Cold Fish Blago Made Few Allies in Home State

Rod Blagejovich made little effort to forge bonds with Illinois lawmakers, and that cold shoulder is helping them go untainted by his scandal, Politico reports. "It makes it plausible for people to say, ‘I really didn’t have much contact with him,’” one analyst said. Still, state Congress members were frustrated as they waited weeks for him to return calls, only to have Blago pretend there had been no delay.

When Blagojevich became governor 5 years ago, Sen. Richard Durbin waited 24 days for an answer to his courtesy call before letting him know not to call back. “I have never seen a governor deal with the federal officeholders in this way," a Durbin aide said. Now in hot water, Blagojevich has few state allies. His inability to return calls "has really left him where there is not anybody standing up and defending him," one state rep said.
(More Jan Schakowsky stories.)