The US Attorney handling the IllinoisRod Blagojevich scandal and criminal prosecution had the temerity to label Illinois as the most corrupt state in the country. As a resident of New Jersey I took great umbrage. So Blagojevich is in trouble, a former governor is in jail, the old Daley machine ran Chicago politics and current Chicago politics is still a bit on the shady side.
Big f’ing deal!
New Jersey doesn’t do just state level corruption. Oh no – New Jersey corruption goes all the way down to the lowliest of local government officials. One may wonder what it is about New Jersey that fosters the permeation of corruption throughout state and local government. Consider a comparison with the State of California.
California, at 163,696 sq/mi, is nearly 19 times the size of New Jersey at a paltry 8,721 sq/mi. California, with a population of 36,756,666, is only 4.2 times the size of New Jersey with a population of 8,682,661. This leads to New Jersey’s #1 ranking as the most densely populated state in the US with 1,170 people per sq/mi. California is #11 with 235 people per sq/mi.
Now consider the fact that California has 480 municipalities while New Jersey has 566 municipalities. Additionally, New Jersey also has 603 school districts (more than MD, DE, VA combined), 187 fire districts, 486 local authorities, 92 special taxing districts, and 21 county governments. This may translate into NJ having the densest population of public officials, i.e., the most public officials per square mile. That’s a lot of greed crammed into a small area.
Since the reign of Frank (Boss) Hague in Jersey City in the early 20th century, the State has grown its reputation for public officials routinely getting rich at the expense of ignorant voters who return them to office. In New Jersey it is legal for officials to hold dual public office. The potential for corruption from just that allowance might be sufficient for another state, but not for New Jersey.
Nearly since its founding New Jersey has been merely the route between its two metro area neighbors, New York City and Philadelphia. NYC and Philly were where the big stuff was happening. What went on in between, in the GardenState, was overshadowed and overlooked, even by its own Attorney-General’s office which even today is considered by many to be a laughing stock.
It is rumored that when George Washington’s army moved north in New Jersey after surprising the Hessians at Trenton, local New Jersey officials charged the army tolls for traveling state roads. Just a rumor.
No comments:
Post a Comment