Talk:Rod Blagojevich

Other criticism

I'm biased, so I'm not sure I could carefully report this without going over the top on NPOV. There've been other issues since Rod took office in '03: Changes that were forced in the Illinois' Teacher Retirement System, for one. Attempts at forcing the State Board of Education to report directly to the Governor, including the ouster of one State Superintendent of Schools. Attempts at reforming or eliminating the present Regional Offices of Education system. The anti-violent video game law that got pushed through the General Assembly despite warnings that such laws aren't held up by the courts - this one too, was defeated in court. Rod's threatened to pursue an appeal, at great cost to Illinois taxpayers. There's also been hints of scandals about hiring in state jobs that should not have been political appointments, which is in contrast to the 'house cleaning' promised during the 2002 campaign. Any of these things could be found in any online newspaper archive for the State of Illinois (Bloomington Pentagraph, Springfield Journal-Register, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, etc etc). --JohnDBuell 02:12, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

Speaking of the anti-violent video game law that got struck down, apparently the video game industry wants its legal fees refunded, and is going to court to do it. Thanks for blowing taxpayers' money on what was advised to be a struck down law, Rod! Now the state will have to foot the bill for MORE unnecessary court costs! [1] --JohnDBuell 05:07, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

A typical nanny-state control freak, Blago will not rest until he turns Illinois into 'California with snow'. A Libertarian's worst nightmare. John, Any effort to show people what this man is doing to our state ( while obiding by NPOV) would be a great service to all of us. Rearden Metal 07:13, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

Well if you turn most of what I said into a bullet point list, and edit to make sure it's NPOV, I think it's a fairly good summary of the other issues that he's been criticised over since 2003. The IEA is really mad at him over the TRS thing, as well as the other education 'reforms' he's suggested, and a lot of anti-tollway people felt betrayed after he started the heavy push for "open road tolling." Not to mention all the truckers that got pissed off with the 1/1/05 toll hike that tripled tolls during daytime peak driving hours for them. I'll grant you that none of his competition is perfect, and you could argue they may not be much better, but I'm willing to take the chance. And for the record, I did NOT vote for Rod in 2002 (oh crap, here comes the State Police ;). --JohnDBuell 07:21, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

Oh and I forgot the now infamous pharmacy law (which I personally am in favor of, you can have it out with me on my talk page :) - There's a law on the books in Illinois, for those who don't know, requiring pharmacists to fill ALL prescriptions, including ones they might have a problem with on moral or religious grounds (like birth control). A couple of pharmacists (with Walgreen's I think) have already resigned rather than be prosecuted over this law. --JohnDBuell 07:30, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

His other new pharmacy law is even worse: Bureaucratic hurdles for the purchase of any pseudo-ephedrine containing allergy medication. ...but it's For The Children. Rearden Metal 07:57, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

Didn't that get overridden by a similar federal statute though? --JohnDBuell 11:53, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

Yes. There is a federal law about removing pseudoephedrine from being over the counter. In fact, I was only aware of the federal statute, not the state one. Shsilver 15:16, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

Just wondering: Has there ever been a case, where Blago fought to reduce governmental interference & regulation, in any field whatsoever? Keeping state prisoners under his direct control for life, instead of executing them doesn't count. I'm wondering if he even deserves the label 'progressive'. Pure authoritarian seems more fitting. Rearden Metal 23:48, 31 December 2005 (UTC)

None I can think of. The failures I outlined above and the ongoing investigations by federal prosecutors speak for themselves. "Chief Hypocrite" has a certain ring to it. --JohnDBuell 00:09, 1 January 2006 (UTC)

You know what, I'm sitting here reading the state laws that go into effect today/this month, and I found the one about pseudoephedrine. "...[B]uying decongestants...will require a photo ID and you'll have to sign a log book. ... Beginning Jan. 15, cold medicines that use ephedrine or psuedoephedrine – key meth components – can only be sold behind the counter and only after buyers verify they are 18 or older and sign a register...." Source: Daily Herald, 1 January 2006. --JohnDBuell 18:14, 1 January 2006 (UTC)

Full name

An anon user (from the University of Chicago) started to get nasty about NOT having the Governor's full name listed, so I just wanted to state here what's in the edit history: You can find "Milorad 'Rod' Blagojevich" as his full name by entering "Milorad Blagojevich" (with quotation marks) into Google, A9, or another search engine. --JohnDBuell 18:43, 22 February 2006 (UTC)

That is not his real name. His Father wanted to name him milorod but his mom Millie was against it from the start. They called him Milorod from time to time but his Birth name the one on his birth cert. is Rod Blagojevich. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.13.132.210 (talk) 00:36, 6 October 2008 (UTC)

