Google Ads


Site Stats

IL-Gov: Blago Arrested on Corruption Charges

by: DavidNYC

Tue Dec 09, 2008 at 10:03 AM EST


Whoa:

Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges.

A three-year federal corruption investigation of pay-to-play politics in Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration has expanded to include his impending selection of a new U.S. senator to succeed President-elect Barack Obama, the Tribune has learned.

Federal authorities got approval from a judge before the November general election to secretly record the governor, sources told the Tribune, and among their concerns was whether the selection process might be tainted. That possibility has become a focus in an intensifying investigation that has included recordings of the governor and the cooperation of one of his closest friends.

Man, I don't even know what to say.

UPDATE by Diego Infierno: Wow:

Throughout the intercepted conversations, Blagojevich also allegedly spent significant time weighing the option of appointing himself to the open Senate seat and expressed a variety of reasons for doing so, including: frustration at being "stuck" as governor; a belief that he will be able to obtain greater resources if he is indicted as a sitting Senator as opposed to a sitting governor; a desire to remake his image in consideration of a possible run for President in 2016; avoiding impeachment by the Illinois legislature; making corporate contacts that would be of value to him after leaving public office; facilitating his wife's employment as a lobbyist; and generating speaking fees should he decide to leave public office.

In the earliest intercepted conversation about the Senate seat described in the affidavit, Blagojevich told Deputy Governor A on November 3 that if he is not going to get anything of value for the open seat, then he will take it for himself: "if . . . they're not going to offer anything of any value, then I might just take it." Later that day, speaking to Advisor A, Blagojevich said: "I'm going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain." He added later that the seat "is a [expletive] valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing."

What an asshole!
DavidNYC :: IL-Gov: Blago Arrested on Corruption Charges
Tags: , (All Tags)
Print Friendly View Send As Email
IL-Gov: Blago Arrested on Corruption Charges | 91 comments
what to say
heres what i have to say. if the allegations are true... go to jail.
Exactly
As I said in the other diary, while he deserves his day in court (as did Ted Stevens and as does Bill Jefferson) everyone has known forever that this guy is a crook.  Get him out of there ASAP -- and clean house of the Illinois Demcoratic Party of anyone who is closely tied to him.
[ Parent ]
Who takes over?
If Blago has to resign who takes over as Govenror?
My guess is
Lt. Gov. Quinn.  I know in Illinois they run as a ticket, so let's hope he isn't tied into all this crap, too.
[ Parent ]
Quinn is OK
It's highly doubtful that Quinn is involved.  He keeps his distance from Blago as they do NOT get along well.  Quinn is know for being squeaky clean and well liked, though somewhat of a lightweight. Being that Blago has been governor since 2002, many IL Democrats are connected to him and the collateral damage could be extensive, politically speaking.  Top of the list is Debbie Halvorson.
[ Parent ]
Halvorson
That ain't good.  

Follow the elections in Georgia at the 2010 Georgia Race Tracker.
[ Parent ]
thank god barack obama
was the face of the illinois dem party in 2008, and not that douchebag.  if balgo had been the face of the illinois dems, we might have seen a realignment of illinois to the republicans like the dems saw in ohio during 06-08 and beyond.  this might be worse than bob taft.  we need him to resign and get a clean dem (if one exists in illinois,) to get the governors seat.

Top ten signs you're an SSPer #1: your favorite song is "Panic At Tedisco" and no one understands what you mean.
clean house
i agree. get him out. to me, a violation of public trust... by an ELECTED official should carry extra penal time. something like... like caesars wife... an elected public official should be above suspicion.  
Could have been worse
This could have happened before election day.
before election day
there wasn't a vacant Senate seat to sell.
[ Parent ]
Blago's approval was somethign like 4%
Even before the election.  I imagine he was going to be charged with something eventually regardless.
[ Parent ]
So he decided he might as well try and get to zero by being even more corrupt
You would think the guy who eventually won the seat of Dan Rostenkowski would know better. Obviously not.
[ Parent ]
Ryan's in prison now
Blago's immediate predecessor, Republican George Ryan, is in a federal prison in Terre Haute, IN.  Ryan, then Secretary of State, raised money to run for Governor by selling commercial driver's licenses.  Multiple people died from accidents caused by these drivers.

