Illinois

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What the Heck Is the Matter With Corrupt Illinois?
What the Heck Is the Matter With Corrupt Illinois?
ANALYSIS
Dec 10, 2008 12:00 PM CST

What the Heck Is the Matter With Corrupt Illinois?

Still, it's hardly the only state with a long, sordid history of politicians on the take

(Newser) - Everyone knows Illinois pols are the dirtiest … except for maybe those in New Jersey and Louisiana. Though Illinois is notorious, with four modern governors convicted, a study of public corruption actually ranks it as the sixth-worst state. But no single factor explains a crooked culture, Eamon Javers and Fred...

Blago Dialogue Worthy of Mamet
 Blago Dialogue 
 Worthy of Mamet 
OPINION
Dec 10, 2008 11:42 AM CST

Blago Dialogue Worthy of Mamet

(Newser) - An astute reader of the criminal complaint against Rod Blagojevich will notice that, with shockingly little tweaking, the wiretapped conversations between the Illinois governor and his co-conspirators could be dialogue from a David Mamet play. Choire Sicha demonstrates in Salon, turning it into a quick one-acter. From the trash-talking femme...

Complaint Shows Blago's Wife Plotted With Him

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich's wife was deeply involved in his alleged scheming, the Chicago Tribune reports, based on details in the federal complaint against the Illinois governor. Though Patricia Blagojevich has not been charged with a crime, she was a vocal party to wiretapped conversations. In one recording, she can be heard...

Tribune to Blago: Resign Already
 Tribune to Blago: 
 Resign Already 
OPINION
Dec 10, 2008 10:17 AM CST

Tribune to Blago: Resign Already

Governor really can't govern after indictment

(Newser) - It's not news that Rod Blagojevich has been a “governor who cannot govern,” writes the Chicago Tribune in a furious editorial, but any ability he did have to serve Illinois has been swept away by this indictment. “The governor must resign immediately,” the paper declares, or...

Blago Scandal Will Test Obama's Cred
Blago Scandal Will Test
Obama's Cred
ANALYSIS
Dec 10, 2008 9:50 AM CST

Blago Scandal Will Test Obama's Cred

How fast, and how bluntly, will he move to censure corrupt pols?

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s first test was supposed to come from somewhere like Iran. Instead, write Charles Mahtesian and Jonathan Martin at Politico, it sneaked up from his home turf in the form of Rod Blagojevich—not to mention blossoming charges against Rep. Charlie Rangel. If Obama wants his change message...

Tribune Bankrupt One Day, Engulfed by News the Next

Chicago institution breaks Blagojevich news, and is a player in corruption allegations

(Newser) - What a difference a day makes for the Chicago Tribune, which yesterday broke the story of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s arrest, and was itself an object of his alleged corrupting intentions—just a day after its parent company declared bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal notes. “It’s pretty...

Illinois' New Eliot Ness Bags Another Scalp

From twin towers to Valerie Plame, Fitzgerald is relentless

(Newser) - With the arrest of Rod Blagojevich, federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald notched up his second indictment against an Illinois governor in five years. But it's just another scalp for the US attorney who's brought down everyone from World Trade Center bomber Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman to media mogul Conrad Black, not...

A 'Shady' Guv Is Brought Down by Vanity
A 'Shady' Guv Is Brought Down by Vanity
OPINION
Dec 10, 2008 6:54 AM CST

A 'Shady' Guv Is Brought Down by Vanity

Blagojevich always seemed sketchy, but never 'Nixonian'

(Newser) - Of the six Illinois governors who preceded Rod Blagojevich, three have gone to prison—a 50% conviction rate that makes dealing crack on Chicago’s West Side look safe. Still, writes Edward McClelland in Salon, nobody was prepared for the breathtaking scale of Blagojevich's corruption. "Illinoisans have always had...

Obama's 'Pull' on Ethics Bill Helped Spark Gov. Case

But past ties also reveal Obama's ascendency through machine politics

(Newser) - Barack Obama isn't as distant from the scandal surrounding the indicted governor of Illinois as he has let on. The president-elect used his pull in the Illinois senate to get an ethics bill passed that contributed to Gov. Rod Blagojevich's indictment on corruption charges, reports the New York Times. While...

