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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.
"The
two worst crime zones in Illinois are the governor's mansion in Springfield and
the City Council Chambers in Chicago," said study author Dick Simpson.
It
was into such an environment that Obama stepped when he was first elected in
1996 as an Illinois state senator.
Former
Illinois Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, a maverick Republican and reformer, told The
Washington Examiner that Obama never fought corruption, even when it was being
done by Republicans.
"I've
never seen him fight corruption. He never wanted to upset the apple cart with
the Chicago machine," Fitzgerald said.
After
serving with Obama for two years in the Illinois Senate, Fitzgerald defeated
Sen. Carol Moseley Braun in 1998 and served one term in the U.S. Senate. His
family has been in Illinois banking for several generations.
In
Springfield, Fitzgerald was a leader of a reform-minded state legislative
caucus known as the "Fab Five." The group's members were Republicans
who had been elected in 1992. They fought the establishments in both major
parties while seeking to increase openness and transparency in government.
Fab
Fiver Steve Rauschenberger told the Examiner that he and his reformist
colleagues were taken aback when Obama rejected the group's informal
invitations to join them.
"When
Barack first arrived, there was a lot of hope that maybe he was the intellectual
bridge, the pragmatic Democrat from Chicago who was not part of the machine
that we could perhaps talk to about broad-based consensus policies to change
public policy that wasn't working," he said.
"He
appeared to be interested for a good 90 days," Rauschenberger said.
"In March or April of that year, though, he had made it pretty clear he
wasn't interested in risk-taking or challenging institutions or challenging the
Chicago machine's lock on a lot of the mechanics of government in Cook County
in Chicago."
An
Examiner review of Fab Five initiatives from 1995 to 2000 identified 22
proposals, including sweeping government procurement reforms like requiring
open, competitive bidding for state contracts. Obama missed votes on several of
the proposals, and those he supported were approved unanimously.
"He
was nowhere to be found on reform," Fab Fiver Chris Lauzen told the
Examiner. "I reached out to Barack. My wife and I took Barack and Michelle
to dinner."
Lauzen
said Obama "was not on the playing field. In my opinion, Barack Obama was
a product and beneficiary of how politics are practiced in Illinois. It would
be impossible to call him a reformer."
State
Sen. Dave Syverson, another Fab Fiver, said, "I don't recall any cases
when he was overtly standing up to the machine at all."
Some
of Obama's reluctance about the Fab Five may have stemmed from his occasional
golf outings and lunches with the state's top gambling lobbyist, Alfred G.
Ronan.
Ronan
was well-known in Illinois political circles for passing out cash contributions
to supporters off the floor of the legislative chambers. Obama himself took
$10,500 from Ronan and changed his position on a gambling bill afterward,
according to the Los Angeles Times. Ronan told the Times that Obama always paid
his own way on the outings.
There
was also the regular Wednesday night poker game organized by Democratic state
Sen. Terry Link. Obama and three other state Senate Democrats in Springfield
were regular attendees, along with several lobbyists, Link said.
"It
started out with five of us, then it escalated where there were a couple of
lobbyists that were friends of us that we brought in," Link told the
Examiner.
"Barack
was not of the machine, but he was adjacent to it," said Cynthia Canary,
former director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, the largest
statewide reform organization.
Paul
Green, director of the Institute for Politics at Chicago's Roosevelt University
and a popular WGN radio host, noted David Axelrod, Obama's campaign strategist,
originated from Mayor Richard M. Daley's camp.
"You
see his main adviser, David Axelrod, who also was Daley's chief adviser and ran
his campaigns. So it was very much that Obama's people were in the Daley
camp."
A
month after Daley's patronage chief was indicted for rigging city jobs and
promotions, Axelrod defended patronage in a 2005 Chicago Tribune op-ed. He
argued that to satisfy constituent needs, politicians are often forced to
"use the influence they have to meet those needs, including sometimes the
exchange of favors -- consideration for jobs being just one."
Fitzgerald
said Obama never confronted Daley. "He never took on Mayor Daley, even
when clearly city hall was out of bounds. He never fought corruption in Cook
County government."
Canary
said Obama's endorsement of Rod Blagojevich and other Daley allies worried her.
"Obama
has made a number of endorsements, not just the Blagojevich one -- he gave a
number for the Chicago City Council that were complete whack jobs. I have never
understood it or why he felt he needed to it," she said.
Some
have noted that Obama helped write a 1997 legislative gift ban. The bipartisan
effort included 23 exemptions.
Green
pointed out that the gift ban didn't stop corruption. "In 1998, George
Ryan was governor; now he's in prison. After him, Rod Blagojevich went to
prison, so clearly it didn't have any impact."
Next: Chapter VIII: Obama's State Pension Scheme
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