With the anticipated removal of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Pat Quinn should prepare to take on everything that comes with being governor, including criticism over issues he cannot control.

As Illinois’ lieutenant governor, Quinn, 61, would be governor in the event of Blagojevich’s removal from office.

Like nearly every Democrat elected to the state’s executive branch, Quinn was suspected of a 2010 gubernatorial run. Now, Quinn is on the verge of getting the job he wants at a time in the state’s history where neither the legislature nor governor can be blamed for all of the state’s problems. That may come back to hurt him in 2010 if Quinn plans to run for a term of his own.

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Quinn’s worst enemy in 2010 will be the voters’ lack of short-term memory. Even if Quinn navigates the state without flaw and improves the state’s economic situation, voters are likely to criticize him because the state has not been perfected by November 2010.

Following its December meeting, the National Conference of State Legislatures released a report of what it thought would be the top issues states would face in 2009.

‘Money will be the No. 1 issue for states in 2009,’ the report stated. ‘Shrinking state revenues will squeeze every area of state government.’

A shortfall in revenue is nothing new in Illinois. Comptroller Dan Hynes said in November he expects the state’s debts to reach $5 billion by March, and that does not factor in the shrinking value of the dollar.

Meanwhile, the legislature sent Blagojevich a budget for fiscal year 2009, which began June 1, with $2 million more in expenditures than what the state anticipated it would allocate throughout the year. Blagojevich vetoed items, which House Democrats restored.

The governor, whether he is Blagojevich or Quinn, is scheduled to deliver a budget for fiscal year 2010 on Feb. 19. If Quinn is governor by then, that budget could reveal whether he plans to mimic his predecessor and increase state-funded programs even though the cash to support them does not exist, or if he will tackle the $5 billion deficit.

If he goes after the debt through an increase in taxes, Quinn would set himself up for criticism from 2010 gubernatorial race opponents such as Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington.

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‘The last thing we should do is increase the burden of government,’ Brady said of a proposed tax increase to boost state revenue, which he opposes. Such a boost could allow the state to end its deficit and invest in capital improvement projects.

Before the Blagojevich scandal broke, Quinn was a quieter politician, who ‘stuck his neck out’ only to voice his opinions on issues with little opposition. He was a proponent of a capital improvement plan, campaign ethics reform, a constitutional convention and called for Blagojevich’s resignation after the governor was arrested on corruption charges.

But if he plans to stay in office longer than 2010, Quinn needs to break his populist politician ways and remind people such as Brady that he inherited a mess and turned it around.

Lorimor is a sophomore studying

journalism and political science.