When a local newspaper covers a story, one hopes that it will provide information that readers need to know to understand the context of the story and to make their own determinations about the reasonableness of the position being espoused by people in the news.
Today's story in the News Gazette about Tim Johnson, local congressman from the 15th Congressional District, and his support for Winkel for the U.S. Attorney position from Central Illinois did not satisfy that desire. There is not much discussion about Mr. Winkel's qualifications (or lack thereof) for the position, though he admits he has no experience as a prosecutor. There is not much about the importance of the position and the types of cases with which a U.S. Attorney may be involved. There is no information about the people who hold U.S. Attorney positions in other parts of Illinois, such as the Northern or Southern Districts, or elsewhere in the country, to provide some context so that the people of Central Illinois can understand the caliber and experience of people ordinarily appointed to such positions. The media story seems to reduce to a tale of partisan opportunism--how to give a retiring politician a new position at high pay and do it in a way that lets the party's choice as a replacement effectively get an "interim appointment" that (the party hopes) gives a real boost from incumbency to being able to keep the seat later. The people don't get a say in the matter--it is all between the two Republican Party chairs in Champaign and Vermillion Counties (naming the successor to Winkel) and Republican leaders in Congress such as Dennis Hastert to put the nomination forward. Of course, Illinois' senators are both Democrats, so other perspectives will come in at that point. On the whole, though, it appears that the Republicans see a win-win for the party. The question is whether it is a lose-lose for the people.
One of the U.S. Attorneys for Illinois, of course, has been in the news a good bit lately. That's Peter Fitzgerald, who indicted Cheney's former chief of staff "Scooter" Libby for obstruction of justice and perjury (among other charges). Mr. Fitzgerald is universally acknowledged to be a highly qualified and able Republican-appointed prosecutor with considerable experience whose handling of the investigation into the Plame affair has won him accolades from both sides of the aisle in Congress.
Mr. Winkel appears to fall rather short in comparison. The News Gazette does not provide much information to go on, but you can find out more at the Tim Johnson Watch blog, here (and at other blogs referenced therein).