This would only be a bombshell if it had been unexpected. AP Exclusive: Blago talked to Durbin about Senate CHICAGO (AP) – Just two weeks before his arrest on corruption charges, then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich floated a plan to nominate to the U.S. Senate the daughter of his biggest political rival in return for concessions on his pet projects, people familiar with the plan told The | Read More »
Amazing what a little fiscal intransigence can do: The Illinois House overwhelmingly rejected a temporary income tax increase Sunday, moving the state closer to massive spending cuts that critics called a “doomsday” budget. The House’s Democratic leaders didn’t even try to pass a larger, permanent increase that was approved by the state Senate a day earlier. Lawmakers said there was little support for that plan | Read More »
Looks like it’s Alderman Isaac Carothers, a close ally of Mayor Daley. And isn’t that interestingly close to the center of a lot of power structures Press conference starts at 2 PM CST.
I am perilously close to being gobsmacked by this transcript of the Burris/Blagojevich conversation (via Hot Air). I’m not a lawyer, but it seems to me that there’s enough there to indicate that Roland Burris flat-out lied about not trading favors and money for the Senate seat. I am not, however, so stunned as to be unable to remind people about this, this, this, this, | Read More »
Ace of Spades (H/T, by the way) has kindly given me permission to use the Flaming Blagojevich Skull for this, so I shall: Sun-Times exclusive: Burris promised Blago campaign a check by mid-December In a November conversation caught on an FBI wiretap, Roland Burris promised Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s brother that he’d write the governor a campaign check by mid-December, Burris’ lawyer said today. That was | Read More »
It’s been a while since we visited the Matter of Blagojevich, but one thing that you can always count on: there’s always going to be something new coming out from that glorious trainwreck. Judge OKs release of wiretap of Burris CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge said Tuesday he would allow the U.S. Senate Ethics Committee to have a federal wiretap of former Gov. Rod | Read More »
Rep Jesse Jackson Jr (D-IL) – already under a federal probe for his possible connections with former Illinois Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich – is now dealing with questions about payments from his campaign to his wife Sandra Jackson: Jesse Jackson Jr. Pays Campaign Funds to Chicago Alderman Wife May 21 (Bloomberg) — Representative Jesse Jackson Jr.’s congressional campaign organization has paid his wife at least | Read More »
I agree with Glenn Reynolds that Rep Schakowsky’s comments about the Tea Parties (‘despicable’ and ‘shameful’) were ‘pathetic.’ I also agree that the fact that she’s married to a convicted tax fraud (not to mention, Huffington Post writer) to be ‘ironic.’ But I’d like to add one: Utterly Typical: “The husband of an Illinois congresswoman was sentenced to five months in prison Wednesday. Robert Creamer | Read More »
NY-20: The recount for this race – which is actually at plus 25 right now, not plus 57 – is going to be expensive. There’s a new pledge drive up to pay for that recount, in the same style as the one that gathered over 120K for Jim Tedisco: I encourage people to help out there, or where they can. It’s already at 9K (the | Read More »
Yes, yes, I know: NAFTA’s supposed to prevent that sort of thing, but we’re having one anyway: Ricardo Alday, spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in Washington said pressuring politicians by hitting imports from states with key Democratic leaders with tariffs of up to 90 percent “is one the main considerations,” for the action, the Dallas Morning News reported Wednesday. The official list of products has | Read More »
“Mr. Steele declined a request for an interview.” Dan Riehl caught this first, and I concur: there are times when you pick yourself up, walk it off, and get back to work – and Steele’s gotten to that point. Yes, the media doesn’t love the GOP, except as a punching bag. And yes, the media loves to see Red-on-Red fights, the latest of which has | Read More »
Reading Brian Faughnan’s piece about Rep Alan Mollohan’s (D, WV-01) steering earmarks to his landlord while receiving free rent reminded me, of course, of Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s (D, formerly IL-05) steering lucrative polling contracts to his landlord while receiving free rent. And now I’ve been reminded by fellow RS Contributor Mark I that Senator Bob Menendez (D, NJ) notoriously steered earmarks the | Read More »
From Chicago News Bench, and I think that this local blogger will be covering the actual race pretty closely. He doesn’t like Quigley much already, partially because the guy’s apparently a trained seal for John Stroger (video autoloads at link) and partially because Quigley treats Twitter as yet another opportunity for campaign spam, so you may enjoy following this race via that portal. Moving along, | Read More »
Abandons him quite comprehensively, in fact: WASHINGTON–Embattled Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) is cancelling his Thursday schedule, where he was to have met with Rockford area civic, elected and religious leaders as Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) sent out a very frosty statement, saying Burris failed to disclose under oath the nature of his relationship with former Gov. Blagojevich.
(Via Hot Air Headlines) It’s a lovely thought, but it won’t happen. If either state or Senate Democrats cared enough about the humiliation that they were putting the people of Illinois through with this sorry mess, they would have changed the law to permit a special election in the first place. But that wasn’t important. Keeping the seat in the hands of one political party? | Read More »
Annnnd that would be perjury: Blago hit up Burris for cash EXCLUSIVE | In his third sworn version of events, senator confirms pitch for donations Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s brother solicited U.S. Sen. Roland Burris for up to $10,000 in campaign cash before Blagojevich named Burris to the coveted post — something Burris initially failed to disclose under oath before an Illinois House impeachment panel, | Read More »
Well, this cheers me up after the last story. Via Hot Air Headlines: Blago, Libby prosecutor to stay on Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney in Chicago who brought criminal fraud charges against Rod Blagojevich, will be staying in his job in the Obama administration, even though he was appointed to the position by President George W. Bush. [snip] But Fitzgerald will not be asked to | Read More »
They threw him out 59-0: SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been convicted at his impeachment trial and thrown out of office. His removal comes nearly two months after his arrest on charges of trying to sell Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat. He becomes the first U.S. governor in more than 20 years to be removed by impeachment. …and AoSHQ reports that | Read More »
Ride that puppy all the way down, Rod. Impeachment trial to proceed without Ill. governor SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Gov. Rod Blagojevich, taking his defense to television rather than his impeachment trial, lashed out at his accusers Monday and revealed he had considered naming Oprah Winfrey to the U.S. Senate. The embattled governor told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that the idea of nominating the talk show | Read More »
For great justice. CHICAGO — Illinois’ embattled but defiant governor, so fond of reciting poetry as he defends himself against federal corruption allegations, has turned instead to the history books to describe the emotional strain his arrest put on him and his family. In an interview Thursday with The Associated Press, Gov. Rod Blagojevich compared his early morning December arrest by FBI agents to Japan’s | Read More »
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