"Hiring Case Against Governor Dropped"

“A judge on Thursday dismissed accusation that Gov. X violated state hiring laws, allowing him to get out of a long running legal jam without personal punishment.”

Don’t the supporters of Governor Rod Blagojevich wish this headline and lead sentence were about him?

I guess I’m the only one in Illinois that thinks the parallels between the patronage problems of Kentucky’s Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher and Blagojevich’s merit more than a couple of paragraphs. (The headline above is taken from a small article in the Chicago Tribune on Friday.)

Just in case others are interested, here is a why the Democratic Party’s Attorney General decided to dismiss the case, here’s a column by former reporter Al Cross in the Courier-Journal.

Part of the reason was that

following an Executive Branch Ethics Commission opinion, had said he (the attorney general) would not run against Fletcher as long as his office was prosecuting the Governor. (Kentucky’s governor’s election is in 2007.)

And, here’s an interesting paragraph tid-bit:

It may have been telling that the agreement says the administration acted "without malice." Democrats targeted in the scheme would probably disagree.

A second column by Courier-Jouirnal columnist Bob Hill is more biting:

Did you ever think Kentucky would reach the condition where it almost missed the moral turpitude of "Crying" Paul Patton -- the previous occupant of the governor's throne?

And, more:

He (the governor) claims the secret negotiations cleared him of all charges and exonerated him of all allegations, a technical truth marred only by the fact that he'll never sell that self-serving garbage to anyone outside his political family.

So, governor, who has been at the helm of the Starship Kentucky the past few years -- Mr. Spock?

If you think Illinois columnists are tough on Blagojevich, this one is harder on Kentucky’s GOP governor.

And, of course, in Illinois not even the governor's father-in-law believes him.

Previous articles comparing Fletcher and Blagojevich here and here.

And, more on the Gay Games not yet having paid its bills in Crystal Lake at McHenry County Blog.