US | Rod Blagojevich Blago Crisis Grinds Illinois Gov't to a Halt Scandal pushes 'dysfunctional state' into 'total paralysis' By Drew Nelles Posted Jan 4, 2009 4:03 PM CST Copied Illinois Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, oversees the Illinois House Impeachment Committee Hearing at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., Monday, Dec. 29, 2008. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman) The Rod Blagojevich crisis hasn’t just tarnished the Illinois governor’s reputation—it’s frozen the whole state government, the Chicago Tribune reports. Social programs aren’t getting funding, health care and education changes are on the shelf, and Blagojevich himself is isolated and mistrusted. "Absolutely, we're in a mess," one lawmaker says. A legislative panel today begins drafting a report that may recommend impeachment, but Blago’s credibility is already in the tubes, with the feds denying him access to classified security information. And a huge budget crisis means that state services lack millions of dollars. “We're moving forward with no direction, no agenda for change,” the comptroller says. “We're just plodding along, and our revenues are collapsing.” Read These Next North Carolina shooting suspect once walked the red carpet. The gunman who killed 4 at a Michigan church was an ex-marine. 'We heard a big bang,' says churchgoer in Michigan Skydivers leap from plane 2 minutes before fatal crash. Report an error