Daily show screw up

Should His appearance on the daily show where he didn't realize that it was fake news be included?--4.131.128.57 00:36, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

Why not? especially if you have access to the video, and even better if you can provide a screenshot! --JohnDBuell 02:28, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

Oh, I think you'll like this!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFdAcZeaAIE&search=blagojevich ;) Rearden Metal 04:25, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

They should have come here first and asked him on camera about "the football" :) --JohnDBuell 04:41, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

Best part: "I sat down with Governor Blagoj... Blago... Governor Smith." —chair lunch dinner™ (talk) 04:53, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

Rods gun control

I have put in under ADMINISTRATION a short succinct paragraph on his gun control efforts.Oh,and for the record,I don't like Blagojevich.It sounds like an East European laxative company to me.Saltforkgunman 06:18, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

Racial Controversy

Why is there no mention of the current controversy Rod Blagojevich is in? He appointed a Nation of Islam woman to a Hate Crime panel and all the Jewish members of the panel resigned because of it. Rod Blagojevich also said he supported a black militant group which believes in the separation of whites and blacks.

Nobody had got to that yet, and it's still ongoing. But feel free to make an addition, provided it's verifiable. --JohnDBuell 03:44, 13 March 2006 (UTC)

Now done, with a link to a recent (as of this writing) Chicago Tribune article. --JohnDBuell 04:35, 13 March 2006 (UTC)

Jimmy Neutron

I noticed somebody deleted my little tidbit about Blago saying that the Jimmy Neutron character was a mockery of him. I'm sure someone thought that was a joke or vandalism, but that really did happen. I swear. I'd like it to be back in there. Maybe I'll rewrite it to make it sound more serious... or maybe it is just unimportant. I'm sure that if I went to the Lovie Smith page and wrote that he sued the Walter E. Smithe furniture company for using his name (but then dropped the lawsuit realising it was stupid), that would be deleted too. But it happened. You should research an article before saying that something written is vandalism. Just 'cause you don't believe a fact, that doesn't make it not true. Is there no love for the quirky facts? -Rebelkass

The burden of providing verifiable proof of any statement or claim is up to the person who includes the information in the article. --JohnDBuell 02:04, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

Serbian

Rod Blagojevich is the first Serbian Governor elected. George Voinovich of Ohio is Slovenian. Serbians are mainly Orthodox Christian and Slovenians are mostly Roman Catholic. It would be correct to say Rod Blagojevich is the second govenor elected from the former Republic known as Yugoslavia, both Serbia and Slovenia wer part of the the former country of Yugoslavia. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.78.97.109 (talk • contribs) 23:24, 9 June 2006 (UTC).

Voinovich is half Serbian, half Slovenian

And there were more than 2 Governors from former Yugoslav republics

George Voinoivich OHIO (Serbian/Slovenian) --- Frank Lausche OHIO (Slovenian) --- Rudy Perpich MINNESOTA (Croatian) --- Rose Perica Mofford ARIZONA (Croatian) --- Michael Stepovich ALASKA (Croatian) --- Rod Blagojevich ILLINOIS (Serbian)

Lease proposals

Could someone find a couple of articles about the proposed leases of the Illinois Toll Highways and the Illinois Lottery, and the chorus of voices for and against such moves? --JohnDBuell 03:18, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

This biography states that Mr. Blagojevich is a "moderate" Democrat. This term has not been defined so that it can be used as an enlightening adjective, so it should be removed. There are many of his policies which cannot be considered moderate, so this term should not be used in his biography.

Category oddity

Someone added Category:Same-sex marriage opposition to the article, and I cannot find anything *in* the article that states that Mr. Blagojevich is opposed to same-sex marriage. Considering the category says that it is for people who are strong opponents of same-sex marriage, I reverted it. On the contrary, the article seems to state a tolerant stance for gays. If sourced statements can be added to the article to support the opposition claim, I wouldn't be adverse to it being re-added. Syrthiss 23:22, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

Blagojevich has stated during 2006 campaign interviews that he's opposed to same-sex marriage, though I don't think he's opposed to civil unions. It's a fine line, I know, but.... --JohnDBuell 02:08, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

His Religious Affiliation

According to his biography on the National Governors Association website, Blagojevich's religious affiliation is Eastern Orthodox, not Serbian Orthodox. I have corrected the article, citing the NGA biography as a source. --TommyBoy 07:25, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

