Must Reads: The GOP’s Culture of Corruption Spreads to the Midwest

GOP leader calls for Kjellander's resignation

August 17, 2005
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

Illinois' top Republican lawmaker has called for the resignation of the GOP's national treasurer, whose role helping an investment firm land business with the state teacher pension fund is under scrutiny from federal investigators.

House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, said although Robert Kjellander has not been accused of wrongdoing, he fears the $4.5 million being paid to Kjellander to help a company win a contract with the Illinois Teachers Retirement System creates "an appearance of impropriety."

Kjellander "has become a lightning rod and a punching bag for the Democratic Party," Cross said Tuesday. "For a party that is rebuilding, we cannot let that go on." …

Cross said the negative publicity stemming from the scrutiny of Kjellander's work would detract from the state GOP's quest to recover from a string of scandals, including the indictment of former Gov. George Ryan.

To read the full article, go to: http://www.suntimes.com/output/elect/17resign.html

Taft faces 4 charges; court appearance scheduled for today

By James Drew and Steve Eder
BLADE STAFF WRITERS

COLUMBUS — Gov. Bob Taft, his administration battered for months by scandal and accusations of corruption, yesterday became Ohio’s first governor to face criminal charges as prosecutors accused him of violating ethics law.

Mr. Taft knowingly failed to disclose on his state-mandated ethics forms dozens of golf outings and gifts he received from businessmen and lobbyists, prosecutors said. …

With the charges, Mr. Taft not only becomes Ohio’s first governor to have a head-on brush with the law, but he also becomes the highest-ranking state official to become entangled in the legal side of the scandal that began in the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation more than four months ago.

To read the full article, go to: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20050818&Category=NEWS24&ArtNo=50818003&SectionCat=&Template=printart