 |
| CELLINI: Planning for his future |
For
it seems that the Springfield resident who for decades has used his fundraising
skills and political contacts to benefit political candidates of both major
parties (even though he himself was a Republican) is no longer occupying space
at the federal correctional center in Terre Haute, Ind.
IN
FACT, CELLINI was released from the minimum-security work camp near the maximum-security
prison last week on Halloween!
Just
think, I could have celebrated the holiday by going as Cellini himself, perhaps wearing an ornate "Pope-like" ring so that other politicos could come and kiss it! Of
course, there probably would have been a few confused people who would have
wondered why an old fool like myself was going disguised as an even older
person whom they probably never paid much attention to during his decades of
service in and around government.
Cellini
is now doing the halfway house portion of federal rehabilitation, where he
theoretically will spend this month at a Salvation Army facility on the West
Side – getting himself acclimated to life in proper society.
His
366-day prison sentence that he began serving in January won’t technically end
until Dec. 5 – yes, Bill behaved himself in prison and qualified for 47 days
off his sentence for good behavior.
FOR
THE RECORD, the actions that finally got Cellini put away following a career
being associated with government that dates back to the early 1970s involved
now-incarcerated former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
 |
| VRDOLYAK: Cellini's urban counterpart? |
Cellini
used his contacts to raise money for the Blagojevich campaign (much of which
wound up paying for the legal defense during his two trials), and it was
claimed during Cellini’s trial that he approached an investment firm to solicit
money with promises that the firm would get to handle state teacher pension
funds.
Personally,
I think the Blagojevich ties are a miniscule part of the Cellini career – which
has mostly consisted of being the guy to whom the government officials turn
when they want something done.
After
all, he hasn’t held any electoral posts anywhere outside of Springfield – and those
were in municipal government back in the 1960s. Within state government, he is
a former director of Public Works and Buildings and served two years as the
first-ever head of the Illinois Department of Transportation.
 |
| ROSTENKOWSKI: Elder statesman? |
BUT
THE ELECTION of Dan Walker (insert bad joke about Walker’s eventual criminal
conviction here) in 1972 as governor brought that to an end.
Although
he served as the treasurer of the Sangamon County Republican Party, he really
became the corporate type who made himself some money while also indulging
himself in politics as a hobby of sorts.
Which
means what Cellini really became was the guy who worked with decades worth of
government officials, seeing the way things worked. Some argue exposure to all
that power throughout the years made him cross the line to criminal behavior.
To
me, it makes me wonder if Cellini really ought to be compared to one-time House
Ways and Means Chair Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill., and former 10th Ward
Alderman and Cook County Democratic Chairman (who converted himself to
Republicanism later in life) Ed Vrdolyak.
ROSTENKOWSKI
LITERALLY SPENT the rest of his life after completing his prison time in the 1990s
being the elder statesman of the Chicago “Machine.”
How
many times did we see him pop up on an Election Day until his death in 2010 for
instant analysis of what the voter tallies really meant? Or use his positions
as a Northwestern University lecturer and Loyola University senior fellow to
influence the way future generations of people perceived politics? Is Cellini destined for similar use at the University of Illinois' Springfield campus?
Vrdolyak
these days crops up occasionally in a similar role. Is this the ultimate fate
for Cellini? Are Vrdolyak/Cellini destined to become the colorfully-tainted
political pundits from Chicago/downstate?
We’ll
be waiting to see the outcome.
-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment