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Big time troubles for Ill. Governor Rod Blagojevich

Posted by: Sister Toldjah on December 9, 2008 at 10:43 am

Another Illinois corruptocrat taken into custody:

WASHINGTON – Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday on charges of conspiring to get financial benefits through his authority to appoint a U.S. senator to fill the vacancy left by Barack Obama’s election as president.

According to a federal criminal complaint, Blagojevich also was charged with illegally threatening to withhold state assistance to Tribune Co., the owner of the Chicago Tribune, in the sale of Wrigley Field. In return for state assistance, Blagojevich allegedly wanted members of the paper’s editorial board who had been critical of him fired.

John Harris, the governor’s chief of staff, was also charged, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Blagojevich, 51, and Harris, 46, both of Chicago, were each charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery.

A 76-page FBI affidavit alleges that Blagojevich was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps during the last month conspiring to sell or trade for personal gain the state’s U.S. Senate seat.

Federal prosecutors have investigated Blagojevich’s administration for at least three years. The governor has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The Department of Justice alleges that in exchange for the Senate appointment, Blagojevich discussed obtaining:

-a substantial salary for himself at either a non-profit foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions;
- placing his wife on paid corporate boards where he speculated she might garner as much as $150,000 a year;
- promises of campaign funds — including cash up front; a cabinet post or ambassadorship for himself.

“The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering,” said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. “They allege that Blagojevich put a ‘for sale’ sign on the naming of a United States Senator. The citizens of Illinois deserve public officials who act solely in the public’s interest, without putting a price tag on government appointments, contracts and decisions.”

The full indictment can be read here.

Merry Fitzmas, Barry Oh. On top of the econ crisis you’re trying to get a handle on, now you have the distraction of questions about your governor – and your association with him (and kind words about him) – to deal with. More importantly, it will also bring back to light discussions about the Chi-town political machine that greatly aided your rise to prominence and power.

Let me guess what we’ll hear from Obama spox today: This is not the Gov. Blagojevich that President-elect Obama once knew.

Don Surber quips:

The Chicago machine rolls on. These are our moral and intellectual superiors, kiddies.

Heh.

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    • 17 Responses to “Big time troubles for Ill. Governor Rod Blagojevich”

    Comments

    1. A Southern Illinoisan says:
      December 9, 2008 at 11:16 am

      i am not surprised by the turn of events. Blago is the govenor of chicago and not for anything south of I-80. He refuses to live in the govenor’s mansion in Springfield because he doesn’t want his kids to be sent to public schools. He is just another cog in the chicago machine along with Barry and we will all have to pay for whatever happens for several years after this is turned out. In 2012 I will have a bumper sticker saying: “It’s not my fault, I didn’t vote for him”. Oh, that needs to be changed to 2010 for blago. I never voted for either of them because I never agreed with the way the political machine is being ran here in Illinois.

    2. Tracy says:
      December 9, 2008 at 11:33 am

      Sorry, but Obama looks clean here. His choice to succeed him was Valerie Jarrett (aka “Senate Candidate 1″). Blagojevich wanted “Senate Candidate 5,” who remains unknown as of now.

    3. joe from Lowell says:
      December 9, 2008 at 11:48 am

      What this indictment, and the evidence surrounding it, does is completely put to bed the wholly-implausible narrative that Obama was tied in with corruption.

      What does Governorer Blago have to say about Barack Obama?

      In a conversation with Harris on November 11, the charges state, Blagojevich said he knew that the President-elect wanted Senate Candidate 1 for the open seat but “they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation. [Expletive] them.”

      Sounds to me like the corrupt bastard hated Obama. Three years after Brownie doing a heckuva job, a President who doesn’t go in for back-scratching when it comes to appointments is Change We Can Belive In.

    4. Anthony (Los Angeles) says:
      December 9, 2008 at 12:17 pm

      And don’t forget that the Feds were already investigating Blagojevich for shady dealings involving Obama’s pal Tony Rezko. This latest stuff is all after new.

      I’m willing to bet something from Illinois is going to blow up in The One’s face before the end of his first term.

    5. Lorica says:
      December 9, 2008 at 1:33 pm

      Good Riddance!!! Now if they can just get the Dailys, and all the other corrupt indiviuals that have been ruining this state. I have to agree with Dear Sister. How soon before Barack comes out and says something to the extent that he was clueless, that the few times he met Blago he was always a cordial and decent human being, that he always had the hopes and dreams of the little people forefront in his mind or some other blah blah blah crud.

      “Another one thrown under the bus, and another one gone and another one gone, another one thrown under the bus.” My apologies to Weird Al.

      Bill Clinton always had these lists of how many associations with people who died mysteriously floating around. Well Barack is going to have lists of how many people got tossed under the bus, the problem is these will all be true, nothing made up. =)) – Lorica

    6. Anthony (Los Angeles) says:
      December 9, 2008 at 2:04 pm

      Oh, please, Joe. Obama was buddies with Mayor Daley and the Stroger family, the bosses of Cook County. You don’t rise in that political environment and stay clean. Obama may not have engaged in any corruption himself, be he tolerated an awful lot of it to get where he is.

    7. Great White Rat says:
      December 9, 2008 at 3:49 pm

      Joe thinks this is a good thing:

      In a conversation with Harris on November 11, the charges state, Blagojevich said he knew that the President-elect wanted Senate Candidate 1 for the open seat but “they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation. [Expletive] them.”

      So let me get this straight…Blagojevich solicited a bribe from Obama to get his preferred candidate into the Senate. Here’s my question: in that case, why didn’t Obama report it? Shouldn’t someone who will soon be the nation’s chief executive display at least that much integrity?

      You can take the politician out of Chicago, but apparently you can’t take Chicago out of the politician.

    8. Trish says:
      December 9, 2008 at 10:05 pm

      Blagojevich is too new at this. He hasn’t got the machine politics thing down pat.
      You’re not supposed to be that obvious.
      Watch the Machine climb up out of this cesspool smelling like lavender.

    9. The Limerick Avenger says:
      December 9, 2008 at 10:24 pm

      I need money said Governor Rod
      So if you want the Senate nod
      Come up with the cash
      And do it real fast,
      And then you can work with Chris Dodd.

    10. The Haiku Avenger says:
      December 9, 2008 at 10:25 pm

      Rod thought he’d get cash
      for selling Barack’s old seat;
      wonder what jail’s like?

    11. The Punny Avenger says:
      December 9, 2008 at 10:25 pm

      Selling Barack’s old seat for cash would be an obamanation.

    12. Lorica says:
      December 10, 2008 at 10:41 am

      =)) Funny stuff Avengers =)) Ohhh let’s face it Blago didn’t think anything would happen to him because Chicago or DC this is just the way things are done. For Any DC politician to feign surprise at this is an insult to everyone’s intelligence. It is BS that these guys are all on TV telling the world just how shocked they are. BS!!! How much money did these guys take from the FMs again??? The only thing they are really surpised at is just how stupid Rod was. He should have known he was being wire tapped. Which just goes to show you just how poorly this state has been run since he got into office. I am still laughing about this dimwit telling the people of IL that the prices of goods and service won’t go up if the legislature passes his 6% tax. What a freekin’ idiot. Thank God he is gone, now if only the Republican Party in IL can get some guts and start showing some leadership abilities. – Lorica