Cohen Loses Job He Never Had

By Amy Hart in News on Nov 4, 2005 6:03PM

Yesterday the Illinois State Senate struck down the nomination of Martin Cohen (pictured) to serve as Chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission.

Governor Blagojevich nominated Cohen, the former head of the Citizens Utilities Board, in late September against the wishes of utility company leaders and several legislators.

The overriding criticism against Cohen was that he would not be able to treat the utilities industries fairly due to his former position as a consumer advocate who often found himself aligned against the same companies he would now be asked to monitor.

Chicagoist can respect the notion that Cohen might be too adversarial against utilities based on his previous position, but we don't think installing an industry leader, as some have suggeted, is a way to ensure impartial decisions.

Lawmakers also charged that Blago nominated Cohen just to make himself appear more "consumer friendly" and that the governor didn't ask for their input on the nomination, or lobby on Cohen's behalf.

Cohen needed 30 votes to confirm his post, but was only able to garner 28, with 22 votes being cast against him.

Blago has yet to comment on this latest blow to his admnistration, but Cohen responded by saying the lawmakers were swayed by the "deep pockets" of the utilities companies, and that the vote was a defeat for Illinois citizens.