Waiting on Emanuel

The Illinois corruption scandal is moving quickly, and the Obama transition team is struggling to keep up.

Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan has announced the formation of a legislative committee to consider the impeachment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was arrested last week on federal corruption charges that included allegedly trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who is the speaker's daughter, has asked the Illinois Supreme Court to remove Blagojevich from office. Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn and others, including Obama, have called on the governor to resign.

About all this, Obama and his top advisers have had precious little to say. The transition team put out a statement Monday saying the review ordered earlier by Obama into any contacts between transition staff and Blagojevich or anyone in his office is now complete. But the findings won't be released until next Monday at the request, according to the statement, of the U.S.

Attorney's Office.

The Obama statement said only that his staff was not involved in "inappropriate discussions" with Blagojevich or anyone on his staff.

We appreciate the assurances, but we can decide for ourselves what was appropriate or inappropriate once the discussions are made public. The person we really need to hear from is Rahm Emanuel, the Illinois congressman tapped to be Obama's chief of staff. It was Emanuel who approached Blagojevich's chief of staff, John Harris, who resigned last week under the scandal's cloud, with a list of names that Obama considered acceptable Senate replacements. And so it is Emanuel who is in the best position to make clear if Harris asked for anything in return, and, if so, what happened from there.

So far, his scandal has not implicated Obama or Emanuel in any wrongdoing — and may never do so. But that is all the more reason for a response that has plenty of transparency and clarity, two things missing thus far.

REPRINTED FROM THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE.

DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.