Illinois Governor Has Pricey Commute

(AP)  Gov. Rod Blagojevich's practice of flying from his Chicago home to the Capitol in Springfield and back for daily budget negotiations is costing Illinois taxpayers more than $5,800 a day — roughly $76,000 since late May and climbing.

An Associated Press analysis of state flight records shows Blagojevich made nine round trips on state airplanes from May 22 to June 7, and he appears to have made at least four more since then.

Several of those flights came while the governor's aides were admonishing lawmakers for not spending enough time in the Capitol working on the budget.

With the first eight flights, Blagojevich averaged less than five hours in Springfield per trip. On the ninth, he stayed two nights as lawmakers tried to meet a May 31 budget-approval deadline. They missed that deadline, and the Democrats who dominate Illinois government remained deadlocked Thursday, which likely means more flights for the governor, a fellow Democrat.

The state auditor's calculations put the actual cost of flying the governor's plane between Chicago and Springfield at $9.81 per mile.

That puts the cost of Blagojevich's nine flights for which official records are available at $52,540. Detailed records aren't available for the flights since June 7, but averages from previous day trips suggest an additional cost of $23,300.

Springfield and Chicago are about 150 miles apart as the crow flies; the trip is about a three-hour drive.

Blagojevich's office refused to answer questions about the matter.

Sen. Chris Lauzen, an Aurora Republican who serves as co-chairman of the Legislative Audit Commission, called the governor's travel an "enormous waste" and noted that it amounted to more than a teacher's annual salary.

Illinois has an Executive Mansion in Springfield, and past governors have either lived in the capital or at least stayed there while the Legislature was in session. Blagojevich lives in Chicago and prefers to go home at the end of each day.

Lawmakers typically meet in Springfield three days a week, and Blagojevich has been flying to Springfield each day. If he arrived at the start of each week's session and stayed at the Executive Mansion until the end, the cost of his flights would be about two-thirds less.

[mommajomma-2009]

he must be cbs" ''token'' bad democrat.
well, along with the 100,000 dollar freezer money fellow. thats two. i'm surprised to see the "D" by his name.

[middle_class]

Milorad Blagojevich "Blago" thinks Chicago is the State of Illinois. Not only are our citizens footing the bill so he can fly back and forth daily, we have a beautiful Governor's Mansion that we are paying for also. By the way, his "baby" is now 4 or 5 years old now.

Blago is married to the former Patricia Mell, daughter of influential Chicago Alderman Richard Mell. It%u2019s the wife that doesn%u2019t want to move far from Daddy.

He graduated from Chicago's Foreman High School after transferring from Lane Technical High School. After graduation, he enrolled at the University of Tampa because, with his lackluster grades and an ACT of 18 or 19, he could not get into a more prestigious school.

In October 2005, the State of Illinois had $1.4 billion in overdue medical bills, yet in November 2005, Blagojevich created two new government agencies and signed the All Kids health insurance bill into law.

On June 30, 2006, it was revealed that state Attorney General Lisa Madigan had received a letter from United States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, stating that Fitzgerald is looking into "very serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud" in the Blagojevich administration, and thanking Madigan for turning over her office's investigation to the federal authorities. Madigan later stated that she could not endorse Blagojevich because of her office's role in the investigation.

Check out Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Blagojevich

[middle_class]

Milorad Blagojevich "Blago" thinks Chicago is the State of Illinois. Not only are our citizens footing the bill so he can fly back and forth daily, we have a beautiful Governor's Mansion that we are paying for also. By the way, his "baby" is now 4 or 5 years old now.

Blago is married to the former Patricia Mell, daughter of influential Chicago Alderman Richard Mell. Look him up in Wikipedia - you will see what a loser he has been all his life.

[peacethinker-2009]

Politicians and BS, what a pair. Guess all we can ever hope for is the lesser of many evils out of them.

[cantshutup]

he looks like fred flinstone with that stupid hair

[hungry1968]

But to me, and it's a particular viewpoint, I can't argue with the family aspect of his situation. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't uproot my small child either.
Posted by cozzicon at 10:29 AM : Jun 23, 2007

If his family is that important to him that it affects his job, then he should quit or better yet he should never have run in the first place.
Do the soldiers in Iraq have the option of coming home every night? It's all part of the job requirement - get over it or quit.

[cozzicon]

"..and I say, you must have a personal connection to Blagojevich. That's the only way you can defend this blatant waste."


Not at all... I didn't even vote for the guy.

But to me, and it's a particular viewpoint, I can't argue with the family aspect of his situation. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't uproot my small child either.

[bm6005]

String 'em up. He knew when he ran what was required. Also, worrying about moving an infant, give me a break!!

[oleander8]

"...I say the state of Illinois owes him the transport." [Posted by cozzicon]

...and I say, you must have a personal connection to Blagojevich. That's the only way you can defend this blatant waste.

[hypnotoad72]

What a twerp.

More amusingly, what would Al Gore have to say on this fella's wasting of resources?

Most amusingly are folks defending this behavior. Childrens' lives get uprooted all the time. But children are more readily adaptable. Besides, bob757200's post about other politicians who have their own plane makes the most sense. A politician can most definitely afford it.