They had him.  They could’ve stopped him, and they didn’t.  Why does it take the whole nation watching to get Illinois Democrats to get off their backsides and do the right thing?  The truth is, Governor Helmet Head had so many protectors in the house and senate that it took the feds coming in to start to clean up the mess that should’ve been handled in state long ago.  From the Chicago Tribune:

Once Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested, Illinois lawmakers scrambled to begin the job of removing him from office. But they could have tried that long ago, or taken smaller steps to rein in a governor known at the state Capitol as a “madman” and dictator.

Talk of impeachment began in the summer of 2007 but never had support from more than a handful of lawmakers. A move to let voters consider recall of unpopular officials was scuttled by a Blagojevich ally in the state Senate.

Formal investigations of the governor’s management — something along the lines of congressional inquiries into the Bush administration’s handling of Hurricane Katrina — were rare and largely toothless.

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