http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-071222blago-sundaystory,0,4190195,print.story

A governor under siege
Weakened and isolated, Blagojevich suffers new blow with federal probe

December 22, 2007

Chicago Tribune

By David Mendell and Ray Long


For years, Rod Blagojevich has projected two distinct images that define his tenure as Illinois' governor.

In one, he is a populist champion with an agenda of "putting people first" by pushing causes like health care for all. In the other, he is a consummate politician with cronies who offer advice while raising campaign cash and asking for favors.

Now, under the lights of a federal investigation, the distinctions are blurring, and the crony image is threatening to wash out the populist one.

Federal prosecutors for the first time have put Blagojevich inside their widespread investigation of pay-to-play in his administration. Blagojevich told one convicted federal informant, "You stick with us and you will do very well for yourself," according to a court document prosecutors filed.

The governor's office denied that he is the "Public Official A" described in the court document as offering state business to convicted political insiders.

In 2008, the spotlight will shine even more brightly on Blagojevich as one of his biggest fundraisers, Antoin "Tony" Rezko, goes to trial in February on charges he tried to trade his access to Blagojevich for kickbacks and contributions to the governor's campaign fund.

These days, the governor conducts much of his public business from his North Side home, reluctant to venture forth into Springfield or other public arenas where he might feel exposed.

And even before Friday's federal bombshell, Blagojevich had few successes in 2007.

While he has tried to put the blame on lawmakers, his credibility in Springfield already was damaged from a record-setting legislative stalemate that has left unresolved key aspects of the people's business. The Chicago Transit Authority is in near meltdown. Education reform remains in limbo. And the state's deteriorating roads and bridges still aren't being repaired for lack of a way to pay for it.

A Tribune poll this month found only one in four Democrats in Illinois approve of their Democratic governor's job performance.

As each month passed this year, new revelations pushed a governor under siege deeper into his bunker. Prosecutors began scrutinizing real estate dealings of Blagojevich's wife, Patricia. Christopher Kelly, a second member of his inner circle of political advisers, was indicted on tax evasion charges. Blagojevich seldom works from a public office, either at the Thompson Center in Chicago or the Capitol. He and his aides have said they don't want to be accused of conducting political business in government offices.

The ongoing federal investigations have only increased such concerns, with some top aides conceding privately that they restrict their public comments because they don't want to utter a statement that might make them vulnerable. When they do comment, it often takes the form of an e-mailed response.

Blagojevich instead spends much of his time at his home, running the state by conference call.

On most days, he begins the morning with an early call with top staff and then steps out for a morning run, according to those familiar with the governor's daily routine.

Blagojevich also has disappeared from inquiring news media for days and weeks, although he's had some high-visibility periods, mostly as he convened meetings with top lawmakers to overcome a mass-transit funding impasse that threatens to lead to fare hikes and service cuts Jan. 20.Although he is a telegenic politician who thrives on the retail aspects of the business, such as the glad-handing with constituents, the joking with reporters, the intoxicating rush of adulation from a well-delivered speech, the governor regularly goes through periods in which he flees from public settings for fear of pointed media questions or public vitriol.

During his first term, Blagojevich relied on a tight-knit group of advisers, many of whom doubled as lobbyists or campaign fundraisers, creating perception problems with the public. In his second term, Blagojevich has increasingly turned to one of his top campaign consultants, Washington-based media adviser Bill Knapp. Confidants say that Knapp's influence with Blagojevich cannot be underestimated, and the governor has long trusted his advice.

Knapp was a top adviser to Blagojevich's gubernatorial campaigns and conceived the highly effective "What's she thinking?" attack ads against Republican Judy Baar Topinka in the 2006 governor's race. Knapp also devised the governor's marketing of a plan to send prescription drugs for Illinoisans through Canada.

"I think Bill is just someone who understands Rod and understands where he is coming from," said Sheila Nix, Blagojevich's deputy governor.

Still, that advice is coming from a consultant in Washington, not from someone with an intricate understanding of Springfield or Illinois politics.

Nix, however, disputed that Knapp's influence is overriding. Instead, she said Blagojevich long has used a team approach to politicking and governing. In this vein, he is a public official heavily reliant on his aides. His team has a core nucleus of Nix, chief of staff John Harris, former chief of staff Alonzo Monk, longtime political aide John Wyma, state Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Collinsville), state Sen. James DeLeo (D-Chicago) and campaign spokesman Doug Scofield.

