Wait 'till the fire turns green

Well, former George Ryan henchman Scott Fawell gave an interview to Chicago Tonight, and if he didn't intend to come off as a self-absorbed sociopath he failed miserably.

To wit:

CHICAGO - A longtime aide to former Illinois Gov. George Ryan has told a Chicago TV news show that he pleaded guilty and testified against his now-imprisoned mentor to save the woman he loves.

Fawell was convicted in 2003 on racketeering and mail-fraud charges. He was sentenced to 6 1/2-years and has been out of prison for less than a year. Coutretsis pleaded guilty to one count of lying to the grand jury and was sentenced in 2006 to 4 months. She could have faced up to 18 months.

Federal prosecutors lowered sentences for both after Fawell agreed to testify against Ryan and his co-defendant Larry Warner. Fawell is unrepentant about his decision, saying either man would've done the same for their spouses.

"They know it came down to Andrea or them," Fawell said. "There was no door No. 3. So I took what was a very painful option."

Okay, now that's the self-absorbed part: Fawell didn't want his girlfriend to end up in prison for longer than he felt necessary, and so he ratted his boss out in the name of love.

Feeling sick yet?

But wait, it gets better:

He was also accused of stopping an investigation into secretary of state employees accepting bribes in exchange for truck driver's licenses. A truck driver who bought his commercial Illinois license later caused a highway crash that killed six children in Wisconsin in 1994.

Fawell acknowledged that some people blame him and Ryan for the fatal crash, but he said it's not their faults.

"It's a tragedy, and certainly I'm sorry it ever happened," Fawell said. "Do I feel any responsibility? ... No, I really don't."

He blamed the deaths on "petty graft" that had been going on for years at the secretary of state's office.

Yeah, some "petty graft" you've got there, Scott. Graft which, to be completely precise, you helped facilitate.

And once again, the question arises: why do we elect governors like this - and from either major party? It's as if  Ryan and Blago were part of some bipartisan lobby to elect scumbags in this state.

What's next; an elected governor with a jones for cannibalism, perhaps?