Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested on federal corruption charges Monday morning, ending years of investigation headed by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. Blagojevich, who was caught on wiretaps demanding money and favors in return for appointing certain candidates to fill President-elect Barack Obama's now vacant Senate seat, is in the middle of his second term as governor. The editorial board of The Miami Student believes that there must be continued vigilance against this type of corruption and opportunism in the wake of the newly elected president, along with an amendment to the Illinois state constitution that mandates a special election to fill the Senate seat. By removing this power as an extension of governor competence, the opportunity for this type of corruption will be eliminated.
Riding an enormously powerful approval rating of 13 percent, Blagojevich is believed to have been disinterested in the last two years of his term and wanted either hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions, an ambassadorship or a cabinet appointment, the adjoining case affidavit claims. With the governor now exposed for the despicable individual that many in Illinois already knew him to be, he should immediately resign his position and allow the lieutenant governor to carry on with the state's executive responsibilities. No good will come from Blagojevich staying in his current position and he should at least attempt to save face by going down without a fight.
While it may be fun for all the Miami University students not from Illinois to get a taste of this type of Windy City politics, it is good that the corruption of Blagojevich is insulated from the continuing transition work of the president-elect. We should be aggressive in ensuring that greedy individuals like the governor are not allowed to enhance their own political or financial fortunes in the wake of a titanic presidential election that will set the tone for the war on terror and economic recovery. This is no new development in the history of those that find themselves near enough to a president to take personal advantage. Without upsetting current sensibilities, we can look back upon the days of President Ulysses S. Grant and the flury of scandals surrounding his office, which saw others use his office as a means of furthering themselves. These people are despicable, and we are lucky to have aggressive prosecutors such as Fitzgerald who are able to smartly handle investigations.
There should be no problem in passing a state amendment to change the Senate seat appointment in the wake of this scandal, and we hope that the Illinois state legislature see the benefit in removing this appointment power from the hands of a governor's office that has seen two governors within the last decade be arrested for corruption.
