The Further Adventures of Governor “Rude” Blagojevich

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was a worse than we [bleeping] thought.
 
Not only did Blago sell political favors during his reign as Illinois’ chief executive, he also flat out ignored civil etiquette.
 
Blagojevich was impeached by the Illinois legislature and removed from office in January, but that hasn't stopped the news of his corrupt tenure to spread. A new book called “Pay to Play,” due out next month from Ivan R. Dee, details some of the former gov.’s ruder moments.
 
A former Blagojevich aide told author Elizabeth Brackett about a time when Blago was supposed to preside over the funeral of beloved state Senator Vince Demuzio. The governor was so late to the funeral that Lt. Governor Pat Quinn had to step in and present the flag to the deceased senator’s grieving widow.
 
Brackett calls the funeral incident a “painful” low point in the governor’s pock-marked tenure.  
 
"It became pretty indicative of his attitude . . . People began to realize that the guy was all about Rod Blagojevich - and he was not someone who could be trusted," journalist Charles Wheeler told the author.
 
Another segment of the book features a question and answer session between Blago and a group of reporters. The reporters asked the governor about the wisdom of using a state owned plane make daily trips between the Capital in Springfield and his home in Chicago at $5,800 per flight.
 
"[Bleep] it, [bleep] them. It comes with the job," Blagojevich is reported to have said.
 
Many Illinois pols have something to say about the governor.
 
"He was not building a political organization ,” said Cindy Canary of the Campaign for Political Reform. “ It was really a complete quid pro quo - give me the money and I'll give you the position."
 
Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias says that Blagojevich was "very 'I don't want to hear other people's opinions' and . . . 'I'll destroy you even if you're doing it because you have ideological differences.' "
 

Blagojevich has his own book due out in October from Phoenix Books.

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