When Blagojevich Aide Was in Du Quoin Two Years Ago They Seemed on Same Page

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ When Gov. Rod Blagojevich's senior aide, Bob Arya, stood alongside Glenn Poshard and others on March 21, 2007 in the Du Quoin High School auditorium to pitch the governor's "Investing in Families" program you have to now wonder if Arya believed then the things he told a panel in Springfield considering the governor's impeachment on Thursday.

Arya, the polished former broadcaster and investigative reporter who signed on as the governor's top aide in November 2006, spoke to over 500 in the Du Quoin High School auditorium on that day.

Earlier that morning, the governor himself had spoken at a meeting of ministers in Chicago and told him that "Investing in Families" was more than an economic plan--it was a religious crusade.

Blagojevich invoked God, and spoke of crusades and moral imperatives as dozens of ministers endorsed his health care and education spending plan."This is more than a fight. ... This is a crusade," the governor told ministers.

The governor's foot soldier who came to Du Quoin in March 2007 gave investigators a probably clearer picture of what the governor was both then and now.

On Thursday, Arya said if you call the governor at home during the work day, never let the phone ring more than three times. Be prepared for him to respond to your concern with the language of a "street thug."

Arya said in his view, Blagojevich "has failed the people of Illinois and needs to be removed from office by indictment, impeachment or resignation. Period."

The former Chicago TV journalist, who worked for Blagojevich from just after his 2006 re-election until October, said the Democrat set up a campaign to discredit his main legislative nemesis, house speaker Michael Madigan. He showed "unmitigated arrogance" in his liberal use of the state plane. And he threw aside with an expletive a letter written by a Senate Republican seeking clemency for a constituent.

"The tactics of this administration in many cases were beyond unacceptable - some were abusive, others arguably unconstitutional," Arya wrote in the unusual missive filed with the committee investigating removing Blagojevich.

But, in Du Quoin, Arya was supportive of the governor and his families initiative that ultimately found very little favor in the Illinois General Assembly. The plan would set up a gross sales tax in Illinois.

Arya's sour employment history with the administration taints his opinion, said Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero.

"I would hope that the Committee keeps in mind that Bob Arya is a disgruntled former employee who met with the governor less than five times but parlayed those limited meetings into a nine-page diatribe," Guerrero said in a statement. "Any testimony from a former employee who was asked to resign in lieu of being fired should be viewed with some skepticism."

Arya said he warned Blagojevich and chief of staff John Harris - both arrested Dec. 9 on federal corruption charges - against a concerted effort to embarrass House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, in which the goal was to "damage the Madigan brand."

He said Blagojevich often worked from home, instead of his offices in the Capitol or Chicago's Loop, dismissed use of the taxpayer-financed airplane by saying it "comes with the job," rarely communicated with Cabinet members, and was uninterested in clearing a backlog of about 2,000 petitions for clemency or meeting with foreign dignitaries, damaging the state's standing among diplomats.

The governor shut out anyone who crossed him, including Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, Arya said.

Arya requested a transfer to the head of communications in February.

When Arya was hired by the governor five months before his appearance at the Du Quoin rally, the governor commented, "Bob understands the challenges and issues that face families across Illinois - he's been covering them in-depth as a reporter for 17 years. His experience will be a real asset to my administration as we continue working to make life better for senior citizens, working people and their families over the next four years," said Gov. Blagojevich.

Arya's work had been recognized with the top awards in journalism, including Emmy and Associated Press awards as well as one of the most prestigious of all journalism awards - The Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi award for Public Service.

Arya said at his hiring, "I'm excited about the agenda Gov. Blagojevich has laid out for the next four years, and I look forward to working with him to fulfill goals like expanding health care and increasing the minimum wage again," said Arya.

Southern Illinois University president Glen Poshard stood alongside Arya in the same R.P. Hibbs Auditorium at the Du Quoin High School to endorse Gov. Rod Blagojevich's gross receipts tax on Illinois corporations, an untapped revenue stream the governor said could help fund healthcare, school construction and underfunded pension liabilities in Illinois.

The "Investing in Families" initiative would inject $10 billion into education over four years, build dozens of new schools, and take the edge off of Illinois' train wreck of unfunded pension liability and health care.

Poshard was calm and collected--the voice of reason--yet knowing that he was about to endorse a plan more controversial than most.

He let fairness speak for him. "We expect answers. We expect everyone to pay their fair share."

"How does it square that almost half of all corporations that made $50 million or more dollars in Illinois sales paid zero income tax?" the retired Illinois senator and member of congress told his audience of 300.

"And, how does it square that 37 of the Fortune 100 companies averaging $1.2 billion in sales in Illinois in 2004 (the last year for which their are established records) paid no Illinois state income taxes?"

The Investing in Families program included capital development money for a new Du Quoin High School, now a seven-year-old broken promise.