Burgess - All this money and no one to spend it on

I'm surprised no one is saying much about this story.

From what I can tell, Burgess has given nearly $100,000 to Lauzen over the course of the State Senator's career, along with large sums of money to other politicians. During this time the other politicians have returned the money, Obama and Clinton are two of the largest names but the list also includes various "saints" in politics such as Rod Blagojevich, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle and NY AG Andrew Cuomo.

Taking a cursory look at things, it seems that not only was Sen. Lauzen the only career politician to not return the money so soon but he was also the only Republican to receive money from John Burgess and/or his company. Why is this? In the story, Sen. Lauzen claims he doesn't know all the facts to merit a decision of Burgess' guilt or innocence. But this isn't the first time Burgess has been on the wrong side of the law. In the 80's, he was busted for larceny and soliciting a minor.

Granted, that was 20 years ago, but just paying attention to things like the BBB's report and the response from the rest of the political world (all of whom had already distanced themselves from this man), you could see that rehabilitation probably wasn't of much interest. When the big-name politicians, especially Sen. Lauzen's good friend Barack Obama, are saying "no thanks" to money from Burgess it is time to start thinking about how important it is to have this "friend" help you out.

Lauzen - Is he just NOW starting to lose it?

There is no better way to start a blog than to comment on the insane. Usually, it takes some research before finding the right type of insanity. Fortunately for us, however, State Sen. Chris Lauzen (R-Aurora, Ill.) has made it so easy.

To start, Sen. Lauzen was questioned about securing Rose Bowl tickets from the president of the University of Illinois. While he was questioned, Lauzen pretty much lost it and lashed out at the reporter. My favorite part reads:

"Lauzen said he made a mistake running for office 16 years ago, saying politics is a 'crappy business' that has cost his family millions of dollars."

Imagine what would happen if a (God-forbid) Rep. Lauzen (R-Ill.) was asked about funding for some project he thought to be innocuous.

But this isn't the first I have heard of Sen. Lauzen's irrational behavior. Remember the week former House Speaker Denny Hastert announced his endorsement of Jim Oberweis?

First, we have a letter to Speaker Hastert asking him to not endorse anyone during the primary. In this letter he praises the Speaker for his years of services and anyone would be honored by the endorsement.

Then, after the endorsement, Sen. Lauzen has the audacity to attack Speaker Hastert on the years of service he had lauded just a few days earlier. And I thought flip-flopping went out with U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.)

It's hard to say the Senator's behavior is isolated with the campaign, however. In 2004, this police file (continued here and here) shows the State Senator who regrets ever running for office with a bit of a temper. Note: I have yet to post the entire police report, having only published three pages so far. I intend to have all 18 pages uploaded very soon.

In this report, it is easy to see Sen. Lauzen's temper is quite short. In the combination of just these three factors, it is plain to see that not only is the temper short but also that the behavior is uncharacteristic of a legislator.

I wonder if he can get a legislative perk at the psychiatric hospital?