With the trial of former Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich set to begin Thursday and drag on for months, I suggest a fall curriculum for students at the esteemed Harris School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago. Here’s a sneak peek:
Burrising the Selection Process: Making U.S. Senate Appointments.
Thursdays 3:00-5:50 p.m.
Instructor: Patrick J. Fitzgerald
The selection of Roland W. Burris for Barack Obama’s senate seat has been denigrated as a triumph of cynicism over ideology, part of an alleged “political crime spree” by the former governor and his attempt to “sell” the seat. At the same time, it seemed to reflect a continuation of a familiar dynamic of many in the system, namely the daily craving for a quid pro quo. What is the truth? Are we naïve in thinking that merit should be considered? Should Ozzie Guillen have been picked? Numerous (54,367) European, Asian and African applications of similar blunt discussions over key positions will be cited. This will include lengthy, profane wiretapped exchanges between a governor and a White House chief of staff.
The Spouse: Tapping Partnerships in Campaign Finance.
Mondays 1:30-2:50 p.m.
Instructor: Tony Rezko
This course explores the importance of formal and informal institutions in democracies, with an emphasis on the electoral system and its links to the real estate industry. Topics include the impact on policy formation of the relationship among political institutions, the financial well-being of a state’s highest elected official and his spouse, and important political contributors, especially those able to employ the spouse as a so-called ghost payroller. Guests from Remax and Koenig & Strey will explain how to succeed without showing up for work and how colleagues can claim that the spouse brokered deals even while dining alone at a Byron’s Hot Dog or watching paternity-test results on “Maury.” Prerequisites: PP30400 (condo economics) and PP32420 (accounting gymnastics).
Politics and Entrepreneurship: Advancing the BHAG (Big Hair’s Audacious Goals).
Tuesdays 6:00-8:50 p.m.
Instructor: John Harris, former gubernatorial chief of staff
Students in this course will learn: 1. How to make a self-serving cost-benefit analysis of public appropriations. 2. How to incorporate elements of cost-benefit analysis in strong-arming key players, including transit contractors. 3. When not to use a cost-benefit analysis. For example, 15 minutes after announcing a $1.8 billion plan for new interchanges and “green lanes” on a state toll road, is it smart to ask a concrete contractor to pony up $500,000 for a campaign fund and then declare, “If they don’t perform,” expletive deleted “ ’em”? For international context, students will view video of Sarah Ferguson seeking $750,000 for access to her former husband, the Duke of York.
Public Budgeting: Is it Really That Important?
Tuesdays 10:30-11:50 a.m.
Instructor: Michael Madigan
This new course tests the thesis that budgeting in the public sector incorporates skills developed in public policy programs, including policy analysis, metrics, intelligent decision-making, priority setting and implementation of strategic plans. A team of Nobel laureates will try to make sense of an Illinois deficit and the seeming refusal of a legislature to deal with soaring pension obligations. This includes real-world exercises, mimicking what goes on in the state capital in an election year and testing of 25 fifth graders to see if they can deal better with the fiscal negligence.
Philanthropy and Public Policy.
Thursday 5:30-8:20 p.m.
Instructor: Former Bear Stearns Executive (to be named)
This course focuses on how a state’s top official can assist fee-hungry Wall Street firms even at a time of sharply declining revenues. It will consider the pursuit of “finder’s fees” from non-competitive deals in which state pension business is awarded to New York investment houses, which kick back fees to the official’s allies. This will also include Chicago journalists explaining their obsession with modest City Hall corruption and Mayor Richard M. Daley’s rhetorical malaprops, and also their inability to distinguish between a stock and a bond. It will conclude with a written final exam on whether Rod R. Blagojevich constituted much of an exception in American politics.
