AMERICAblog: Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich arrested on corruption-related charges
grandma
· 11 months ago
I had read that Democrats considered impeaching him.....so this is good news.
Indigo
· 11 months ago
What fun! Illinois is always good for a little corruption and a thorough house-cleaning. Let me guess . . . Obama knew what was about to happen but isn't direclty entangled.
bluestockton
· 11 months ago
You mean, Joe, that he hadn't appointed a new senator because he was still taking bids on the seat?
EdNSted
· 11 months ago
The Democrats had damned well better move quickly on this. Blagojevich absolutely cannot appoint Obama's successor now.
Cally
· 11 months ago
Hi,
After reading the BS in this morning's paper, I felt quite animated with disbelief.
You know, everything we do, all of our experiences, these are the very things that make us think and make us what we are. We are not "some idea," we are largely the summation of our experiences. Then there is the mystery of our essence, but I digress. There are truly no wrong or right answers. That's what's challenging. We make up our minds, we change our minds. ". . . There is time for a hundred indecisions, and for a hundred visions and revisions . . ." (Eliot, 1917).
I had to reiterate to myself, you know, what I value the most: striving with the purpose of understanding and growing within myself, to be humble, to be humane, to take action in the essence of compassion.The duplicity of this effort is what can form the best possible humanity. Only in this way can we form the fundamental foundation of a healthy society. If each of us cannot do this, we cannot possibly thrive as a culture, as a nation, as a world. Without personal introspection and a higher conscience, there is not much hope for us as a whole.
But according to zen, "Everything is just as it should be," (Suzuki, 1971). I agree. Everything is just as it should be. How could this not be so? This is what our leaders have delivered to us: an economy that has rotted from the inside out. What we have here is an oligarchy of companies that have experienced record profits over the past eight year. Paralleling this growth is a nation that has experienced record layoffs. Paralleling the record layoffs is a conglomerate of CEOs who have experienced record bonuses. What is the difference between this situation and Medieval Feudalism, other than the tools?
And now that sacrifice is required, the leadership who caused this corporate mess is scrambling to grab what they can and to pass the responsibility. At the same time, one can not be too worried. Things could get worse. It is what it is.
Zorba
· 11 months ago
Illinois: upholding a long tradition,,,,,still one of the most corrupt states in the Union. How many governors does that make now who have been arrested, indicted, and/or jailed? I've lost track. I grew up in the St. Louis and southern Illinois area, and still have relatives there. Unfortunately, this is nothing new for Illinois.
woodroad34
· 11 months ago
Yeah, I grew up in Michigan and that's all I would hear.
kh7463
· 11 months ago
Too true. I grew up in IL and among my coworkers living there, this is more of a "oh, it happened again. what are we having for lunch today?" kind of thing.
MikeinSanJo
· 11 months ago
This just makes it SO clear...
Democrat or republican - It doesn't matter. They may have different legislative priorities when they're in control, but they're all politicians to the core.
Dirty, stinking, corrupt politicians.
Yeah, I know some are not that bad. And some (who just haven't been busted yet) are much, MUCH worse.
nicho
· 11 months ago
I'm confused. Obama promised Hillary a good job if she would support him in the election. And, that's OK -- but this isn't. Can anyone explain the difference?
ZennButtKicker (tlhwraith)
· 11 months ago
Hillary Clinton didn't give Obama a bunch of money or other monetary favors. It's one thing to have a little cronyism for an appointed position, it really is another to actively try to get personal perks and cash to fill a vacant, normally elected, position.
nicho
· 11 months ago
If I read the indictment correctly, he wasn't asking for an envelope full of cash -- he wanted a good job -- sort of like Obama offering Secretary of State for, shall we say, "consideration."
When is a quid pro quo legal and when is it illegal?
BarbaraGordon
· 11 months ago
There is a huge difference. Politicians routinely broker their support in exchange for something - a vote on a bill they are sponsoring, etc.... But to blatantly try to sell a Senate seat for personal financial gain is a whole other story.
Molly Weasley
· 11 months ago
Here in Illinois, we refer to him as "Gov. Doofus." What a loser.
If he had any honor (which he doesn't), Blago would resign, let Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn take over and appoint Obama's replacement.
He's been under investigation for so much. He had to add this, and try to taint Obama, too. Sheesh. No wonder some of those he was touting as replacements seemed so lame -- he was trying to attract their bidding!
I can think of THREE other Illinois governors who were sent to the slammer, but I think he might be the only one arrested WHILE STILL IN OFFICE. Any historians out there with the goods?
aquarius2
· 11 months ago
I can think of Stratton, Walker, and Ryan but don't know when they were arrested. Did a google search and found this link of disgraced Illinois politicians, Walker and Ryan aren't on it which is curious. Anyway, it the link works it is kind of interesting. Seems there is a long history of corruption or "pay to play" politics at work in Illinois.