Ryan is the third semi-recent IL governor to go to jail.

Democrat Otto Kerner (1961-68), best known for chairing a panel that declared that racism was the cause of riots in the 60s, was convicted of taking bribes to give an IL race track choice racing dates and to provide two additional highway exits to aid the track.

Dan Walker was a Democrat and an open foe of the Mayor Dailey.  Kind of hard to be elected Governor that way and impossible to stay in office.  Walker was a one term wonder (1973-77).  In his after life he was convicted of obtaining fraudulent loans for one of his businesses.

For the record, the staff of one other recent Governor, Jim Edgar (1991-99) was convicting of taking bribes and allowing a contractor, MSI, to pad its bills and receive $20 million for work not performed.

Two other IL Governors of older vintage were acquitted.  Republican William Stratton (1953-61) was charged with tax evasion and acquitted.  Republican Lennington "Len" Small (1921-29) was charged with embezzling $600,000.  He was not charged with jury tampering but should have been.  Four of the jurors in his trial got state jobs after the acquittal.

[ Parent ]
who was it who said
"It's worse than a crime, it's a mistake." Was that Bismarck?

Seriously, how stupid could Blagojevich be, doing this even though his administration is already under scrutiny? Of course his alleged criminal activity will be used to taint all other Illinois Dems, including whoever ends up getting this Senate seat.

Stupid is as stupid does
The delay was odd and now we know why. No way the selection will run in 2010 whoever gets to pick.
[ Parent ]
Sigh
All these corrupt politicians are Dems all of a sudden - Jefferson, Rangel, Blagojevich. Not a great way to start the next cycle. Thanks goodness Obama has sky high approvals. Had to love this from Bill Schneider - "An Obama job approval rating of 79%, that's the sort of rating you see when the public rallies around a leader after a national disaster. To many Americans, the Bush administration was a national disaster."
It happens with power
The party in charge is always going to have more opportunity to get involved with this crap.  
[ Parent ]
And this area of the country
Blago is in many respects a throwback to the machine politics of another era, where this happened all the time and no one really cared.  This attitude still permeates the area.  I know that politics in the Region of NW Indiana are as corrupt as anywhere.  Gary Mayor Rudy Clay has a potential indictment hanging over his head, and over the last few years I can't tell you how many local officials from Gary, Hammond, East Chicago, etc. have been arrested.  

But hey, at least it seems like 21st Century corruption, as it seems to involve black, white, and hispanic crooks in pretty equal proportions!

[ Parent ]
Corruption is on both sides of the border
CORRUPTION IS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BORDER

Chicago Heights, Calumet City, Rosemont, a few of the towns near O' Hare Airport, Ford Heights, Harvey, and on and on and on.

And, of course, Chicago itself.  This is what happens when there is one-party government.  Power corrupts.

Shalom,
ZWrite

[ Parent ]
Dems
It's still the Bush administration's DOJ. I don't think it magically reformed with the arrival of Mukasey. So it's not surprising that they might still be focusing on Democrats while ignoring Republicans who might be just as corrupt.
[ Parent ]
Maybe
But they went after plenty of Republicans - Abramoff, Doolittle, Renzi, Ney, Stevens and others.
[ Parent ]
True
But how many more of them must they have let off? Remember, we're talking about a DOJ that prosecuted Don Siegelman for purely political reasons and pressured U.S. attorneys to go after fake voter fraud right before elections. Several U.S. attorneys were fired because they wouldn't go along with the politicization, but the big question is what the ones who weren't fired did.
[ Parent ]
Indeed
I think I prefer it when Dems just get caught with hookers.
[ Parent ]
Spitzer
That's a good example. How many Republican politicians do you think are making use of prostitutes? How convenient that they happened to catch Spitzer rather than any of them.
[ Parent ]
Sinator Vitter
Sinator Vitter for one.  Of course, he wasn't caught by the DOJ.  But, they started the Spitzer investigation because of suspicious money transfers.  I don't have a problem with that as long as they do it regardless of party.
[ Parent ]
I usually could care less
about a person who gets caught with a hooker (more power to them).  What really sucks is when they (a) have fought prostitution in the past or (b) espouses family values every time they get a chance.