Even for Chicago, Blago Scandal 'Jaw-Dropping'

(Newser) - Even in the context of Illinois' sleazy political standards, it's hard to find the right words to describe the Blagojevich allegations, writes Eric Zorn in the Chicago Tribune. He tries "eyepopping, gobsmacking, jaw-dropping, appalling," and "unprecedented in their alleged brazenness." He also notes that a Chicago...

Obama: No Dealings With Blago
 Obama: No Dealings With Blago 
Dec 9, 2008 3:47 PM CST

Obama: No Dealings With Blago

Illinois governor now out on bond as deputy calls for resignation

(Newser) - President-elect Barack Obama today denied having any dealings with Rod Blagojevich over his Senate replacement, and said news of the Illinois governor’s alleged corruption “saddened and sobered” him, the Chicago Tribune reports. Blagojevich, meanwhile, walked out of federal court on a $4,500 bond after hearing that he...

Arrest Will Ripple Beyond Illinois Politics

Will Blagojevich still appoint Obama replacement?

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich’s arrest will reverberate well beyond Illinois, Chris Cillizza writes in the Washington Post. Most immediately, it drastically reshapes the race to fill Barack Obama’s Senate seat, which the Illinois governor still has power to fill. If he even makes a pick, it’ll have to be...

Blago Charges Go Beyond Obama Seat
Blago Charges Go Beyond Obama Seat
UPDATED
Dec 9, 2008 1:22 PM CST

Blago Charges Go Beyond Obama Seat

'Breadth of corruption' would 'make Lincoln roll over in his grave'

(Newser) - In addition to bartering over President-elect Obama’s vacant Senate seat, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich sought campaign contributions in return for government action, and attempted to influence the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune, the Sun-Times reports. The FBI released transcripts of incriminating conversations today. “The conduct would make...

Blagojevich Sought Cabinet Post for Obama's Senate Seat

FBI tapes reveal wish for health secretary post

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich had said he wanted “something real good” in exchange for his choice of a replacement for the president-elect in the Senate, Politico reports. Otherwise, he said in FBI tapes the day before the election, “I’ll just send myself.” A Senate seat is a "...

State, Chicago Threaten BoA Over Ill. Sit-in

Will yank business if bank doesn't restore window factory's credit

(Newser) - The sit-in launched by laid-off workers at a Chicago door and window factory could have a nine-figure financial impact on Bank of America. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a day before his arrest on corruption charges, called on state agencies to cease doing business with the bank, and the city of...

Illinois Guv Charged With Corruption

Feds focus on 'pay-to- play politics' in choice of Obama successor

(Newser) - Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested at his Chicago home today, and taken into federal custody on charges of “pay-to-play politics,” the Tribune reports. Amid questions over whether such practices were involved in the selection of a senator to replace President-elect Obama, a federal probe had been recording...

Zoo Makes Gifts from Reindeer Poo

(Newser) - Reindeer have found yet another way to give of themselves for our holiday benefit. An Illinois zoo is selling Christmas tree ornaments fashioned from the creatures' droppings, the Bloomington-Normal Pantagraph reports. The small droppings are dried, painted, and incorporated into whimsical designs. The $5 gifts have been dubbed “magical...

Teen Critical After Jumping From Moving SUV on Dare

200 Ill. teens played the stunts-for-cash game

(Newser) - An Illinois grand jury is investigating a scavenger hunt that left a 17-year-old in critical condition after he jumped from a Dodge Durango moving at 25mph. As many as 200 teenagers were apparently competing for cash by performing stunts and videotaping them last Friday. Erik Nava's team was winning the...

Missing Student Found Dead in Ill. Frat House

Police unsure how body went unnoticed for 8 days

(Newser) - An Illinois Institute of Technology student mysteriously turned up dead in a storage room of his fraternity house yesterday, after being considered missing for 8 days, the Chicago Tribune reports. Benjamin Collen’s death has been ruled an accident—the 19-year-old sophomore died of asphyxia after inhaling carbon dioxide from...

Obama Vacates Senate Seat, Effective Sunday

Dem's absence, and Biden's, could effect stimulus plan during lame-duck session

(Newser) - President-elect Obama will resign from the Senate effective Sunday, the Chicago Tribune reports. Illinois state law makes Gov. Rod Blagojevich responsible for choosing Obama’s successor, but states no deadline on the appointment. That could be problematic, with a vote possible during Congress’ lame-duck session on pressing economic issues; the...

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