I am one of 13 million or so people in the state of Illinois who along with another few hundred million around the country and perhaps the globe, are watching in horror and fascination at the saga unfolding around the state’s (for the moment) leader and Governor, Rod Blagojevich.

In case you’ve missed the news for the past few days because you’ve been out holiday shopping or lobbying congress to bail out your finances, the Governor was arrested on a variety of conspiracy charges, not the least of which was that he appeared to believe that he could use his appointment power for the newly vacated senate seat of President-elect Obama to secure money, jobs, money and jobs for his wife, a cabinet appointment, a 501C3 Charity to be funded by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, and so forth.

Oh yeah, if he didn’t get what he wanted, he was going to appoint himself to the vacant Senate seat, a right that is within the Governor’s power. To say that this man has a slim hold on reality is putting it mildly.

If you’ve followed this story, you’ve undoubtedly heard or read the transcripts of the wiretaps on “Hot Rod” as he has been called, indicating how he was going to use his power for gain.  The profanity strewn conversations, several of which have his wife in the background joining in and strewing profanities on top of her husband’s colorful language.

Rod was also going to use his power to fire editorial members of the Chicago Tribune, block the sale of the Cubs by Sam Zell, and fill his campaign coffers for a run at the presidency in 2016.  Again, slim hold on reality.

Growing up in the state of Illinois and around the city of Chicago, one gets used to rough and tumble politics.  The Chicago machine is perhaps not as visible and powerful as 30 or 40 years ago, but still very much quietly in control in the City that Works.

Governors in Illinois don’t have a good track record.  Rod has been charged, although he showed up for work today with his usual perfectly coiffed hair and that stupid frozen smirk on his face.  Our last Governor, George Ryan, is in jail right now for corruption.  As a teenager during the seventies, I remember watching as former Governor, Dan Walker, famous for having walked across Illinois, took one last jaunt, a Perp-Walk in handcuffs.

Well, we are the Land of Lincoln, so we have one great leader to our credit.  Now we’re the Land of Obama, and people around the country and world are hoping that he follows in Lincoln’s very deep footsteps.  If ever the U.S. needed a citizen of Illinois to stand up and do a great job, it is now.  Just as long as that citizen has not held the Office of Governor.

Due process will play out.  Rod will go to trial and have his day in court.  Maybe he’ll go to jail…or maybe he will fade into the sunset as another leader that lost his grip on reality, forgot that leadership was not all about him and tried to grab as much as he could grab and thought that he was invincible.

Lousy leaders are great teachers.  Grab a front row seat here in Illinois and get ready to feel outraged at how low a leader can go.   Remember to file this chapter under “leadership approaches almost certain to earn a new orange suit.”