In NC we had a former legislator (Coy Privette) get caught with a hooker.  What was really funny about it was that he was a Baptist minister.  He was forced to resign his presidency from the NC Christian Action League.  I knew Coy, and he was fairly "holier than thou".  I was sad that he got busted because I knew his family, but I have to admit I got pleasure out of seeing him eat some crow.

40, male, Democrat, NC-04

[ Parent ]
This has nothing to do with Bush Justice Department
FITZ NOT A BUSHIE

The prosecutor in this area, the Chicago area, is an independent prosecutor named Patrick Fitzgerald.  He has prosecuted Democrats and Republicans, including Gov. George Ryan.  He does not belong to the GOP.

In his spare time, he's the one who prosecuted Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis Libby, and probed Karl Rove.  Fitzgerald is NOT "ignoring Republicans who might be just as corrupt."

Hopefully, a President Obama will keep him.  Illinois needs him.

Shalom,
ZWrite

[ Parent ]
Better Now Than Later
Much better to get rid of these corrupt politicians now than on the eve of an election.  Jefferson voted out, so whenever he's tried the publicity is minimal compared to him still being in office.  Blago cannot survive a primary, so he'll also hopefully be old news by November 2010.  Rangel--not sure what to do about him.
[ Parent ]
I fear this is going to get worse and worse
It looks like the specific charges revolve around bribery and the appointment of Obama's replacement in the Senate.  Yikes!!
As long as it sticks to just Blago who cares?
Not me. He deserves it. Especially since he was already in trouble long before Obama created a vacancy.
[ Parent ]
Question Is
The question is who was he trying to get to pay him for the appointment of whom.  It takes two to bribe.  And, even if this was only Blago soliciting a bribe and no one explicitly offered anything, anyone even in talks with Blago could be tainted.  I sure wouldn't want to have my voice on any wiretapped conversations with Blago about the Senate seat, even if I didn't do anything wrong.
[ Parent ]
at least Blago got to turn himself in
Unlike my mayor Leaping Larry Langford .

Anybody find it not so ironic that we are at the end of this current crop of U.S. Attorneys and we are seeing all kinds of indictments?

This is why Illinois usually has a Republican Governor.

Governor Ryan
It seems corruption at the top in Illinois is a bipartisan affair.
[ Parent ]
the ironic thing...
is the Blago campaigned on ethics and reform in 2002 to clean up after gov Ryan.
[ Parent ]
At least
At least Governor Ryan's conviction had some positive consequences, namely getting rid of the death penalty.
[ Parent ]
KBR
This is a good thing. If only justice for corporate criminals like KBR were that swift!

Delaware Liberal - biggest and best blog in Delaware.
Funny
I was highly amused yesterday to see him in front of the cameras taking on Bank of America. Obviously he really cares about those job loses and would never dream of using the suffering to try and get back some popularity.
[ Parent ]
If I lived in IL at the time of the 2006 election
this would be another rare instance in which I'd chose a Green, in this case Rich Whitney, over a Dem.

My blog
Twitter
Scribd
28, New Democrat, Female, TX-03 (hometown CA-26)
I Guess
Emil Jones can forget about being the placeholder, since he's Blago's frontrunner choice.

Oh, you dumb son of a bitch! You ain't boxing your way out of this round, douchebag!

And a few other points
Can't wait for Jon Stewart to rib over this one.

And Blago can completely forget about running for reelection. Isn't he like the third governor in Illinois to be convicted?

