Illinois

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Blago Says He Won't Appoint Anyone to Senate

(Newser) - Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich won't appoint anyone to Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat while his corruption scandal unfolds, his lawyer said today. "Why would he do that?" said Ed Genson. "Harry Reid said that they're not going to accept anybody he picks." Genson, who spoke to reporters...

Ill. Court Nixes Motion to Declare Blagojevich Unfit

Meanwhile, lawyer complains of a lack of 'standard of proof' in impeachment proceedings

(Newser) - Illinois’ top court today rejected the state attorney general’s motion to have Rod Blagojevich declared unfit to be governor due to corruption charges against him, the Chicago Tribune reports, even as his lawyer charged that members of a state House committee looking into impeachment wouldn’t give Blagojevich a...

Blago Denied Lottery Post to Jackson's Wife

Congressman says he wouldn't give $25K to campaign

(Newser) - Jesse Jackson Jr. may be "Senate Candidate No. 5" in the Blagojevich scandal, but he's been cooperating with feds investigating the governor since at least last summer, reports ABC7 in Chicago. Jackson told investigators that Blagojevich refused to appoint Jackson's wife as the state's lottery director in 2003 because...

Meet Blago's Political Hero

(Newser) - A photo of Richard Nixon with Rod Blagojevich has surfaced in what Time Out Chicago describes as an ironic twist of fate and a reminder that politicians should rely on better role models. “In 1980, most twenty-something men probably pined to bump into one of the Beatles or maybe...

Blago Hangs On to Job as Bargaining Chip
 Blago Hangs 
 On to Job as 
 Bargaining Chip

ANALYSIS
Dec 16, 2008 11:55 AM CST

Blago Hangs On to Job as Bargaining Chip

Blagojevich holding onto job as bargaining chip

(Newser) - For Rod Blagojevich, everything is a shakedown. For now, writes Carrie Budoff Brown in Politico, he’s staying in office because it gives him some leverage over his own fate. Though he’s facing near-certain impeachment, that’s a long process. In the meantime, he could trade his resignation for...

Blago's Impeachment Begins
 Blago's Impeachment Begins 
Dec 16, 2008 8:17 AM CST

Blago's Impeachment Begins

Governor no stranger to this, lawyer says

(Newser) - The Illinois House voted 113-0 yesterday to authorize a committee to look into Rod Blagojevich’s misdeeds, the first step towards impeaching the disgraced governor, the Chicago Tribune reports, in an unprecedented Democratic-led attempt to oust Illinois’ first Democratic governor in a quarter-century. But Democrats brushed off calls to strip...

What Crime Did He Actually Commit?

Despite phone taps, evidence against Blago may not secure conviction

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich's foul-mouthed conversations about Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat may have been "appalling," as Patrick Fitzgerald said last week. But were they actually illegal? With no appointment made and no evidence that the governor received anything, prosecutors may have a difficult case if and when Blagojevich...

Ill. House Speaker Launches Blago Impeachment

Madigan asks feds to help make case against governor

(Newser) - The speaker of the Illinois House is starting impeachment proceedings against Rod Blagojevich, the Chicago Tribune reports. “We plan to proceed without delay,” said Mike Madigan, a longtime foe of the disgraced governor. Madigan has been considering proceedings against Blagojevich since before his recent corruption arrest, and says...

Obama's Halo Undimmed by Blago: Poll

Voters want more info about prez-elect's involvement in scandal

(Newser) - The Rod Blagojevich scandal has done little to dent Barack Obama’s approval ratings, according to ABC’s polling guru: More than three-quarters of those surveyed give his handling of the transition a thumbs-up. But just 51% say Obama has done enough to explain his team’s discussions with the...

Special Election Gains Ground With Blago

Guv unlikely to quit, but would give up naming Obama successor

(Newser) - Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, under indictment for trying to sell Barack Obama’s Senate seat, would likely now approve a bill authorizing a special election to fill the post, sources tell the Chicago Sun-Times. Blagojevich—who insiders now say has decided not to resign—wants the measure to apply to...

