It may be obvious to most politically savvy people, but I think it's worth highlighting the reason why Illinois politics can produce something like a Blagojevich.  At the federal level, there are a whole host of laws that limit the ability of the White House or the Congress to completely politicize the federal workforce, to turn every job at every level into a patronage position.  Bush has certainly done his best to undermine this separation -- notably in the "privatization" of government functions to politically connected contractors, something he could have learned from, say, the mayor's office in Chicago.  But the protection of government function from the extremes of patronage still holds.  And it's not an accident.  It was part of a hard-fought reform movement from generations ago.  Next time you complain about an impersonal bureaucrat, remember that the likely alternative is an impersonal political hack that you have to bribe. 

So, the problem with Illinois at EVERY level, state, county and city, is that it has few if any laws and regulations limiting everyday government business from political influence.   The federal courts have had an order limiting patronage in the City of Chicago for decades, with constant court oversight, and yet there is every evidence that the court supervision has been almost completely ineffective.  Until Illinois has its own version of the Hatch Act, until its cities and counties stop handing out garbage collector jobs as political favors, until there are real limits on large campaign donations by individuals and groups, we can expect to see more Illinois governors arrested, indicted, tried and imprisoned in the future.    Oh well.  If you can't give them bread, give them circuses...