[ Parent ]
Turns out he is the fourth :)
If Blago goes to prison, and former Gov. George Ryan isn't commuted by President Bush, you'd have two Illinois governors in prison AT THE SAME TIME. What's more, by our count, Blagojevich would become the FOURTH Illinois governor to go to prison (following Ryan, Otto Kerner, and Dan Walker).
[ Parent ]
I Wouldn't Count Walker
Since according to his Wikipedia bio he got into legal trouble AFTER he left office.
[ Parent ]
Blago would be...
the fourth in recent history after George Ryan, Dan Walker and Otto Kerner, but I think there was another further back, so he would be 5th overall.
[ Parent ]
Can any other state beat that?
Louisiana maybe?
[ Parent ]
Emil Jones
I do have to wonder whether Jones offered Blago anything...
[ Parent ]
corruption is too widespread, time to set some examples
a dose of draconian justice is called for to make elected officals think twice. it may be a tad extreme, but i suggest we bring back public hangings of such officials. it would satisfy the publics bloodlust, give notice to politicans that the penalties are severe, and mete out an appropriate justice. maybe then we would have an aboveboard honest elected government.

the flip side is good people might not run and the penalty  would become too frequent.

I want an answer to the big question
What was the final bidding price?
Why can't we get some of this in FL?
A good statewide scandel by FL repubs is exactly what we need to make a comeback at the state and local level.  Come on Gov. Crist, we're coutning on you!  
Someone needs to fill his office with underage A&F models.

[ Parent ]
LOL!

[ Parent ]
Well at least our Democratic party
will purge itself of one more bad Democratic official.  First was Jefferson last week, and now we have Blago.  If Dems are to be removed from office, I couldn't pick a better time--after the Presidential election.

The truth of the matter is that most of us knew that Blago was corrupt, and having him busted should be viewed as a good thing for our party in the long term.  I could only imagine what else he could have done the next two years if he wasn't caught now.  The damage from Blago's involvement should stay on a State level and not spread to the Federal level (or other states).  Maybe this is hopeful wishing, I dunno...  

40, male, Democrat, NC-04

Juicy quote would seem to exonorate Obama and the transition
Blago on person Obama wants (probably Valerie Jarrett) for the Senate seat: 'they're not willing to give me anything except appreciation. F*** them'. Nice. This is all on that slimy piece of shit.
And this
"Throughout the intercepted conversations, Blagojevich also allegedly spent significant time weighing the option of appointing himself to the open Senate seat and expressed a variety of reasons for doing so, including: frustration at being "stuck" as governor; a belief that he will be able to obtain greater resources if he is indicted as a sitting Senator as opposed to a sitting governor; a desire to remake his image in consideration of a possible run for President in 2016; avoiding impeachment by the Illinois legislature; making corporate contacts that would be of value to him after leaving public 7 office; facilitating his wife's employment as a lobbyist; and generating speaking fees should he decide to leave public office."

Run for President? This guy is some deluded schmuck.

[ Parent ]
Also
Ambinder reckons this is probably Jesse Jackson Jr:

"Gov. Blagojevich's own words make it clear that he did not believe that Barack Obama wanted a person called "Senate Candidate 5" to be appointed to the Senate."

"President elect. . . can do almost anything he sets his mind to." ROD BLAGOJEVICH states that he
will appoint "[Senate Candidate 1] . . . but if they feel like they can do this and not fucking
give me anything . . . then I'll fucking go [Senate Candidate 5]."

http://marcambinder.theatlanti...

[ Parent ]
Wow
How positively Nixonian.

I wonder when we'll start hearing about anti-Semitic tirades and late night conversations with the portraits in the Governor's Mansion.

Male, 23, DC-At Large

[ Parent ]
Blago is political bad news for IL Dems EVERYWHERE...
Rahm Emanuel on himself, Obama, and getting Blago into office:

"We used to sit around helping our governor get elected, help those strategy meetings"

I sat around
and helped Eliot Spitzer elected...never thought he would end up being a scumbag either.


Liberty Avenue Politics - a place for politics in Southern Queens
[ Parent ]
Rahm apparently may be the one who shopped him
If Obama comes out of this smelling of roses (as I think he may) he really must be made of teflon.
[ Parent ]
For reals?
This story is so crazy its almost too hard to believe. What sort of idiot does something like this when he knows darn well hes being watched 24/7 by investigators? This is like those fools running from the law getting caught because they were pulled over for running a red light. Its just not the sort of thing anyone with a brain would do lol.

