Obama win brings cheers, complications to Illinois

November 19, 2008
By Drew Thomason
Columnist

www.iviipo.org Governor Rod Blagojevich

With the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States, many in Illinois are ecstatic to have one of their own in the White House. Their excitement is well founded, however, Obama’s victory means some losses for that state of Illinois.

First of all, it takes one of the most skilled politicians in the United States away from a position where he can focus on Illinois and makes his main concern the nation as a whole. While he can make decisions that favor Illinois while in the White House, he will most likely be too concerned with economic issues and the two wars to give much attention to the state.

Obama’s journey away from state-centered decision making will also take other Illinois politicians down the same path. The main example of this is the appointment and acceptance of Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel to Obama’s Chief-of-Staff. Once called the hardballer’s hardballer, Emanuel was good at getting what he wanted done, done, including legislation for Illinois and was also in line to have a leadership role in the House.

Obama’s absence in the Senate creates another problem: Gov. Rod Blagojevich is given the task of appointing Obama’s replacement. Given that Blagojevich seemingly makes decisions without any rational or logical thought, this is a scary proposal. He could make an appointment out of personal spite, political advantage, or for no apparent reason at all. All of these options go against Illinois’ best interest.

In addition to removing skilled Illinois leadership from Congress, there is also a financial drain on Illinois, namely the Chicago Police Department. According to the Chicago Tribune, Chicago faces a $469 million budget deficient.

To counter this Mayor Richard Daily has suggested laying off 1,000 plus workers. However, with a rise in violent crimes and all the extra security surrounding President-Elect Barack Obama, the CPD barely has enough people as is. The strain Obama has placed on the police force could seriously hamper efforts to counter this rise in violent crimes.

There are three main factors that can offset these loses. Number one, Dick Durbin becomes the head of the Senate. Obama might be able to help out with this given the leverage he now wields. Next, Blagojevich makes a somewhat sensible appointment to the Senate, though this is by far the least likely of the factors to happen. Lastly, Chicago, once again with the help of Obama’s new leverage, hosts the 2012 Olympics. This would pump much needed money into the local economy.