Mission Accomplished: Blagojevich Promised To “Rock The System”

By Ken Silverstein

From the Chicago Tribune, March 8, 2005:

On pace to be the most prolific political fundraiser in Illinois history, Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Monday pledged to rein in the excesses of campaign finance with soon-to-be-introduced reforms that would “rock the system in Springfield.”

Blagojevich has pushed broad ethics reforms and has repeatedly stressed his desire to change the political culture of state government…He said he hopes to introduce legislation within a few weeks and said, if passed, it would “change fundamentally the way campaign dollars are raised in the state of Illinois.”

And this from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 6, 2002:

Rod Blagojevich, the son of a Yugoslav immigrant steelworker, on Tuesday was elected Illinois’ first Democratic governor in 26 years. Blagojevich, 45, a Chicago-based congressman, was winning with about 55 percent to 43 percent statewide over the Republican nominee, Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan.

“My heart is full tonight,” Blagojevich told a boisterous crowd of supporters at a north side steel factory where his late father once worked. Blagojevich said the election represents “a bipartisan call to action.” But he also reiterated a central theme of his campaign: That a generation of Republican control is responsible for the corruption and ethics scandals that have rocked Illinois.

“Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, Illinois has voted for a change,” Blagojevich said.