The submitted biography on the CBS2/Newsradio780 Voter Guide (accessed via wbbm780.com) also lists Eastern Orthodox. Should we change it back? --JohnDBuell 16:48, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

You don't seem to realise that the two aren't mututally exclusive. One is a subset of the other - all Serb Orthodox are Eastern Othodox, but not all Eastern Orthodox are Serb Orthodox (some are Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Romanian Orthodox, Bulgarian Orthodox). So I'll change it back. --estavisti 20:40, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

I wasn't trying to say that it was "wrong" - I realize what you've said about orthodoxy and how there are subsets - I was just trying to point out that the information provided by him/his campaign is going with Eastern Orthodox, instead of the more specific Serbian Orthodox. --JohnDBuell 21:19, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

I don't really care either way. I guess they're spinning it that way because it's quite an obscure denomination anyway, as far as mainstream America goes, even without the ethnic marker (with significant negative baggage) attached.--estavisti 22:40, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

Poorly sourced material that doesnt meet the standard of WP:BLP

The governor also has his staff carry the "football," which is a large hairbrush, to every event that he attends so that his hair is always perfect (Chicago Magazine, 2003).

This could be readded with more neutral language if a complete citation is provided (assuming its true). savidan^{(talk) (e@)} 04:19, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Or proof that it's a complete, original quotation, from that issue of Chicago Magazine. I will note, however, that WBBM-AM's political editor teased the Governor about his hair being "perfect, as usual" during the first radio debate between him and Judy Baar Topinka in October 2006. --JohnDBuell 04:31, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Blago?

Has anyone noticed that Blago is a redirect to this page? Is this appropriate? Is this term commonly used to refer to this person? --Dual Freq 01:45, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

I think it's been used as derogatory slang, but I'd be hard pressed to find a printed source (except maybe an editorial cartoon or nasty email from the Illinois Republican party). I'd break it. --JohnDBuell 12:42, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

Actually, it's not uncommonly found in headlines since it makes an easily recongizable shortening for the full name. Whether that's done simply as a matter of convenience or implies some sort of derogatory intent is probably something the readers have to decide for themselves. Some will probable get themselves worked up and indignant over it, others will think nothing of it.--209.7.195.158 20:01, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

Here are some news articles using 'Blago' http://cbs2chicago.com/local/local_story_285190803.html Feds Believe Blago Fundraiser Out Of Country http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/local_story_129192305.html Blago To Sign Nursing Home Background Checks Bill Kkemper 20:25, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

I don't really see why it should redirect here, although I guess it could be helpful for those who can't spell the name. Abbreviations are commonly used for politicians when they have long names, such as "Sarko" for Nicolas Sarkozy or "Sego" for Segolene Royal. I don't think any of these cases (including Blago) are used in a derogatory fashion.--Gloriamarie 19:05, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

Daily flights

The state has at least 4 King Air's N991LL, N981LL, N971LL and N961LL. Some of them are used for "Air Illinois" (2003 article abstract) and daily Midway to Springfield flights. My question is: does the governor ride these planes alone or does he just fly on the regularly scheduled Springfield to Midway run? At least one of the aircraft makes 3 or 4 trips between Chicago and Springfield each day ferrying legislators, even flying empty sometimes. This was a big scandal a couple years back, but I think the flights were scaled back though the flights still occur. I'm not sure of the notability here since Chicago legislators are no doubt guilty of incurring similar expenses, and the aircraft would still fly even if empty. Additionally, they are all charged a nominal fee <$100 to fly on these aircraft. These used to be viewable via http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N991LL but they must be blocking the flights now for security reasons. --Dual Freq 03:22, 17 July 2007 (UTC)

It's gotten a lot of press attention, to the extent that an out-of-state relative had even heard about it from the AP. From the impression I get, Blagojevich takes his own flights, and since his get there at 12pm and leave about 5, they wouldn't really be conducive to bringing lawmakers who (presumably) may have to work longer hours. According to the news reports, these flights would not be taken if Blagojevich stayed in Springfield, so I think it's safe to say he takes separate flights until news outlets report differently. --Gloriamarie 16:11, 17 July 2007 (UTC)

Not using money for what legislature authorized it for

In the Greenville Advocate from September 4, State Senator (and Minority Leader) Frank Watson says that the legislature has "trust" issues with the governor, saying that money allocated through the George Ryan-era Illinois First program was not spent on what the legislature allocated it for: "The problem is since the governor took office, the authorization we created when Ryan was in has all been used. The bonds have been sold. The governor froze all (legislative) member initiatives, but spent the authorization we permitted, for other uses." This is an interesting aspect of Blagojevich's governorship and perhaps should be added.--Gloriamarie 14:41, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

