Scandal in Illinois
Posted: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 9:19 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
Courts, States, Democrats
The Chicago Tribune’s lead story: “The predawn rousting of Gov. Rod Blagojevich from his Ravenswood Manor home Tuesday marked a stunning climax to a tale of alleged public corruption unmatched in Illinois' storied history of elected scoundrels and thrust the state into an unprecedented political crisis. Illinoisans awoke to news that their governor had been arrested, handcuffed and hauled before a federal magistrate on sweeping charges he conspired to sell his office many times over--including putting a price on the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.”
”U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald said the governor's actions forced his office to intervene. ‘Gov. Blagojevich has been arrested in the middle of what we can only describe as a political corruption crime spree," he said. Fitzgerald said Blagojevich's "conduct would make [Abraham] Lincoln roll over in his grave.’”
The Chicago Sun-Times says Blagojevich must go.
So does the Chicago Tribune.
The Boston Globe: "In a state with a notable history of influence peddling, the allegations against the two-term governor and his chief of staff resounded across Chicago's insular political circles and among Washington's newly energized Democratic elites, who are busy planning the Obama inauguration."
Blago apparently has no plans to resign, per his attorney. " 'He didn't do anything wrong,' attorney Sheldon Sorosky told reporters after Blagojevich appeared in court on Tuesday. 'A lot of this is just politics.' Blagojevich should be in the office on Wednesday, Sorosky added. So, reporters asked, he doesn’t intend to resign? 'Not that I know of, no,' said Sorosky, who added that the governor was 'surprised' by the day's events, but his spirits are 'good.'"
Another Chicago Tribune piece: “A growing chorus of state lawmakers called for impeachment, and all five of the other statewide constitutional officers called for Blagojevich to step down… If a majority of the House votes for impeachment, then the Senate would hold a trial in which two-thirds of senators would have to vote to convict the governor, who could then be removed from office. Impeachment is the General Assembly's nuclear option, but lawmakers rarely push the button. The House has managed to impeach just one official, a Supreme Court justice accused of running amok in the 1830s.”
"Top Illinois lawmakers said Tuesday that they are preparing to call the Legislature into session as early as next week to set a special election, hoping to avert the possibility of their embattled governor picking the state's next U.S. senator," the AP says. "House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, said he is ready to convene the House on Monday to vote on a special election that would choose the successor to President-elect Barack Obama."
But according to Hotline On Call, “A special election to fill Pres.-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat could cost the state of Illinois between $45 million and $50 million, a state Board of Elections official told On Call… Ken Menzel, an elections specialist with the board, called the figure a ‘gross guesstimate’ based on the cost per precinct of running a special election earlier this year to fill the 14th District seat vacated by retiring Rep. J. Dennis Hastert. ‘We don't do specials for statewide offices,’ Menzel said. ‘This is one of the reasons we appoint to them. It's expensive to do these things.’”
NBC’s Pete Williams asks, “Could someone other than Gov. Blagojevich and his chief of staff be in legal trouble for discussing possible campaign contributions to the governor's re-election fund in return for the appointment to the Senate? The answer from federal investigators: They don't know. The person of greatest interest is described in the criminal charges as ‘Candidate 5.’ On October 31, the document says, Blagojevich was overheard saying of Candidate 5, ‘We were approached “pay to play,” that, you know, he'd raise me 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million, if I made him a senator.’ At this point, investigators say, they have only Blagojevich's version of what happened. The apparent discussion with Candidate 5 and the candidate's emissary were not picked up on any of the government's bugs or wiretaps.
Here's a timeline of the federal investigation.
The New York Post does its best to visually link Blagojevich and Obama: "For sale" over pictures (of equal size) of Blagojevich and Obama.
The New York Daily News: "Pssst! Wanna buy a Senate seat?" with a photo just of the Illinois governor.
