ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
From NPR News, this is All Things Considered. I'm Robert Siegel.
MICHELE NORRIS, host:
And I'm Michele Norris. We're going to begin this half hour with the rocky political career of the Democratic governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich. Even before this scandal erupted, Governor Blagojevich was already under a cloud in Illinois. His administration was the target of several federal investigations. He was constantly battling with the legislature. And some polls showed that his approval ratings had sunk below 10 percent. Ray Long is a reporter with The Chicago Tribune. He's long been covering the Blagojevich administration. He joins us now from Springfield, Illinois. Welcome to the program.
Mr. RAY LONG (Reporter, Chicago Tribune): Thank you, Michele.
NORRIS: Now, in a recent profile that you wrote in the newspaper, you noted that, quote, "few who attended his inauguration could have predicted he would crash so hard." What was his reputation before he ran for governor?
Mr. LONG: Well, one of the things was that he ran so hard as a reformer because the prior Republican governor, George Ryan, had left under a cloud. And eventually he was convicted of corruption charges too. He is currently sitting in federal prison in Indiana. So Blagojevich had everything going with him when he tried to come in and become the first Democrat in Illinois to be governor in 26 years.
NORRIS: So he was fairly popular when he first came into office. He would travel throughout the state on these statewide tours, and lots of people would show up to meet him.
Mr. LONG: Right.
NORRIS: He had very high approval ratings.
Mr. LONG: Right.
NORRIS: A biography in the Chicago magazine, a popular magazine, carried this headline, "Mr. Unpopular." That was back in February before the current scandal broke. What happened?
Mr. LONG: Well, it just kept getting worse and worse and curiouser and curiouser. The real problem here was that he came down to Springfield and wanted things his way or the highway, according to lawmakers. Repeatedly, he got into rifts with lawmakers. He couldn't get what he wanted in the legislature. He would call for major business tax. And repeatedly his things were shot down. And in fact, that business tax, which he wanted to raise $6 billion in one year, that was defeated 107 to nothing.
NORRIS: Help us understand something. The governor's office was already the target of a probe before the Senate scandal broke. Why was he under investigation at that time?
Mr. LONG: Well, he was under an investigation for hiring irregularities. Some of his financial issues had been investigated. Tony Rezko, who was a convicted adviser of the governor, had also been a fundraiser of the governor. And Rezko's trial had been a high watermark, if you will, of bad things that were going on in the administration.
NORRIS: And his wife was also under investigation.
Mr. LONG: His wife was under investigation too, Trisha Blagojevich, because she is a realtor, and there were questions raised as to whether the pay-to-play scheme was being done to help her sell property in exchange for things that could get done for the owners of this property in the state government.
NORRIS: I'm interested in Blagojevich's rise through the political ranks in Chicago. And it sounds like his father-in-law, this long-time North Side Chicago alderman, had a lot to do with that.
Mr. LONG: Richard Mell is the kingmaker in the 33rd Ward of Chicago. He's on the City Council. He helped Rod Blagojevich become a state rep. He walked around City Hall explaining to all the reporters there at that time, hey, this is how you say Blagojevich. Then he helped Blagojevich become a congressman. And then he ultimately helped him become governor of the state of Illinois.
NORRIS: What's their relationship now?
Mr. LONG: It is strained. They have had a very awkward relationship. In fact, the alderman does not even get to see his family at times.
NORRIS: Ray Long is a reporter for The Chicago Tribune. He's been speaking to us about Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Ray, thanks so much.
Mr. LONG: Thank you, Michele. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.