Hannah Montana

The information about Hannah Montana seems rather trivial and probably shouldn't be included. Rather than revert, I'm open to a reason to leave it in. Shsilver (talk) 01:14, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

George Voinovich

On George Voinovich's page it states he is of croatian origin rather than serbian, please clarify. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 160.94.44.153 (talk) 01:22, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

It now says his father was a Serb from Croatia.--Gloriamarie (talk) 06:54, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

Controversies - State park closings

http://www.clintondailyjournal.com/V2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=72&story_id=2183

Not sure if this is worth adding in, yet. But it is new news and most of the town is already extremely upset 12.201.52.216 (talk) 09:01, 30 August 2008 (UTC)

NPOV

The "Legislator" and "Gubernatorial administration" sections of this article are loaded with weasel words and advertisements. It sounds like it came out of a campaign brochoure.

To wit;

• In Congress, Blagojevich continued to champion what he called anti-crime measures, especially gun control legislation.
• Throughout his administration, Governor Blagojevich has taken the initiative on:
• When he signed it into law one-month later, it made Illinois the first state in the nation to provide access to affordable, comprehensive health insurance for every child in the state. 3
• The Governor has consistently made women’s health a priority.

I could go on and on. I'm placing an advertisment box on the top until this is fixed. Thanks.--thequackdaddy (talk) 20:58, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

I did some snooping around and a significant portion of the "Legislator" and "Gubernatorial administrations" are directory copied off of press releases and other political fact sheets. I am removing the offending material because it is clearly not NPOV and possibly a case of plagiarism.

See the following press releases which appear to be copied almost verbatim in to Wikipedia. [2] [3][4]

--thequackdaddy (talk) 20:52, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

looks like a hatchet job to me

Who ever wrote many sections of this article clearly has a bias AGAINST this chap. Is he an honorary Republican or something? Maybe we can call this the Hillary Syndrome. I think the person above is prob the one sliding things from what he perceives as bias in favor to bias AGAINST as opposed to a neutral article.

Like the Fox news motto—fair, balanced and unafraid. The problem with this website is it is overloaded with out-of-work left wingnuts living in their parents’ basement eating Funyuns.

Get a job!

Pronunciation

According to Wikipedia:IPA, the fourth symbol in the IPA pronunciation is the German short ü. Is this the right sound? Shouldn't it be a regular g? —JerryFriedman (Talk) 23:19, 6 November 2008 (UTC)

Feds take Gov. Blagojevich into custody

According to the Chicago Tribune, the Feds take Gov. Blagojevich into custody.

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/12/source-feds-take-gov-blagojevich-into-custody.html —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mcneelymarketing (talk • contribs) 14:40, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, it's unclear yet what the outcome of this will be. I removed the indictment section because as far as I can tell, he hasn't been indicted yet. Illinois2011 (talk) 14:50, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Here is a brand new article on the subject Feds take Gov. Blagojevich into custody. Illinois2011 (talk) 14:53, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

I added a decently detailed paragraph, referenced to an AP article on a southern Illinois television news site. Feel free to tweak as news comes in or better wording is discovered. --IvoShandor (talk) 15:14, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Thanks Ivo. Illinois2011 (talk) 15:17, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

No problem. This is just astounding, the charges are unbelievable wholly believable, the Trib has the text here. Audacious. --IvoShandor (talk) 15:24, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Great paragraph so far. Considering the severity of the arrest and allegations, do you not think it would make sense to make this its own section? As of now it's somewhat buried in all the other fun stuff he's into. Joshdboz (talk) 15:26, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Well I already broke it into its own section, so if there is material elsewhere that has a good reference and doesn't repeat it should probably be merged into that section.--IvoShandor (talk) 15:28, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

I did kind of haphazardly place the section, so if someone has a better idea where it should go, feel free to move it. I don't think it should be buried, it isn't everyday a sitting governor is arrested by federal agents at his house for trying to sell a U.S. Senate seat, so it shouldn't be buried at the article's end, I don't think anyway. --IvoShandor (talk) 15:33, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Maybe he can share a cell with Ryan in Terra Haute. Illinois2011 (talk) 15:35, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

We know how to pick 'em, at least we get it right when it really counts. Anyway, I suppose we should keep the chatter to a minimum. Any thoughts on the section's placement? --IvoShandor (talk) 15:38, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Well, the only thing I could think of is to make it it's own section outside of controversies. Or just leave it where it's at. That's the only two options I think would work....Illinois2011 (talk) 15:46, 9 December 2008 (UTC)