Via the NYT: Ill. Governor Is Charged With Corruption
Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois was arrested by federal authorities on Tuesday morning and charged with corruption, including an allegation that he conspired to effectively sell President-elect Barack Obama’s seat in the United States Senate to the highest bidder.
Mr. Blagojevich, a Democrat, called his sole authority to name Mr. Obama’s successor “golden,” and he sought to parlay it into a job as an ambassador or secretary of Health and Human Services, or a high-paying position at a nonprofit or an organization connected to labor unions, prosecutors said. He also suggested, they said, that in exchange for the Senate appointment, his wife could be placed on corporate boards where she might earn as much as $150,000 a year, and he tried to gain promises of money for his campaign fund.
If Mr. Blagojevich could not secure a deal to his liking, prosecutors said, he was willing to appoint himself.
Wow. while the notion of corrupt politicians, let alone ones from Illinois,1 are nothing new, this is a stunner in terms of its audacity and scope:
A 76-page affidavit from the United States Attorney’s office in the Northern District of Illinois says Mr. Blagojevich (pronounced bluh-GOY-uh-vich) was heard on wiretaps over the last month planning to “sell or trade Illinois’ United States Senate seat vacated by Pres-elect Barack Obama for financial and personal benefits for himself and his wife.”
According to the piece, it goes beyond just this incident, just in case one needs more. Apparently the feds have been investigating the Governor for five years on “pay to play” deals:
At a news conference, Patrick Fitzgerald, the prosecutor, said that Mr. Blagojevich had gone on a “political corruption crime spree,” and that his actions had “taken us to a truly new low.”“The conduct would make Lincoln roll over in his grave,” Mr. Fitzgerald said.
Indeed.
The Chicago Times notes that Blagojevich’s chief of staff was arrested as well:
Another charge alleges Blagojevich and Harris conspired to demand the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members responsible for editorials critical of him in exchange for state help with the sale of Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs baseball stadium owned by Tribune Co.Blagojevich and Harris, along with others, obtained and sought to gain financial benefits for the governor, members of his family and his campaign fund in exchange for appointments to state boards and commissions, state jobs and state contracts, according to the charges.
According to Chicago Breaking News:
Blagojevich and Harris were arrested simultaneously at their homes at about 6:15 a.m., according to the FBI. They were transported to FBI headquarters in Chicago. Blagojevich is slated to appear at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan today, according to Randall Samborn of the U.S. attorney’s office.
Josh Marshall does a good job of describing the situation (and well reflects my response as well):
Even setting aside the primordial level of corruption of trying to sell the senate seat of the President-elect of the United States, I never fail to be amazed at the brazenness and stupidity of some political crooks. I mean, I think everyone involved in politics or interested in political corruption in the country had to know that Blagojevich’s phones were tapped and probably his offices were bugged, and that Pat Fitzgerald had him under the craziest level of scrutiny. And he tries to sell the senate seat with that hanging over his head?Sphere: Related Content
- Not only is there the well known issues in Chicago politics, the previous governor, George Ryan, was convicted on fraud and racketeering charges in 2006. [↩]
December 9th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Chicago politics at its finest.