Blago to Rummy: I Got Your F-16s Right Here

The governor has raised the stakes in the effort to keep the F-16s of the 183rd Fighter Wing in Springfield. He's basically told the Pentagon that he isn't going to give his permission to move them to Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich put the Pentagon on formal notice Monday that he will not approve its proposed move of F-16 fighter aircraft from the 183rd Fighter Wing in Springfield to Indiana.

In a letter sent to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, the governor argued that under federal law if he does not consent to the realignment, the change can not legally be made.

Blagojevich said that without the F-16 fighters in Springfield, the 183rd Fighter Wing at Abraham Lincoln Capitol Airport would no longer have a flying mission, even though the state needs it for dealing with potential threats to homeland security.

"Those F-16 fighter jets should stay in a central location, in a central part of our state, in a central part of our country, rather than move them east to Indiana and make them further away from places like Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City," Blagojevich said during an afternoon news conference.

I suspect the feds will pay no attention but I'm glad to see Blagojevich make the effort. Of course, a cynic might suggest Blagojevich can only gain politically here in Illinois for taking the stand. How about the governor tell Rumsfeld he can't have any Illinois National Guard troops for Iraq either, until he admits he screwed the pooch and comes up with a coherent plan for getting out someday.