I know Ryan was arrested a year or so after he left office. Not sure about the others, I've been out of IL for 20 years almost.
ZennButtKicker (tlhwraith)
· 11 months ago
Blagojevich isn't a bright man. With all the attention paid to him during the Rezko mess he goes and does this?
High Crimes & Misdemeanors
· 11 months ago
I would have to agree with you on that. The man was being watched and then he goes off and puts the "for sale" sign out???
Unf**kinbelievable!!!
Steve_in_CNJ
· 11 months ago
true, but woodroad makes a good point above. bush/cheney's crimes were worse but Blago has no power to manipulate the FBI, and the FBI can't exactly wiretap the oval office.
ZennButtKicker (tlhwraith)
· 11 months ago
You are right, the Republicans have gamed the system to cover up their "illegal activities", however, at this point I think we are all better served by dealing with Democratic idiocy than GOP idiocy. Let's face it, the GOP has been shown the proverbial door and if the Dems want any real chance at a lasting governing majority in some ways we must expect and demand a higher standard from the people we elect. I take that back, higher standard sounds too lofty and rhetorical, my expectations are that the Dems we elect act like reasonable people with some degree of a moral compass. They don't have to be saints, but for goodness sakes lets not have Soddom and Gamorrah taking root in the currently Democratic majority.
Older_Wiser
· 11 months ago
See? Everything is for sale in America...
High Crimes & Misdemeanors
· 11 months ago
Why were the fed secretly taping him?? Surly it was not because of this?? Did they just happen to overhear him on this point of pay-to-play for the Senate seat???
Boy, corrupt politicians? What's new?
((((((((shaking my head))))))))
aquarius2
· 11 months ago
I think he has been under investigation for a long time. It is amazing that he could be that stupid considering he knew he was being watched.
kh7463
· 11 months ago
Yea, he's been under investigation for forever, partly because of Rezko
Could their be a connection with this?? You know the Oligarchical banks don't like getting shoved around.... especially when it comes to their money. It would not be out of the ordinary for banks to pull off something like this??
BarbaraGordon
· 11 months ago
This is unflipping believable. The whole world is going to hell in a handbasket. The only good thing is that Obama won.
woodroad34
· 11 months ago
Okay, and how is this any different from what Monkeyboy, Darth, et al. has done? Not to mention the Justice Dept. and Slimy Al Gonzo with the Federal Prosecutors? Howcum none of them have been arrested?
ZennButtKicker (tlhwraith)
· 11 months ago
That's the GOP attack tactic and we see how well it has worked for them (basically, when a GOP operative gets caught the first response is to point out an adversaries problem). We need to move past the hand pointing and "why is life unfair" meme and deal with what's in front of us. Right now, it's time to throw some bleach in the pool of the Democratic party and kill of the scum. I would daresay the biggest failing of the GOP, although they weren't put in jail in many instances, was the fact that their members were caught so many times doing bad things. The message shouldn't be tit-for-tat, whenever a Dem is caught a GOP failure is pointed out, the message IMHO should be "this sh_t stops, period".
woodroad34
· 11 months ago
I agree; the Democrats need to make sure they clean house and get rid of the corruption within their own ranks. However, Republicans have always been the "holier than thou" party and yet they don't/can't acknowledge the 'scum' that needs to be 'bleached' from their ranks. And 'fingerpointing' works. People forget the rotten apples in their ranks and start to fall into the same rut. I'm not excluding Democrats, but I believe Republicans (because they're the worst at it) need to constantly be reminded, like the little ADD brats that they are, of how corrupt they can be. Just look at what happened after Nixon, they totally forgot and repeated the same behavior, albeit without the impeachment this time. They need to stop talking about religiosity and get some real world morals.
Raymond T. Anderson
· 11 months ago
I'm really not surprised. He did a lot of good for my state, but he's finished now. What an idiot.
I hope Pat Quinn will be able to take over and repair the damage to the Democratic Party. And ditto to Molly Weasley's remarks.
MachKnight
· 11 months ago
How disgusting!!! I sure this is just the tip of the iceberg. I hope they go to jail for a longtime.
EmGD
· 11 months ago
How brazenly do you have to sell an open Senate seat for the Feds to have an open and shut case on it only a month after the seat opened? was he taking out "But this seat" billboards? eBay?
Illinois governor halts business with Bank of America...and the next day, he is arrested on corruption charges. Does this seem odd to anyone?
SCLiberal
· 11 months ago
No. It takes a long time to put together a case against someone.
