Cui Boneheads-- Illinois Machine Keeps Rollin' Crookedly Along.

The Romans were wise; when looking at issues, they stressed the need to discern "Cui Bono?" or "To Who's Benefit?" Whenever I read news about the Illinois political landscape, my brain literally screams "Cui Bono, bro?" (my inner mind has a touch of the Jerz, I guess). I mean, Illinois is the land of the criminal governor; the home of 28 convicted Chicago aldermen. The list of crookedness can go on...and on... and on.

So, I was not surprised when I read that Illinois Speaker Mike Madigan proposed doing away with the office of Lieutenant Governor in a Constitutional amendment. "Why weren't you surprised?" you ask. Well, because I knew (after a brief refresher) that the elimination of the Lieutenant Governor's office would result in the Attorney General becoming the first in line of Gubernatorial succession. No big deal, right? Wrong-- Lil Mikey's daughter just so happens to be the current Attorney General. And, she is running pretty much unopposed for another term (and will continue to run unopposed for the foreseeable future).

This leads me to wonder: what dirt do the Mad Madigans have on Patrick Quinn and/or his Republican competitors?

Illinois-- the Land of Political Creepin'.

Czech Law School Infiltrated by Mafia?

Apparently so, according to The Prague Post, and now "[t]he safety of the state is 'threatened' amid growing fears of mafia influence in key sectors of society after allegations that degrees were conferred after just a few months' study." The alleged infiltration's scope seems vast:

"You have to understand what is going on down there," Vladimíra Dvořáková, chairwoman of the Accreditation Commission that oversees standards in universities, said. "It is not about one politician giving an envelope to the faculty to get a degree. It concerns property worth billions of crowns to the Czech state. The Plzeň dean was also a director at the State and Law Department of the Academy of Sciences, a position of a huge importance. He gave expert opinions in areas relating to property owned by the state."

One has to wonder if the guy who came up with this scheme has seen The Departed...

The Government Should Avoid Practicing Unprotected Witnessing...

Today's FAD is based upon an ongoing trial visited by Yours Truly earlier today.

For those keeping track at home, U.S. Atty Patrick Fitzgerald (who is like a modern day Wyatt Earp) and his office recently concluded the Family Secrets case resulting in the destruction of one of Chicago's Mafia Families (called The Outfit). Well, during the prosecution of that case, it was learned that an officer in the Witness Protection Program was feeding the Mob information about a former mobster-turned cooperating informant. Fitzgerald's office is now prosecuting the Marshal who acted as the alleged leak. Suffice to say, this case is a really big deal. I'll keep you posted as to the end result.