A cat can have kittens in an oven but that doesn't make them biscuits.
It Sounds Like
This guy was trying to buy his own legacy. That's a new low.  
And May I Add
No one can really buy their legacy. You have to slough through and do some really f-ed up shit to cement a legacy into the ages. That's how we'll all remember George Bush decades after he's gone. Same goes for Nixon and Reagan, and yes even Bill Clinton.  
[ Parent ]
I quit...
Corruption itself is bad enough, but what really gets me about this is just the rank stupidity of the corruption. Jesus Christ, how could Blago have thought this wasn't going to be found out...

Politics and Other Random Topics

24, Male, Democrat, NM-01, Chairman of the Atheist Caucus, and Majority Leader of the "Going to Hell" caucus!

The saving grace ...
is they've got this buffoon on tape cursing out Obama for refusing to play.  "All they offered was appreciation ..."  Good to have that clear separation from the President-Elect.

Scary thing is that the Feds expected he'd try to pull something with the appointment and got a judge to agree and allow the wiretap.  Makes you think that whatever he did before had to be pretty bad, too.

Sounds like given past history Tony Rezko would be the perfect replacement.
I'm just glad he didn't appoint himself.  Especially since he might actually be right about Democrats being more risk adverse as far as challenging a Senator and risking losing a Senate seat.

I just hope there isn't any dirt on Emil.

NY-13, Democrat. Blog @ http://infinitefunction.wordpr...

It would be cool if
Blago could serve some time in the same prison cell as Ted Stevens.  We could create a new sitcom called "The Newest Odd Couple".


40, male, Democrat, NC-04
Or make him cell mates with George Ryan!


Male, 23, DC-At Large
[ Parent ]
Blagojevich for President
Ryan for VP

party: Democratic, ideology: moderate, district: CT-01
[ Parent ]
I wonder whether they'd beat
Stevens/Craig.

party: Democratic, ideology: moderate, district: CT-01
[ Parent ]
Will Emil Jones be in trouble over this?
Any evidence that he was picked because of some sort of bribery?  He's President of the IL Senate afterall.
Despite "news" item on this Web site
JONES NOT PICKED

Despite "news" item on this Web site, Emil Jones has NOT been picked.  And no one is going to be want to be "picked" by Blago.  By next week, the legislature will pass a measure changing the law.  Even if Blago doesn't sign it, any pick of his won't accept the position.

Shalom,
ZWrite

[ Parent ]
Let's be clear
That was a user diary -- not one that was written by SSP's staff. Indeed, we ignored that story because it seemed thinly-sourced.
[ Parent ]
I don't think Blago should resign
2010 is going to be a tough year for Democrats and if we're just giving up seats left and right we will be murdered! MASACURED A TELLZ YOU!

Besides, Blago is one of our best prospects for 2016. I hope he appoints himself to the Senate and runs in 2016.

Draft Blago for Pres 2016!!!!!

1994! 1994!
fetal position
[ Parent ]
I know
This is going to be a landslide. We can't let another seat get open.
[ Parent ]
Nice use of snark ;-)
Before anyone takes Populista seriously, let me reassure all the hand-wringers that losing Blago is probably for the best. Once he gets the boot, we get Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, a squeaky-clean reformer who despises Blago, to come in and clean up the mess. Plus, as bad as IL Dems can be, the GOP ain't much better. Blago's predecessor, George Ryan, is doing time in a federal pen. Goopers have no statewide office, and the only candidate they have who's succeeded statewide (former treasurer Judy Baar Topinka) has dodgy dealings as well.
[ Parent ]
Durbin is calling for a special election.
"If the allegations are proven true, he has clearly abused the public trust," Durbin said of Blagojevich. "I think the Illinois legislature should enact a law as quickly as possible calling for a special election to fill the Senate vacancy of Barack Obama. No appointment by this governor under these circumstances can produce a credible replacement."

http://thehill.com/leading-the...

Good idea.

