So it begins - Emanuel transition team member unethical

And so it begins. I woke to news on the radio this morning that Mayor Elect Rahm Emanuel's transition team has hit a "small speed bump." It appears, one member of the seven-member team, Judy Erwin, was recently found guilty of violating state ethics rules while executive director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

Erwin claims she didn't tell the Emanuel campaign about this little problem but, of course, that's the same as a head coach of a football team getting caught in a sex scandal and then claiming he's retiring to "spend more time with my family." It's standard procedure. Defend the team.

There's also no surprise that Emanuel would appoint someone like this to his transition team. She's apparently guilty of what, I suspect, is standard operating procedure for Emanuel and, hence, to be expected by his underlings.

I hate to say "I told you so." No, actually, I don't mind saying it at all. The only thing that surprises me as that the worm began to turn so quickly. And, like I said, so it begins.

P.S. apparently she was also involved with the Obama campaign. Anyone surprised by that, too?

Rahm Emanuel? Are people just tone deaf?

Sometimes, I just don't understand. This morning, someone posted a photo in Facebook that showed a Rahm Emanuel for Mayor sign planted in the snow-covered grass between the lanes of a Chicago boulevard. While the person who posted this pointed out that Rahm must have some kind of clout with the city to pull that off, since it is apparently not otherwise acceptable, she still likes Rahm.

I'm a big fan of Ronald Reagan. I think he was possibly the best president since George Washington. And that's saying something since we've had some other remarkable men in that office since 1789 when Washington was first sworn in. But, as much as I appreciated Reagan, I never quite got the "Great Communicator" thing.

Sure, I was impressed with what he said but it was his message more than his delivery that really got me. The same thing with Billy Clinton and Barack Obama, both of whom have also had similar monikers attached to their names. I never got that at all. With Clinton, when the Lewinski scandal broke, I felt like I was the only person who wasn't surprised. I mean, the guy had hound-dog written all over him as far as I could tell.

And Obama - it's as though people who love him are absolutely tone deaf to the rather peculiar things he has to say. I want to scream at them: HE'S A SOCIALIST/WELFARIAN WHO BLAMES AMERICA FOR MOST OF THE WORLD'S PROBLEMS. But, I guess people will only hear what they want to hear.

I recently wrote a column where I spoke of Emanuel setting off the same alarms for me that Stuart Levine did. I once interviewed the former head of the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, who is now in prison for using that position to fatten his wallet, for a story about the IHFPB's decision making process related to a proposed hospital in Crystal Lake, IL. I was right about Levine and, in my recent column, I wrote of how Emanuel sets off the same alarms for me. But, nobody else seems to see it.

I told someone about that today - about how I think Emanuel is dirty to the core and, with any luck, will go from City Hall to 26th and California in the near future. My friend said he doesn't see it. In his eyes, Emanuel is merely a pitbull who will get things done one way or the other.

"That," I said, "is the point. How will he get things done and for what purpose?"

I believe Emanuel escaped an investigation into his involvement with Fannie Mae because the investigators were largely sympathetic to his position and influence. But, with or without any solid evidence, I'm convinced this guy is dirty. And I can't understand why other people don't see it.

Maybe I'll one day admit that I was wrong. More than likely, I'll only admit that he hasn't been caught yet. Then again, if Chicago is really lucky, he'll prove me right.

Rahm has me dreaming of Rockford

Have you ever been in a car accident? Not all accidents happen suddenly. Sometimes, you can see the accident unfolding around you realizing there's nothing you can do about it. All you can do is to try to grab hold of something solid, brace your body and wait for the impact.

That's kind of how I felt watching the elections in Chicago today. I could see the accident coming as I did protest in a recent posting here. However, even as I expressed my concern over what I see as a lack of foresight on the part of voters in Chicago, I knew there was little I could do to avoid the political equivalent of screeching tires and busted glass and a dismal choice for mayor of the Windy City.

I don't live in Chicago but that offers small comfort. On a clear day, if I drive about halfway to the city, I'll begin seeing the high-rise buildings of the Loop - Sears Tower, the Hancock Building, if that's what they still call them, and others. But, even from a distance, Chicago cast a big shadow. That shadow isn't merely from tall buildings blotting out the sun; it's also a political shadow cast upon Springfield, the state capital a few hours to the Southwest.

For those of you less familiar with Illinois politics, you may still remember the name Rod Blagojevich - you know, the guy with the hair. Blagojevich made Illinois something of a laughing stock with the scandal that drove him from office, not to mention the way he handled himself in the midst of the personal crisis he shared with the state. Embarrassing Illinois politically takes some doing. Think back to the prior Richard Daley - not the one who just stepped down. Richard J. Daley was the guy who had this to say to a fellow Democrat when the 1968 Democratic Convention turned into a riot in the streets:

"F--- you, you Jew son of a bitch, you lousy mother-f---er, go home." said to US Senator Abraham Ribicoff after he blasted Daley and his administration at the 1968 Democratic Convention for their handling of convention riots."

