As Blago falls, suburban lawmakers rise
As Gov. Rod Blagojevich's political career appears headed to go down in flames, lawmakers lighting the fire are hoping to rise from the ashes.
Suburban lawmakers from Marengo to Western Springs who have long criticized Blagojevich have found a new sense of legitimacy and more publicity than their position on the political ladder normally commands.
Some are expected to use that platform to launch bids to move up that ladder and gain power.
"Who would have thought two months ago the biggest political story coming out of Illinois would be about Blaogojevich and not (President Barack) Obama," says Paul Green, political professor at Roosevelt University. "It is just logical the people who are dealing with taking him down would be big time players. This is an international story."
Take state Sen. Matt Murphy, a Palatine Republican who has spent most of his two years in office giving voice to suburban frustration with government.
Following Blagojevich's most recent news conference, Murphy took the same podium to refute the governor's claims that the impeachment process was unfair - sending his message through national cable outlets and local networks and cementing his voice in news articles across the country.
The day before, he landed a guest spot on the respected "Chicago Tonight" program on public access channel WTTW.
And when Diane Sawyer was interviewing Blagojevich Monday on "Good Morning America," it was Murphy who she patched to via satellite for a real time rebuttal.
"The suggestion that this is somehow unfair to the governor is the most self serving, ludicrous statement I have ever heard in my life," Murphy told the watching nation. "It couldn't be fairer for this guy."
It is little wonder then why GOP insiders are looking to Murphy to run against Chicago Democrat Todd Stroger for Cook County Board president.
Murphy is certainly not the only politician to benefit in the midst of scandal.
State Rep. Jim Durkin, a Western Springs Republican who failed in a statewide run against Dick Durbin for U.S. Senate, has made a comeback in the House helping to lead the impeachment panel. He organized John McCain's Illinois campaign and is expected to make another statewide run down the road.
State Rep. Jack Franks, a Marengo Democrat, has long been a knee-jerk critic of Blagojevich, so much so that the governor's press staff would roll their eyes when his name came up.
But the impeachment trial has given his criticisms weight. He sat on the House's impeachment committee and was even scheduled to testify against the governor in the Senate trial until it was scrapped to reduce redundancy in the prosecution's case.
Franks has talked about running for governor himself.
In addition, state Rep. John Fritchey, a Chicago Democrat, has gained considerable airtime to blast the governor as a member of the impeachment panel. Snippets of Geraldo Rivera shouting down Fritchey on Fox News are making the rounds on the Internet.
Fritchey is running for Congress in the 5th District to replace outgoing Rahm Emanuel.
"For many of these legislators it is a chance to be there in the big time," notes Green. "Let's face it, the national media doesn't often cover the Illinois General Assembly."