Just read that
Sounds like a good idea.  They have to take this out of Blagos hands right now.
[ Parent ]
They have to move, and move fast.
First this, and then impeachment.
[ Parent ]
Who Would Accept
I don't know who would even accept a Blago appointment under these circumstances.  And, if Blago goes ahead and appoints himself or someone closely tied to him, does the Senate even seat them?

Durbin is absolutely right.  Pass a quick law allowing for a special election.  Time for all the candidates to gear up quick.

[ Parent ]
No way
If he appointed himself I suspect there would be no chance the Senate seats him.  Same is probably the case with any other appointment he might make.  As far as I'm aware thus far Emil Jones, his current pick, isn't involved in any of this corruption.  Even so, the poor guy is probably always going to have the stench of Blago hovering over him.
[ Parent ]
Do it in some other states too. Do it in as many states as we have troikas.
There is no reason for anything but 120 day special elections anymore.  Governors choosing senators is an inherently corruptible process that the electorate no longer needs.  The electorate of any given state deserves the right to fill open seats with elections.

Already the appointments in Delaware, New York, and Illinois have been as much or more about the self-interest of the politicians involved than it has been about the will of the electorate.  Obviously the first two are wildly different in degree from the third.

And we might have won the Mississippi seat if it had been a special election in November of 2007, with no one as an incumbent.

Take this opportunity to change the laws everywhere we can.  Massachusetts and Alaska already did this, it can be done.

28, gay guy, Democrat, CA-08

[ Parent ]
Also leads to disgusting political gains
There were some republicans who would barely disguise their excitement when Senator Johnson of SD fell into a coma and would have been replaced by a repub had he passed.
[ Parent ]
Oh yeah, that was pretty crass
The jackals were running in circles when that happened -- very ugly.
[ Parent ]
Happens anyway
Legislative politics is about vote counting, and where there are votes to be won, decency tends to go out the window.

If you don't like that behaviour, you stop it by publicising it.

[ Parent ]
The full extent of this guy's delusions are terrifying.
Run for president?  Seriously?
That's what I'm thinking
Who would be his runnign mate?  Dollar Bil Jefferson?  Eliot Spitzer?  John Edwards?
[ Parent ]
What was Blago thinking?
threatening to withhold substantial state assistance to the Tribune Company in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field to induce the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members sharply critical of Blagojevich

Some of the other stuff might be tolerable with people in Illinois.  F'ing with the Cubs is not one of them.

Ooh!
Burn.

party: Democratic, ideology: moderate, district: CT-01
[ Parent ]
Did Rahm Blow the whistle on Blago?
http://www.dailykos.com/storyo...

A diary on Daily Kos citing sources at the Huffington Post seems to think it's the case.  Good news if true.

DA Fitzgerald has been probing Blago for five years
And he's been going up the ladder, going after low-level aides one at a time.  Even if Emanuel wanted to "blow the whistle," Fitzgerald has so many sources that he is way, way ahead of him.

Shalom,
ZWrite

[ Parent ]
I like Fitz
He doesn't seem to have any bias when it comes to party preference.  When he sees corruption he goes all out and usually gets the conviction.
[ Parent ]
IL-Gov: Blago Arrested on Corruption Charges | 91 comments

Copyright 2003-2010 Swing State Project LLC

Primary Sponsor

You're not running for second place. Is your website? See why Campaign Engine is ranked #1 in software and support among Progressive-only Internet firms. http://www.mediamezcla.com/

Menu

Make a New Account

Username:

Password:



Forget your username or password?

About the Site

Publisher: DavidNYC

Senior Editor: James L.

Senior Editor: Crisitunity

Contributing Editor: Jeffmd

Search the SSP archives:

Sign up to receive a daily e-mail whenever the SSP is updated:

SSP Resources

Presidential Vote by CD

SSP Document Collection

Race Tracker Wiki

Dave's Redistricting App

Blogroll

Daily Kos Elections
DemConWatch
Five Thirty Eight
Governing
Hotline On Call
Political Wire
Pollster.com
Prop*50
Public Policy Polling
The Thicket
Powered by: SoapBlox