Capitol Fax

Rich Miller's commentary on State Government

If last week's Chicago Tribune blockbuster story is accurate, then Gov. Rod Blagojevich's ultimate inner circle has been successfully penetrated by US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.

The Tribune cited unidentified sources to claim that bigtime lobbyist John Wyma's cooperation allowed federal investigators to make "covert tape recordings" of Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

You just can't get more "inside" than Wyma.

"Whenever decisions were being made, Wyma was always around," said a longtime Blagojevich insider last week. "Nobody is closer to Rod."

Blagojevich, like his imprisoned predecessor George Ryan, has way too often mixed campaign fundraising with government policy, and Wyma was one of the people who appeared to be at the center of that strategy.

Convicted felon Tony Rezko was also a part of that game, but Wyma has been known to hang out at Blagojevich's house for hours, playing chess and swapping stories. Rezko was never Wyma-style close to Blagojevich.

Chris Kelly was a much closer Blagojevich friend than Wyma, and Kelly and Wyma reportedly were at odds over the years about who really had the governor's ear. But it was Wyma who truly put all the pieces together with the fundraising and the lobbying.

Rezko is in prison, Kelly is awaiting trial on a tax beef, and now Wyma is apparently cooperating with the G.

Usually, folks just don't volunteer to help the US Attorney bug their buddies. And even if the occasional altruistic citizen might, very few will do something like that out of the goodness of their heart to a close friend and a guy who has made them millions of dollars.

So I suppose it's possible that John Wyma graciously offered to help the feds record conversations with Gov. Rod Blagojevich, but history and common sense tells us that if the Tribune story is correct and Wyma did provide assistance, then the feds may have had something on him.

What, though? There are quite a few things out there. One item that continually pops up on my radar screen is Wyma's purchase of a condominium from a guy whose company got a a no-bid, $2 million contract from the Illinois Toll Highway Authority the day before the condo deal closed. First Lady Patti Blagojevich was the realtor of record.

It's been openly speculated that the feds are trying to nail Mrs. Blagojevich on something as a way to get at Gov. Blagojevich, so who knows how far they took that particular lead.

Wyma has had so many dealings with the governor on millions of dollars in lobbying business that it's probably impossible to say for sure what exactly went down.

It's implied in the Tribune piece that Wyma's help might have led to the recording of a conversation between himself, the governor and Blagojevich's former chief of staff Lon Monk in a meeting at Blagojevich's campaign office. That meeting took place two weeks after Wyma was hit with a subpoena relating to an investigation of how Provena Health won the right to expand its offered services. Provena insists it is not a subject of interest, but Blagojevich did receive a $25,000 campaign contribution from the hospital - which appears to be the standard access price for this administration.

Whatever it was, Blagojevich now has almost nobody to turn to. His inner sanctum has been defiled, and it's unlikely that he can trust anyone else at the moment. That's mostly his own fault, of course. His circle has mostly been populated with sycophants who are out only for their own pocket books.

The other question on many minds is: Why did this story emerge when it did?

Well, perhaps the Tribune discovered the story on its own, so timing depended on how the reporters worked their leads. The grand juries often meet on Thursdays and this story was reported on a Friday morning.

It's also possible, perhaps even probable, that the feds leaked the story. If there was a leak, it seems the most likely reason was to send a crystal clear message to all involved that the government's case is mighty strong with or without Tony Rezko.

Rezko has asked to be sentenced right away rather than continue to negotiate a deal with the feds, which leads many to believe that he has gone mum, and/or that the feds are giving him a rough time about the accuracy of his information.

But if the feds have Wyma, they probably don't need Rezko. At least, that appears to be the message.

Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and thecapitolfaxblog.com.

Killing the Messenger?

We were out of town and I just got a chance to look at the November 26 Prairie Advocate. I think the article "Farming is Our Future" is biased and unfair.

Quoting someone who says that "much of the opposition stems from animal rights groups" without questioning the quote is, in my opinion, poor journalism. First of all, Nic Anderson (and Bos) is making that up. He has no evidence at all that animal rights groups are involved. The writer could have talked to a representative from HOMES who, I'm sure, would deny that PETA or any similar organization is behind their protest.

Tony Berning's statement that "there are people in this county and state that don't like animal agriculture and they have a lot of money to spend, a lot of time on their hands and they can hijack a project" is ridiculous. HOMES obviously does not have a lot of money to spend, and as far as I know, the people protesting the mega-dairy are not against animal agriculture. It is Bos and his group who have tons of money to spend.

There are many reasons to be against this mega-dairy. Property values near the site would decrease. Children who live near CAFOs have been known to have a larger percentage of asthmatic conditions than other children in rural areas. The huge dairy would take away from the pastoral atmosphere of Jo Daviess County and probably impact tourism negatively. The odor would probably be unbearable (I notice the unpleasant smell from the rather small feedlot in Lanark every time I drive by). The water supply would probably be affected (I don't believe Bos' "scientists" for one second). The cows, being confined in close quarters, would have to be injected with antibiotics to prevent the spread of disease.

Yes, animal cruelty would indeed be another reason to be against a CAFO. But to imply that animal rights groups are behind this protest, with no evidence whatsoever, is misleading the public.Tony Carton is too intelligent a writer tosubscribe to and propagate a conspiracy theory.

Patricia Wemstrom

Mt. Carroll, IL

Ag Irony

The irony of our area's farmers belittling the regulatory efforts of the federal government needn't be lost on any of us (See Nov. 26, 2008 article "Farming is our Future.") After all, these same farmers are generally this country's greatest beneficiaries of corporate welfare in the form of crop subsidy allotments.

If the meager requirements of government oversight and crop mandates are proving to be too much, foregoing said subsidies is always an option. Doing so would, of course, leave one at the mercy of the market, just like the in-town neighbor struggling to make this month's mortgage payment.

But any self-respecting member of Jim Sacia's Republican Party wouldn't want it any other way.

Cordially,

John Jankowski

Stockton, IL

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