That's about the same time that he pumped out this beauty: "The policeman isn't there to create disorder; the policeman is there to preserve disorder."

Now that's a touch of class, isn't it. And that was eight years before he left office due to a fatal heart attack. The lesson, reinforced in Chicago today - Chicagoans just don't care. Or, more aptly put, they know which side of their bread is buttered and that's the key to their hearts.

But, back to Chicago's long shadow. What you may not have heard about during Blagojevich's impeachment-shortened term as governor was the joke about the Governor's Mansion. Seems Blagojevich, a former Chicago Alderman, thought the mansion was in Chicago - not Springfield. In fact, from the way he acted, he seemed to think the state capital rode a little to the Northeast of center, as well.

It makes sense that a city with the population of Chicago should have a little more pull than other communities. But, just as our national government was setup to ensure that smaller states and regions were not left in the legislative dustpan, the government in Illinois is setup to protect the interests of smaller communities, too.

That balance doesn't work as well when we have people in office who are not entirely committed to the arrangement. I'm not sure where Pat Quinn stands on the matter. And I have no doubt Richard M Daley was adept at pulling Springfield's strings for the sake of his voting district - Chicago. But, I find it disquieting to think that the big city to the Southeast of me is now in the hands of someone who, while Chief of Staff to Barack Obama, demonstrated what I consider a total lack of respect for Constitutional authority - well, beyond the opportunities it gave him to take advantage of a crisis or two.

I used to like to take a day trip into Chicago from time to time. Rockford is looking much more appealing these days. For that matter, Lake Geneva isn't that far.

Emanuel sets my sleaze meter buzzing

Stuart Levine was the former head of the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board who pleaded guilty in 2006 of peddling influence from that position in exchange for millions of dollars in kickbacks to approve various construction projects proposed by various health care systems within the state. Prior to his guilty plea, during a time when he was apparently taking the kickbacks in cooperation with Tony Rezko, the convicted developer who helped Barack Obama find a Chicago home, I interviewed Levine over the phone for a story I was working on for the local weekly newspaper.

I was a sports editor with the paper. However, as it was a small publication, I wore several hats, one of which brought me into contact with Mr. Levine. I don't recall what was said. What I do recall is the impression Mr. Levine made on me. I recall, when I got off the phone, I turned to the people in the room and said, "That guy's dirty."

I think those who heard me looked at me as though, "What the heck are you talking about?" and went back to what they were doing. I had made the statement out loud but more to myself than to anyone else.

Like I said, I don't recall the particulars of the interview. A health care system in the area wanted to build a new hospital and another health care system was contesting the approval of the project by the IHFPB.

I'm not trying to suggest that I have some kind of mystic ability to recognize people of inferior character or those who are up to no good. What I can say is that, when the state decided to create the IHFPB, they also created the opportunity for people like Levine and Rezko to take advantage of the situation for personal gain. There's nothing surprising about that. It should, however, be considered in relation to all the regulations and power distributed through the auspices of Obamacare. Make no mistake about it, that legislation is ripe with opportunity.

I guess, it's journalistic intuition that gave me a sense that Levine was not on the up and up. If someone in the office that day had questioned my statement, I could not have defended it. It was a feeling not a fact-based proclamation.

I have been hypercritical of mayoral candidate and former Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel for quite some time now. I think some of his outlandish statements while in the White House, such as suggesting that a "crisis is a terrible thing to waste" in reference to the Great Recession, as well as news that he may have been up to no good while on the board of directors for Fannie Mae, give plausible evidence that my criticism may have some validity. But, that's only part of it.

The truth is, Emanuel sets off the same journalistic alarms for me that Levine did. There is no one currently in the public eye, nor anyone else I can think of, who sets my intuitive Sleaze Meter Buzzing as loudly as Emanuel. Obama comes close, very close, but not quite to the level of Emanuel.

I'll admit, I find Emanuel's professed ideology short-sighted and repugnant. But, regardless, and to the best of my ability, when I separate my personal feelings about the man and look at him through a journalistic prism, he makes me want to ask more and more questions. There must be other journalists who come away with the same feeling about this man. Maybe they're too committed to the Liberal progressive cause to say. Maybe they've drank too much of the liberal Koolaid to notice any longer. Or maybe I'm wrong. But, I hit the nail on the head with Levine, didn't I?

Rahm in trouble in Chicago - "Where'd you get those union member addresses?"

Rahm Emanuel apparently is in a little hot water in his campaign for mayor of Chicago. Apparently, he sent out letters to union members all over the city explaining his position on an issue of concern to that demographic. The unexpected response - how did you get our addresses?

Considering the famously wonderful relationship between Obama, his minions and the unions, it's possible Emanuel obtained this information from, as the radio announcer just stated, someone with the unions who wanted to curry favor with 'the future' mayor.

From my perspective, this just smacks of the kind of behavior I would expect from a snake like Emanuel.