All-Smiles Governor Was Sinking Fast

Colleagues describe Blagojevich as panicked, delusional

(Newser) - In public, Rod Blagojevich appeared a political natural, charming voters and reeling off anecdotes. In private, colleagues tell the New York Times, the Illinois governor is another man: petulant, foul-mouthed, and prone to bouts of fury if an aide misplaces his beloved hairbrush. As Blagojevich clings to office, insiders say...

Tribune Story Forced Feds to Arrest Blago Early

Story broke up meeting

(Newser) - US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald must have been grinding his teeth as he arrested Rod Blagojevich Tuesday morning, reports the Wall Street Journal. Fitzgerald’s team had been salivating over the prospect of catching the sale of Barack Obama’s Senate seat on tape, but those hopes were dashed when the...

GOP Video Spotlights Obama-Blago Ties

(Newser) - Republicans posted a video today that questions Barack Obama’s old links to Rod Blagojevich, Politico reports. Titled "Questions Remain," it urges Obama to reveal contacts between his team and the scandal-plagued governor. The video shows that Obama advised Blago in his 2002 campaign, and endorsed Blago's...

Blago the Only Rat Paying the Piper

'Chicago punk,' sure, but ever heard of Bush, Rumsfeld, Lay, Rubin?

(Newser) - Poor Rod Blagojevich: He merely tried to auction off the president-elect’s Senate seat and could be imprisoned for it. But the men who bungled Iraq and crashed our economy can anticipate vacations and White House jobs, Frank Rich writes in the New York Times. Luckily for us, Blagojevich “...

Illinois AG: Let Voters Pick New Senator
Illinois AG: Let Voters Pick
New Senator
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP
Dec 14, 2008 11:21 AM CST

Illinois AG: Let Voters Pick New Senator

McCain scolds GOP for Blago flap; Granholm, Romney clash on autos

(Newser) - Blago and bailouts were the talk of today's talk shows. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan told Meet the Press that voters should elect Barack Obama’s Senate replacement in a special election, while the state’s lieutenant governor said legislation would allow him to appoint a caretaker until a special...

FBI Circled Around Blago's Wife for a Year

She dropped real estate work amid questions about clients paying for influence

(Newser) - She's known for ranting on an FBI tape—but that wasn’t the first time Patricia Blagojevich’s name has surfaced in the corruption probe of her governor husband, the Chicago Tribune reports. A federal investigation that began a year ago prompted Mrs. Blago to quit real estate work amid...

Blago's Real Crime: His Blackmail of BoA
 Blago's Real Crime:
His Blackmail of BoA
opinion
Dec 13, 2008 11:19 AM CST

Blago's Real Crime: His Blackmail of BoA

Government shouldn't just step into commercial affairs

(Newser) - Emperor Nero killed a lot of people, but most people just remember the fiddling incident, notes Joe Queenan in the Washington Post. Something similar is happening with Rod Blagojevich, whose most flamboyant offense, trying to sell Obama’s Senate seat, is obscuring his real crime: Forcing Bank of America to...

Emanuel Talked Senate Seat With Blago Aide

No sign Chief of Staff pick tried to wheel and/or deal

(Newser) - Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama’s pick for White House chief of staff, had multiple conversations with Rod Blagojevich's chief of staff about Obama’s Senate seat, the Chicago Tribune is reporting. There’s no evidence that Emanuel engaged in any dealmaking for the seat, or that he knew of Blagojevich’...

Death Threats, Blago Rumors Plague Emanuel

(Newser) - Fuming over rumors he was the Obama adviser who spoke with Rod Blagojevich about the president-elect’s Senate seat, Rahm Emanuel told ABC News today he's received death threats and the media have "intruded too much." Emanuel is not a target of prosecutors, sources told the AP late...

Media Gets 'Silly' Over Obama Ties to Blago
Media Gets 'Silly' Over
Obama Ties to Blago  
OPINION
Dec 12, 2008 2:05 PM CST

Media Gets 'Silly' Over Obama Ties to Blago

There's little evidence of ties as questions pour from press

(Newser) - The media is aflutter with questions over Barack Obama’s connection to Rod Blagojevich, and although it’s fair for the press to probe, things are getting “silly,” Joan Walsh writes on Salon. The only tie we’ve seen is Blagojevich caught on tape ranting obscenely that Obama...

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