But Monk, Scofield and Wyma are lobbyists, and their clients have won millions in state contracts under Blagojevich's stewardship. And Kelly, another close adviser and friend, was indicted this month on federal tax fraud charges.

Blagojevich allies and confidants said the governor opened his second term with two key missions for 2007: First, he wanted to expand government-covered health care insurance to all Illinoisans; second, he wanted, once and for all, to politically wound his chief nemesis, House Speaker Michael Madigan, chairman of the state Democratic Party.

Indeed, early in the year, Blagojevich revealed how he viewed this year's legislative cycle—in his words, it was nothing short of "Armageddon." And the record overtime session, which Blagojevich and legislative leaders have run into year's end as they negotiate capital and mass-transit spending, certainly has played out in that apocalyptic fashion.

Blagojevich's friends maintain the governor simply dug in on an issue he believed in—expanding health care coverage to all Illinoisans.

Health care "is an issue that he feels is a fundamental right," Hoffman said. "I think he's willing to stake his administration on it and that's what this fight is all about."

Instead of concentrating heavily on winning votes for his health care plan, Blagojevich crafted a strategy to initially sell his idea via a media blitz—a strategy that quickly fell on its face. Critics, and even some of his allies, said the fatal flaw in this plan was funding the expansion through a gross receipts tax on businesses. True to political form, Blagojevich found his enemy—corporations—and railed against them.

"There would have been a much greater chance of success if more energy and resources were spent on making the case for schools and health care and less for demonizing big business," one lawmaker said. "The soak-the-rich message works for tax policy that sharply cuts across class lines, but the proposed [tax] was a direct assault on the middle class. And that's where you lose people."

Blagojevich, however, is pushing ahead with his health care expansion without lawmaker approval. But his political strength is now more questionable than ever, as the corruption scandal will almost certainly be a heavier burden to carry in 2008 than it was in 2007.

A product of Chicago's street-tough ward system of politics, which rewards bravado over consensus-building, Blagojevich is more prone to ridicule those who stand in his way than seek a civil resolution.

This strategy has worked marvelously in the thick of campaign season. He handily won both gubernatorial contests by creating an enemy—the scandal-marred Gov. George Ryan was used in both cases—and then excoriating that enemy by claiming that he would defend the public against this foe.

Blagojevich's new foe is Madigan, and his broadsides have been as brutal as any the governor has launched at his Republican adversaries. The enmity between the two men is palpable.

After Blagojevich accused Madigan of acting like a conservative Republican in the mold of George W. Bush, the two men stood little more than an arm's length from each other at the Executive Mansion in July as Blagojevich tried to dress down the speaker behind closed doors. Madigan dismissed the governor, saying that he needed to "knock it off." After a church service the next morning, the governor again chided the speaker.

Madigan recently proclaimed that that "there will be peace among Democrats," but few people expect this old-fashioned political feud to be settled soon.

Despite his travails, confidants said that Blagojevich maintains his optimistic posture. Cheryle Jackson, Blagojevich's former communications director, was fond of saying that Blagojevich has enjoyed such good political fortune over his career that he seemed to be perpetually carrying a lucky horseshoe in his back pocket.

Wyma, Blagojevich's longtime friend, former congressional chief of staff and current lobbyist, said Blagojevich is mildly chastened, but largely projects the same sunny attitude in private as in public.

Another confidant said Blagojevich, a passionate sports fan, views 2007 much like a ballplayer considers a season in which he has underperformed—there's always next year to make a comeback.

Wyma said Blagojevich's attitude is what sustains him as a politician.

"He wakes up positive each day, when many politicians wouldn't, in my opinion," Wyma said. "He has probably always been a little too upbeat for conditions. That is in many ways his strength. He has a very good sense of how things could ultimately turn out. And they do often turn out very well for him."

Blagojevich displayed that optimism when asked about his year last week before Friday's scandal development. He said that his unilateral efforts to advance health care coverage are a testament to a highly successful 2007.

"Look at the results," Blagojevich said. "If you think about all the money we are putting into education, if you think about all the families who are going to get health care . . . every uninsured woman getting mammograms, this was probably, in a tangible way, for people, a lot more successful year than we have had in some of the previous years."