Illinois Governor (and multi-billionaire) J.B. Pritzker is among the Democrats taking steps signaling a potential presidential run in 2024, which is a sad commentary on the political viability of both President Joe Biden and V.P. Kamala Harris.  One might think the spectacle of residents fleeing to other states in the face of horrendous crime, high taxes, and economic stagnation would be enough to torpedo a presidential run, but that hasn't stopped California governor Gavin Newsom, though at least Newsom is not morbidly obese like Pritzker.

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But a report from The Better Government Association of Illinois, a nonpartisan watchdog group, sheds light on what constitutes business as usual in the Land of Lincoln.  Chuck Neubauer and David Jackson write:

Shortly after she left her state job as a senior adviser to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, longtime political operative Nikki Budzinski collected more than $500,000 in consulting and other fees in 10 months, including more than $80,000 from a Springfield lobbyist Budzinski helped while working for the governor.

At least $100,000 of that payday came from progressive organizations that don't disclose their donors — despite Budzinski now running for Congress downstate as a Democrat in the 13th District on a platform that includes getting "dark money" out of politics, a Better Government Association examination of government records found.

The lobbyist who paid Budzinski $82,810 after Budzinski left the Pritzker administration is longtime Springfield operative Julie Curry.

A BGA review of state and federal public records shows a cozy relationship between Budzinski and Curry, who frequently reached out when her clients needed assistance, whether it was to set up a meeting with the governor for a client or access for an event at the governor's mansion.

A top aide to Governor Pritzker compromised by big bucks from people she dealt with in her government job and having the chutzpah to run for Congress is just business as usual in Illinois.  To really understand the depth of the rot there, consider Michael Madigan, who was for decades the most powerful politician in the state, far more powerful than any governor, as speaker of the state House of Representatives.  Earlier this year, he resigned his positions and was charged in May with a

22-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury comes after a yearslong federal investigation and alleges Madigan participated in an array of bribery and extortion schemes from 2011 to 2019 aimed at using the power of his office for personal gain.

And just a week ago, one of the fruits of that investigation was made public:

AT&T agreed to pay a $23 million fine "to resolve a federal criminal investigation into alleged misconduct involving the company's efforts to unlawfully influence former Illinois Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan," a Department of Justice press release said today.

A new poll says that even Illinois residents don't want Pritzker for president.  So the question is, why does Pritzker have a substantial lead in the polls on his re-election bid next month?

Hat tip: Peter von Buol.