Chicagoist: Under Pressure, Dems To Seat The Lord's Senator™ Have No Clue What's Going On

Albanyparkour

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:49:56 -0600

They should impeach him then. Let this all play out according to the letter of the law and let people see just how calcified and ridiculous the process has become. Jefferson said we needed a revolution once a generation. We are fucking overdue.

Albanyparkour

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:47:08 -0600

Rachel, I know you're a legal aid or paralegal or something, but you're forgetting that the law is not there to serve itself, but rather the people. Yes, White is in the wrong by the letter of the law. And yet he's in the absolute right in taking a stand against a governor who has completely betrayed the trust of the people. He's refusing to be party to the actions of a man indicted on a host of felonies. The law and justice need not always be at odds. White himself has stated that the seal is more of an honorific than anything. This isn't so much a constitutional crisis as it is a game being played for time. Blago knows the clock is ticking on his impeachment, appointing Burris is his way of lashing out at the party that has long since abandoned him. He knows Burris won't win if he runs in 2010, which he will since he's a completely self-interested fool.

chiflyguy

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:35:32 -0600

Ahh... thanks so much lafav3! Citing the ILCS is certainly good enough for me!

lafav3

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:00:04 -0600

from the SOS Act: (15 ILCS 305/5) (from Ch. 124, par. 5) Sec. 5. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State: 1. To countersign and affix the seal of state to all commissions required by law to be issued by the Governor. 2. To make a register of all appointments by the Governor, specifying the person appointed, the office conferred, the date of the appointment, the date when bond or oath is taken and the date filed. If Senate confirmation is required, the date of the confirmation shall be included in the register. Note the use of the word "shall" - White has no discretion on this matter. It is his legal duty to countersign the Burris appointment. So yeah - I guess you could call it illegal, but afaik, there are no criminal penalties for disobeying. The legislature, I suppose, could impeach White for failing his official duties, which would be amusing.

Stealth

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:28:33 -0600

I'll take Jesse White's posturing over Blago/Burris posteuring any day. White has nothing to gain from not signing. The other two have had their hands out the whole time.

chiflyguy

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:49:33 -0600

@jenny: "Jesse White took an illegal, symbolic stand and now he is playing the victim quite well." His stand was no doubt symbolic, and may very well just be theater, but is what he did actually "illegal?" What crime did he commit by failing to sign? In other words, if my boss tells me to do something, or if something is expected of me in performing the duties of my position, I may be a bad employee and I may be subject to disciplinary action or termination, but I certainly have not committed a crime if I failed to do what is asked/required of me. I'm not splitting hairs or trying to start anything, it's just that I've heard others say similar things (about the legality of White's refusal to sign), and I'm wondering if there's any legal basis for this, or if it's just hyperbole. Perhaps it's different for elected officials? Just wondering.

ophmarketing

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:53:08 -0600

While I agree that what Jesse White is trying to do could set a dangerous precedent and should therefore (unfortunately) not be allowed to stand, I do believe that he's pretty much the only one showing any integrity here. He at least realizes that Blago's move was nothing more than political theater. The problem is, the General Assembly didn't move quickly enough to strip the Gov. of his Senate-appointment powers, and now we're stuck with Burris. Of course, if Burris had any integrity, he would have declined the offer. But clearly he's either clueless or as big a phony as Blago. Either way, his reputation and legacy have just been shown the door.

BlueFairlane

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:52:31 -0600

Okay, this is weird. My comments keep jumping from thread to thread, at least as viewed by me. This is where I meant to be all along. I'm going to shut up and go away now.

BlueFairlane

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:48:04 -0600

Okay, now this is weird ... my comments, at least as viewed by me, keep jumping from thread to thread. This is where I meant to be all along. I'm going to shut up and go away now.

BlueFairlane

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:40:31 -0600

Um ... I don't know if I hit the wrong reply or if you Gothamist techno types screwed me, but I actually meant for my enthusiastic support to go to xlprg's proposal above about Lauri being the official cartoonist. Though I do agree that everyone else is a politician.

BlueFairlane

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:36:32 -0600

OOOH!!! YES!! I would whole-heartedly support that!

jennyblur

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:30:39 -0600

FALSE. He is not showing integrity for the letter of the law because basically he is a CLERK whose job it is to rubber stamp the gov's decisions. End of story. What he is saying is that the Sec. of State should effectively have veto power over appointments made by the governor, which when you actually stop to think, would be an incredibly dangerous precedent. Don't forget that everyone in this situation are politicians who stand to win/lose from this situation. Jesse White took an illegal, symbolic stand and now he is playing the victim quite well. Don't think what he did is any less theater than the Burris Show.

Albanyparkour

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:18:27 -0600

Heard Jesse White on WGN this morning (yeah yeah, old person radio) and he sounded at such pains about this nonsense. On the one hand, he's being blamed by the senate, who are too cowardly and afraid of being seen as "racist" to stand up and call bullshit on this. On the other hand, he's refusing to certify an appointment made by a governor who was, just a few weeks ago, placing the seat up for sale. He's showing spine, integrity and a respect for both the letter and the spirit of the law. He's the only pol in this mess who doesn't deserve a slapping. And that includes Obama for not coming down hard and heavy.

ophmarketing

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:16:34 -0600

So in other words, our esteemed a**hole of a governor has pretty much guaranteed that Illinois will be losing one of its Senate seats to a Republican in two years. Remember to send Governor Haircut a nice thank you note when they're swearing in Senator Oberweis in January 2011.

Slaphappy

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:07:40 -0600

You read my mind.

xlprq

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:18:58 -0600

Can Lauri start doing cartoons for Chicagoist instead of Tim Daly?

Albanyparkour

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:14:32 -0600

I love the incorporation of his weird-ass sarcophogas. Anyone who refers to themselves as a trailblazer, isn't.