Let's Be Franks

Is State Representative Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) thinking off challenging Governor Rod Blagojevich in the state Democratic primary in 2006?

Franks comments in the SJ-R and in a broadcast interview nake me wonder. Franks has been very critical of Blago in general and the CMS scandal in particular.

From Beard Schoenburg's column in the SJ-R today:

In an interview this week, I asked Franks if Blagojevich deserves a second term as governor.

"At this time, I couldn't give him a high enough grade to support him for a second term," Franks said.

Franks is not a household name in Illinois, and he said he won't even think about what he'll do in the 2006 election until after the legislative session. But asked if he should be mentioned as a possible candidate for governor, he said, "I can tell you a lot of people are talking," and he is "getting a lot of solicitation" in that direction.

Well, he sure sounds like he's gunning for Blagojevich's job:

"What the governor is trying to do is run the government entirely out of his office and CMS, and circumventing the General Assembly," Franks said. "I'm looking at this as a way to take the government back and restore the checks and balances that we should have."

And Franks is, intentionally or otherwise, appealing to Springfieldians who feel slighted by Blagojevich's preference for Chicago living:

"I must have missed that day that we decided to move government out of Springfield and move it to Chicago," Franks said. "I mean, when there are session days and the governor decides to come down, I mean, what is the cost to the state when he's flying his entire staff back and forth twice a week, and the per diems we have to pay for the (staff) down here? It's a little crazy."

This is interesting coming from Franks, whose McHenry County home is part of the far Chicago suburbs. But Franks said he believes Illinois state government was set up to be based in Springfield.

Yesterday, on WMAY's Mike Wilson show, Franks was soliciting State workers to call him (Franks) to report any misdeeds in State government that might need looking into during hearings he has scheduled next week probing the CMS mess. I thought that was kind of ballsy. I hope he gets some takers.