“IF MY SON IS STRUCK BY A BOLT OF LIGHTNING, I WILL BLAME SOME OF THE PEOPLE HERE.”

10/21/09

Yesterday brought news of a plea agreement of Alonzo “Lon” Monk in connection with the case against the latest accused felon to head the executive branch of Illinois state government. Mr. Monk, former law school roommate, campaign manager, and chief of staff of former Governor Rod Blagojevich, pled guilty to one count of mail fraud, thereby cutting his stay at federally funded housing in half, and agreed to testify against Mr. Blagojevich. Mr. Monk, about as inside in the Blago administration as anyone could be, will reportedly tell of several money making schemes that make the characters in my book, The Chairman, A Novel of Big City Politics, look like pikers by comparison. These schemes include shaking down race track owners, directing bond business to an underwriter (according to court documents, Bear Stearns) that was willing to pay over $800,000 in bribes, and having Patty Blagojevich apply her renowned real estate expertise to the marketing of a prime 62 acre plot in the south Loop. Okay, maybe the Chairman’s and the Reverend James Monroe’s score on Jack Smith’s project west of the downtown area of the fictional town in my novel was provided a bigger payoff than most of the deals contemplated by Messrs. Blagojevich, Monk, Rezko, et. al., but, remember, Messrs. Collins, Monroe, and Smith are fictional characters!

Several thoughts come to mind as one contemplates Mr. Monk’s cooperation:

--I am not a lawyer, but, as I said when the Blago case started unfolding, this doesn’t look like an open and shut case against our wonderboy former Governor. While a sane and rational person could easily conclude that Mr. Blagojevich has done something wrong, perhaps even evil, and certainly idiotic, it is up to the legal system to determine if he has done something illegal. So far, the feds’ case is composed primarily of testimony of people like Messrs. Rezko and Monk, who are making deals to shorten their stays in federal dwelling facilities. The local U.S. Attorney’s office has shown, especially in the Family Secrets Outfit trial, an amazing ability to put people away on the testimony of felons, but the Blago case looks a bit dicier. We shall see; I never thought the case against Mr. Blagojevich’s predecessor, George Ryan, was all that strong, either, and I could be similarly wrong on this one.

--Mr. Monk will doubtless be a key, and interesting, witness, but his material is limited to affairs concocted by the rank amateur Mr. Blagojevich. A far more interesting witness from a broader perspective is the man who followed Mr. Monk as Mr. Blagojevich’s chief of staff, John Harris. (See my now seminal 12/13/08 post, “I TRUST THESE MEN WITH MY LIFE, SENATOR. TO ASK THEM TO LEAVE NOW WOULD BE AN INSULT.”) Before making perhaps the worst career move in modern history by signing on as Blago’s chief if staff in a fit of pique over not getting the job as Mayor Daley’s chief of staff, Mr. Harris held a number of jobs in the Daley administration, including a big post in the Aviation Department, which, as I said in that 12/13/08 post, is “supposedly a nest of corruption.” While Mr. Harris may not be able to sing as clearly as Mr. Monk when it comes to Mr. Blagojevich, one suspects that the real power structure in this state is much more concerned about Mr. Harris.

--Perhaps Messrs. Monk and Harris should be kept in protective custody in order to keep them away from self storage facilities in the south suburbs.