Illinois

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Illinois House Revives Chance of Special Election

Bill returns to committee hearing scheduled for next week

(Newser) - Add this to the confusion over a certain Senate seat in Illinois: Democrats may try to hold a special election to fill it after all. One day after Rod Blagojevich surprised all by naming his own appointment, the Illinois House speaker quietly revived the possibility of holding an election by...

Burris: Don't Hold Blago Against Me

He says guv has power to appoint, objections might just be racist

(Newser) - This should be about me, not Rod Blagojevich, Ronald Burris has been saying in TV interviews since Blago named him to fill Barack Obama’s open Senate seat yesterday. Last night, he told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, “I have nothing to do with the problems of the governor.”...

Fitzgerald Asks for More Time in Blago Case

Citing complexities, attorney seeks to push back Jan. 7 deadline

(Newser) - US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has asked for more time to bring his indictment against Rod Blagojevich, citing the complexity of the case and holiday distractions as the reasons for the hold up. Unless he gets the extension, Fitzgerald will have to present his evidence to the grand jury on Jan....

Burris Flap Rouses Ghosts of Obama's Past

 Burris Flap Rouses 
 Ghosts of Obama's Past 
ANALYSIS
Dec 31, 2008 10:44 AM CST

Burris Flap Rouses Ghosts of Obama's Past

President-elect probably wants to forget these guys

(Newser) - If Barack Obama caught Rod Blagojevich’s press conference yesterday, in which he named Roland Burris to fill the vacant Senate seat, Obama probably saw everything he doesn’t miss about Illinois. Each member of the trio on stage—Blagojevich, Burris, and Rep. Bobby Rush—claims a history with Obama,...

Blagojevich Offered Job to Davis First

But rep wouldn't take appointment from disgraced governor

(Newser) - Danny Davis wants to be a US senator, but not badly enough to accept an appointment from Rod Blagojevich. The disgraced governor’s attorney met with Davis and offered him Barack Obama’s seat last Wednesday, the US rep tells the Chicago Sun-Times. Davis had lobbied for the seat when...

Obama Blasts Blago's Move
 Obama Blasts Blago's Move 
Dec 30, 2008 5:47 PM CST

Obama Blasts Blago's Move

(Newser) - Barack Obama today criticized Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's decision to appoint a successor to the president-elect's Senate seat, CNN reports. Obama called the governor's move "disappointing" and said he backed Democrats' position of blocking any such appointment. Obama again urged Blagojevich to resign so Illinois could have a "...

Blago Names Burris; Senate Dems Say 'No Way'

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich announced today that former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris will fill Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat, the Chicago Tribune reports. Blagojevich said Burris was a man of "unquestioned integrity" and asked that people not allow "the allegations against me to taint this good and honest...

The Bra Wire That Brought Down Blago
 The Bra Wire 
 That Brought 
 Down Blago 
GLOSSIES
Dec 29, 2008 1:25 PM CST

The Bra Wire That Brought Down Blago

Ill. corruption probe started with hospital administrator

(Newser) - The FBI corruption investigation that ended with the Illinois governor started in the bra of a surburban Chicago hospital exec, Nina Burleigh writes in the New Yorker. In 2003, Pamela Davis was trying to get a new building approved when she was told to use a certain contractor or kiss...

Blago: 'I'm on the Wrong Planet'
 Blago: 'I'm on the
Wrong Planet' 
Dec 27, 2008 10:52 AM CST

Blago: 'I'm on the Wrong Planet'

'His people' meaning 'crooks'?

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich said yesterday that if what he's done is an impeachable offense, he's living on the "wrong planet." Speaking to a reporter outside a Chicago law office, the governor said he was hired to fight for the people of Illinois, and that's what he was doing in...

Blago Wants Obama Aides to Testify in Impeachment

Attorney asks state panel subpoena Emanuel, Jarrett

(Newser) - Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s attorney wants the state’s impeachment panel to subpoena two of Barack Obama’s top aides, Politico reports. Ed Genson is not alleging that Rahm Emanuel and Valerie Jarrett did anything wrong, but rather that their testimony would help prove that Blagojevich’s taped conversations...

