Leaky plumbing keeps governor from mansion

Hmmm, perhaps the QCTimes is offering the governor an excuse for staying on that North Side instead of staying in Springfield when the General Assembly is in session. I hope that they can repair the damage in the governor's mansion...

Since taking office in 2003, Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been criticized for not living in the Executive Mansion in Springfield.

State records, however, show the governor had a pretty good reason for not staying overnight in the 153-year-old home late last year.

According to documents filed with the Illinois Auditor

General, there was a water leak in the governor’s private quarters on the upper floors of the mansion in November.

The leak damaged the ceiling of the mansion ballroom and threatened a walnut-paneled library next to the ballroom. Because of the leak and the resulting repairs, mansion director David Bourland shut off the water in the governor’s private apartment.

“If the leak is not fixed and water damages the library walnut walls, the cost to repair will be much higher,” Bourland noted in his request for the repairs.

Blagojevich, who lives in a bungalow on Chicago’s north side, occasionally stays at the mansion when he’s in Springfield. But, he usually takes a state airplane home to Chicago each night. His frequent use of the state plane has drawn cat-calls from lawmakers, who say it is a waste of taxpayer cash.

In a memo, Bourland noted that he closed the ballroom for safety reasons after the leak was discovered.

David Blanchette, spokesman for the Illinois Capital Development Board, which oversees repairs and construction of state facilities, said the plumbing failure was due to the advanced age of the building.

BTW, on the Capitol Fax blog a commentor mentioned that the governor was quoted as saying this in relation to being in Springfield for the votes in the General Assembly on his amendatory veto on transit legislation...

“No hockey games. I’m going to be there on Thursday. No Hannah Montana concerts.”

This was reported on WBBM radio and if there is anything more about I'm sure we'll hear about it. In fact I'll go there and see if I can find a write-up. Oh this does involve two controversies from his administration.

The first was about him going to a Blackhawks game while his transit bailout bill went down in flames in the General Assembly. The other was about garnering some free tickets to Hannah Montana. Not knowing about this mainly because I either don't watch the Disney Channel or I don't have any kids, yet, I wouldn't know who that was anyway. So there ya go!