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Former Illinois state Sen.
Peter Fitzgerald,
a maverick Republican and reformer, said
Obama never fought
corruption, by
Republicans or by Democrats: "He never
wanted to upset the
apple cart with the
Chicago machine."
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Chapter VII: The Myth of Obama as State Senate Reformer
From the Washington Examiner
From the Washington Examiner
Shortly
after Barack Obama won the 2008 presidential election, Prairie State Blue, a
liberal blog, attributed his victory to the fact that Illinois' deeply
entrenched government corruption had forced "political reformers" in
the state legislature like Obama "to network outside the traditional
political circles."
The
claim illustrated Obama's success throughout his career at presenting himself
as an outsider and reformer even as he became a skillful operator inside one of
the nation's most corrupt political systems.
Earlier
this year, a study by the Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs
pointed to the convictions in recent years of four governors, two congressmen,
a state treasurer, an attorney general and 11 state legislators.
