Dan Rutherford

SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois lawmakers said the conviction Wednesday of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s former top adviser Antoin “Tony” Rezko gives the corruption-challenged state another black eye.

And, they said the embattled Democrat from Chicago faces tough times ahead as he tries to govern.

State Rep. Bob Flider, D-Mount Zion, said the trial exposed the underbelly of insider politics in Illinois.

“Throughout this trial, citizens have had an opportunity to see how slime balls have been allowed to enrich themselves at the expense of taxpayers and this has probably been going on in a variety of ways,” Flider said. “It’s great that these slime balls have been exposed. It’s unfortunate that they’ve been able to get away with what they have been able to get away with.”

State Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, said things may only get worse for Blagojevich because another former adviser, Christopher Kelly, is awaiting trial on federal charges.

Brady, an unofficial candidate for governor in 2010, said the conviction will further weaken Blagojevich, who has battled with fellow Democrats since taking office in 2003.

“The credibility of this administration was near zero anyway,” Brady said.

“Maybe this will be the root canal that Illinois politics needed,” said state Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa.

The verdict had state Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, renewing his call for Blagojevich to step down.

“The governor should resign. A lot of these counts were closely tied to the governor,” Jacobs said.

State Rep. David Miller, D-Lynwood, cautioned that the governor is not facing criminal charges.

“The governor still hasn’t been indicted of any wrongdoing, but it does tarnish his administration and it does start to raise questions about how much involvement he did or did not have with Tony Rezko,” Miller said.

The Rezko verdict could mean tricky times for Democrats running in the November election. Republicans already have begun trying to tie candidates to Blagojevich’s troubles.

But, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson, D-Crete, said the decision will have little or no effect on her bid for Congress in the 11th district.

“The voters want to see corruption ended, and they want to see honesty back in government,” Halvorson spokesman Brian Doory said.

State Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, said Blagojevich should completely explain what was going on in his office.

“Any kind of charges like this don’t help him. It’s just an issue that he’s going to have to face up to and tell the people what’s right, wrong or indifferent,” Forby said.

“The people of the state of Illinois deserve better,” said state Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion. “The allegations and evidence were very concerning to me not only as a steward of the state government but as an individual citizen and taxpayer.”

Lawmakers’ lack of trust of Blagojevich has been an issue all year, with many unwilling to turn over billions of dollars for special projects to the governor without hard promises. State Rep. David Reis, R-Willow Hill, said the verdict reinforces that issue.

“I think it underscores why we’ve had so many concerns,” Reis said.

State Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, said Blagojevich’s political future may hang in the balance.

“It depends on what Rezko knows and information that he might tell,” Bost said. “We’ve seen this before similar with the George Ryan case. They’ll pursue it, hopefully, if there’s violations. Justice will be done.”

State Rep. Mike Boland, D-East Moline, said Blagojevich should act quickly on legislation that seeks to ban some types of pay-to-play politics.

“If I was the governor, I’d sign that ethics bill right away and try to start getting myself on the side of righteousness before the whole thing collapses,” Boland said.

Republican state Reps. Roger Eddy of Hutsonville and Chapin Rose of Mahomet agreed.

“People are so jaded and sick of this in this state,” Eddy said. “It’s almost a laughingstock.”

“(Blagojevich) needs to make some pretty definitive statements very fast,” Rose said.

Added state Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington: “It’s another dark cloud over the governor.”

The development and hosting of Senator Rutherford's web site are not paid for with taxpayer dollars.

The phone line and internet service for Senator Rutherford's e-mails are also not paid for at taxpayer expense.