also is pursuing the closure of a state prison in Pontiac and the transfer of the Illinois Department of Transportation’s traffic-safety division to southern Illinois, despite objections from a bipartisan panel of lawmakers.

Neither of those plans has been executed. The prison closure, previously planned for the end of this month, is on hold because of a separate legal battle.

Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa, an opponent of the Pontiac prison closure, on Wednesday said that in light of the governor’s arrest, the Illinois Department of Corrections director should display “true leadership” and suspend the plan to close the prison.

Corrections Director Roger Walker Jr. responded with a prepared statement saying that Illinois’ financial challenges haven’t changed and that the plan to close the prison is “better for the operations and efficiency of the agency.”

State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias said he hasn’t observed any difference in state government’s operations since the governor’s arrest.

“From our office’s perspective, not much has changed,” he said. “We’re still investing the state’s money. Not much has changed at all.”

Ryan Keith contributed to this story. Adriana Colindres can be reached at 782-6292.

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