Making Blago a shoe-in

A reader suggests leaving shoes on the Governor’s front lawn.

Former Chicagoan Dave Buchen writes to express his frustration at the failure of Illinois’s political class to get off the dime on the Blagojevich affair, and offers two suggestions, which I pass along to my Illinois readers with my hearty endorsement. #1 is especially fiendish. I like it!

1. The governor claims that he won’t step down because the people of Illinois elected him to do a job. It is therefore the duty of the people of Illinois to show him that they don’t want him to do that job.

Pick a date, let’s say Saturday January 17th, and go to his house in Ravenswood manor and leave a shoe on his front lawn. Will it take 100,000 shoes? 200,000? Half a million? How many people want him to go?

2. Adopt of a simple sign for everyone who feels the rascal must go to wear. A green piece of clothing, perhaps? Green means go, and the addition of a green scarf or hat or ribbon during these cold months would be an easy and effective way to show that he is no longer welcome to serve.

I have several shoes I’d be happy to contribute to the task. Wearing green sounds great, but clothing can be misinterpreted. How about green ribbons?

Would any Illinois reader like to organize this? Even if it didn’t move Blago out any faster, just the expression of outrage would be a civic benefit.

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com