Blago and Loopholes

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and his coiffure appointed former Illinois attorney general, Roland Burris, to fill the Illinois Senate seat vacated by president-elect Barack Obama.  Illinois’s Secretary of State said he would not certify the appointment.  Harry Reid et al. threatened (for a few days anyway) to not seat Mr. Burris.  Oh, the weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, along with the legal challenges.  Dear friends, this series of events and bottomless Bermuda Triangle are what we get when there are loopholes.  The governor, under cloud though he may be, is still the governor.  He has the authority to appoint a replacement.  If that replacement is qualified, the Secretary of State must certify.  The U.S. Senate must then seat those who are certified by their states for Senate seats. 

You have here your basic series of events born of loopholes that no one could anticipate and which are not closed easily.  When there are such loopholes, we depend on moral restraint, sweet ethics, to stop us from taking advantage of an unfortunate situation.  Without that restraint, we unleash forces that undermine stability, the rule of law, and orderly governmental transitions. Live by the loopholes, die by the loopholes.  Hedge funds swirled in a massive regulatory no-mans land.  Live by that loophole, and we now die by that loophole (or at least lose a great deal of money there). Blago failed to exercise the moral restraint a governor under a cloud should have.  Mr. Burris might have refused the appointment with a simple, “Not under this cloud.” But, neither Mr. Burris’s seizing the moment nor the governor’s chutzpah is grounds for the Secretary of State, the Senate, or any other officials to toss legalities to the wind.  The Secretary of State had previously certified the governor’s order for a special election to fill the House seat vacated by Mr. Rahm Emanuel.  No hue and cry on that one.  And the legislature could have opted for that closure on this loophole with a special election for the U.S. Senate seat.  But, the legislators relied on moral restraint being exercised by someone who is under a cloud of suspicion of untoward and perhaps felonious behavior.  Bad move that resulted in a worse move by that governor, but, it is checkmate. Mr. Burris wins by a loophole.   

About mmjdiary

Professor Marianne Jennings is an emeritus professor of legal and ethical studies from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, retiring in 2011 after 35 years of teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in ethics and the legal environment of business. During her tenure at ASU, she served as director of the Joan and David Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics from 1995-1999. In 2006, she was appointed faculty director for the W.P. Carey Executive MBA Program. She has done consulting work for businesses and professional groups including AICPA, Boeing, Dial Corporation, Edward Jones, Mattel, Motorola, CFA Institute, Southern California Edison, the Institute of Internal Auditors, AIMR, DuPont, AES, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Motorola, Hy-Vee Foods, IBM, Bell Helicopter, Amgen, Raytheon, and VIAD. The sixth edition of her textbook, Case Studies in Business Ethics, was published in February 2011. The ninth edition of her textbook, Business: lts Legal, Ethical and Global Environment was published in January 2011. The 23rd edition of her book, Business Law: Principles and Cases, will be published in January 2013. The tenth edition of her book, Real Estate Law, will also be published in January 2013. Her book, A Business Tale: A Story of Ethics, Choices, Success, and a Very Large Rabbit, a fable about business ethics, was chosen by Library Journal in 2004 as its business book of the year. A Business Tale was also a finalist for two other literary awards for 2004. In 2000 her book on corporate governance was published by the New York Times MBA Pocket Series. Her book on long-term success, Building a Business Through Good Times and Bad: Lessons from Fifteen Companies, Each With a Century of Dividends, was published in October 2002 and has been used by Booz, Allen, Hamilton for its work on business longevity. Her latest book, The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse was published by St. Martin’s Press in July 2006 and has been a finalist for two book awards. Her weekly columns are syndicated around the country, and her work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Reader's Digest. A collection of her essays, Nobody Fixes Real Carrot Sticks Anymore, first published in 1994 is still being published. She has been a commentator on business issues on All Things Considered for National Public Radio. She has served on four boards of directors, including Arizona Public Service (1987-2000), Zealous Capital Corporation, and the Center for Children with Chronic Illness and Disability at the University of Minnesota. She was appointed to the board of advisors for the Institute of Nuclear Power Operators in 2004 and served on the board of trustees for Think Arizona, a public policy think tank. She has appeared on CNBC, CBS This Morning, the Today Show, and CBS Evening News. In 2010 she was named one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Business Ethics by Trust Across America. Her books have been translated into four different languages. She received the British Emerald award for authoring one of their top 50 articles in management publications, chosen from over 15,000 articles. Personal: Married since 1976 to Terry H. Jennings, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Deputy County Attorney; five children: Sarah, Sam, and John, and the late Claire and Hannah Jennings.
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