At Ill. Capitol, It's a Festivus Miracle!

Teen augments holiday display with 'Seinfeld' homage

(Newser) - The Illinois state capitol's holiday decorations this year include a Nativity scene, a menorah—and a Festivus pole, courtesy of a teenage Seinfeld fan. Michael Tennenhouse  visited for the Blagojevich impeachment hearings, stumbled on the holiday displays, and got to thinking. "Religious displays should not be in public buildings,...

Obama Report: No Ties to Blago Scandal

Emanuel was in touch, but nobody knew Illinois governor was trying to sell Senate seat

(Newser) - Barack Obama's camp pronounced itself clean as a whistle today with regard to the Rod Blagojevich scandal, NBC reports. The president-elect’s team released an internal report saying that no one on the staff, including Obama himself, had any inappropriate contact with the Illinois governor as he considered appointments to...

Obama Camp to Clear Air on Blago Contacts

Report will see light after delay requested by federal prosecutor

(Newser) - President-elect Obama plans to reveal tomorrow his staff's conversations with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. "We have a report," said a rep. "It's been ready for release for a week. We've held off at the request of the US Attorney's office and that continues to be the case,...

'Individual D' Wants Immunity for Blago Help

Political fundraiser, Jackson pal Nayak offers cooperation

(Newser) - A prominent figure in the federal probe of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants immunity in the case in exchange for his cooperation, the Los Angeles Times reports. Chicago-area businessman Raghuveer Nayak, known as “Individual D,” was squeezed by the governor for campaign cash in return for naming Rep....

Blagojevich Can't Not Look Guilty
Blagojevich Can't Not
Look Guilty 
OPINION
Dec 21, 2008 8:19 PM CST

Blagojevich Can't Not Look Guilty

Illinois guv's hair and clothes all point to one thing: crime

(Newser) - When it comes to Rod Blagojevich, it’s a little too easy to judge a book by its cover, writes the Washington Post’s Robin Givhan. When he wears black business suits, “he evokes the image of a goodfella engaged in ‘waste management.’” And when he...

Cold Fish Blago Made Few Allies in Home State

Disgraced governor's failure to return phone calls contributes to current isolation

(Newser) - Rod Blagejovich made little effort to forge bonds with Illinois lawmakers, and that cold shoulder is helping them go untainted by his scandal, Politico reports. "It makes it plausible for people to say, ‘I really didn’t have much contact with him,’” one analyst said. Still,...

Obama Has Nothing to Hide, Plenty to Lose With Blago

Reflexively distancing himself from Illinois mess has made him look needlessly sketchy

(Newser) - Barack Obama looks to have done nothing wrong in his (however limited) dealings with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, but the president-elect seemed bent on proving otherwise, Joe Conason writes on Salon. Obama’s “unnecessary mistakes” in handling the scandal “risked creating public suspicion where there need be none,...

Blago: I Won't Step Down
 Blago: I Won't 
 Step Down 
UPDATED
Dec 19, 2008 2:26 PM CST

Blago: I Won't Step Down

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich proclaimed his innocence at a jam-packed press conference this afternoon, vowing to "fight until I take my last breath," the Chicago Tribune reports. "I'm not going to quit a job that people hired me to do because of false accusations and a political lynch mob,...

Blagojevich Lawyer: Feds' Wiretaps 'Illegally Obtained'

Ill. AG says state won't pay for governor's impeachment defense

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich’s lawyer said today federal wiretaps of the Illinois governor’s phones had been “illegally obtained,” and should be excluded from his impeachment proceedings, the AP reports. Furthermore, Ed Genson told the panel of state lawmakers considering the action, the criminal case against Blagojevich shouldn’t...

Feds to Freeze Blago Campaign Funds
Feds to Freeze Blago Campaign Funds
Dec 18, 2008 2:34 AM CST

Feds to Freeze Blago Campaign Funds

Move would block governor from using campaign war chest to pay legal bills

(Newser) - Federal authorities have informed embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich they intend to freeze the money in his campaign fund, preventing him from using the resources to pay his legal bills, sources tell the Chicago Sun-Times. The Friends of Blagojevich fund reported having $3.6 million when officials last filed a...

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