MADISON - ST. CLAIR RECORD

I will admit; over the last several weeks my faith in the ability of Chicago Democrats to run Illinois state government had been shaken.

I have always tried to be a "Yes We Can" kind of guy like, say, Tony Rezko? But I had started to give in to the cynics.

I began to believe that maybe Illinois truly was little more than a feudal kleptocracy where absolute primogeniture had replaced popular elections as the pathway to public office. I actually started to think that the problems with Illinois' political culture might extend beyond Blagojevich. Can you fathom such a thing?

My mind careened from one unhealthy notion to another. Could corruption be driving businesses and jobs from our state? I wonder if the Chicago Public Schools could be performing better.

I am not proud of succumbing to these doubts. I was weak.

Perhaps we are overtaxed?

I couldn't stop myself.

Is it possible that Todd Stroger is not the best person to be put in charge of $3 billion worth of government?

My nerves were frayed. I was nearing breakdown. And then...it happened.

The Illinois House voted to impeach Rod Blagojevich.

Two words: political courage.

Faced with a governor slightly less popular than rectal cancer, Chicago Democrats up and down the political food chain who twice supported Blagojevich's election moved with righteous urgency to try and salvage their careers.

It was the kind of inspired, fairy-tale bravery the likes of which I have not seen since Barack Obama renounced Jeremiah Wright as his spiritual North Star.

So rest easy, Illinois. Normalcy is right around the corner. From Zion in the north to Cairo in the south, the Blagojevich curtain that had descended across Illinois is about to be lifted.

With Blagojevich gone, the innovative, low-tax, job-creating, puritanical Chicago Democrats who have so beautifully handled the Roland Burris affair and other matters of state during their long-running tenure are poised to usher in a period of untold prosperity for Illinoisans.

And if you believe any of what I've just said, I've got a reasonably priced U.S. Senate seat to sell you.