Milli
· 11 months ago
It takes time yes, but I'm sure the BOA declaration had something to do with the timing.
pdxprobert
· 11 months ago
Im originally from Illinois and have family there still.. Im amazed at high they are taxed.. 9.5 sales tax, high property taxes and toll roads.. where is all that revenue going...
in comparison, I live in Oregon.. we have no sales tax, no toll roads and property taxes that in my case about 25% less than my brother who lives in northern Illinois...and our property values are much higher than where he lives...
Ive heard Illinois is amongst the most corrupt states in the union.. I hope this event leads to it becoming one of the least corrupt...
Zorba
· 11 months ago
Corruption in Illinois goes back to the Daley political machine in Chicago, and even well before that. I must admit the thing that made me most nervous about Obama was the fact that he was from Chicago, and came up in Chicago and Illinois politics. It's hard to be in Illinois politics and not be involved with, or at least tainted by, the machine-style corruption that is endemic in the state. Not that I'm accusing every politician from Illinois of being corrupt, but there sure are a lot of them who are.
Ed
· 11 months ago
If he is guilty. He and his wife should go to jail and lose all their goverment benifits. I'd say being an elected officeal, 10 years would be a good even number for them to spend in prison.
magellan_x
· 11 months ago
The shocking part here isn't how corrupt Blago is, if you followed him over the past few years, you would know that already. The shocking part here, is how dumb Blago is. I mean, he replaced Rostenkowski, Ryan is still in jail and Fitzgerald is from Illinois. Change starts from within first, and getting people like Blago out is not only a good thing for Illinois, but for the party as a whole.
Tip O'Neil
· 11 months ago
The soon to be ex-governor is heard over the wire tap as saying that the Senate seat is a valuable commodity and if they don't give him something of value he would just appoint himself to the Senate seat.
That sums our corrupt political system up in one sentence. "It is a valuable commodity."
Our country is FUBAR. It doesn't matter if it is a Dem or a Repub...It gets worse every day.
kh7463
· 11 months ago
lol it's a "bleepin' valuable commodity"
pdxprobert
· 11 months ago
Should all politicians operate under the understanding theyre all being wire tapped? I mean how does a politician become the focus of a wiretap anyway? Same with Ted Stevens, what prompted his investigation? Does someone turn them in or are all of them listened to for some controversial comments and then they are listened to further for possible wrongdoings if they come under suspicion?... as I understand the new wiretap programs, all of our calls and emails both international and domestic are being recorded... thats been proven by the whistelblower from ATT, Mark Klein... so it seems that anybody who becomes controversial or makes some statements the corporations dont like and gets press for their positions, can become the target... in some cases as in this one thats good, in other cases it could be invasive as Im sure some politicians stragegize on the phone and those strategies if told to the opposition, could become valuable too... who's watching the poeple listening to conversations..... how about attorney client privileges.. many attys are in cases against major corporations... it seems that the corp being sued could get valuable info if they knew the content of the calls their adversary was having.. it may not be legal to listen to a call of an atty without cause, but it could happen in the fancy free environment the new FISA laws opened up... isnt that why FISA was created in the first place, because of the abuses?
Yoyogibear
· 11 months ago
Let this loser go. If Dems want to actually accomplish anything meaningful, we can't sell it.
We can't act like Republicans.
caphillprof
· 11 months ago
Political corruption is like an iceberg. Just think how we'd feel if we knew about the other 90 percent!
okojo
· 11 months ago
My guess is that "Fitzmas" is a holiday for conservatives as well....
tommytoonz
· 11 months ago
I predict a minimum of 2 weeks of non-stop Fox News coverage of this as corruption under Obama's watch. Though this has nothing to do with Obama, that's how it will be presented by Republicans and Fox and since it's close enough to him, the media will happily oblige them.
Monitor_One
· 11 months ago
Throw the bum out. I am sick to death of the corruption. I don't care if they are Democrats or Republicans - kick em to the curb. Obama needs to set a good example to Congress by not playing politics or making excuses or drawing comparisons....just say, "there is no room for corruption in politics". There is a new sheriff in town. I was pleased when Jefferson lost in LA. His high profile corruption case was a stain on the party. Enough.
SCLiberal
· 11 months ago
I totally agree. To support criminals because of a party affiliation is the worst kind of stupidity.
kh7463
· 11 months ago
I just listened to part of the audio feed via the Chicago Sun-Times. Very damning evidence they have there.
frank
· 11 months ago
I used to watch this guy run in his tights. Awww I miss Lincoln Square. Maybe the U.S. Atty. should wire tap the board rooms. George Ryan can kiss his pardon goodbye
anon
· 11 months ago
If stupidity were a crime Blogojevich would have been behind bars months ago. I read that his approval rating was three to four percent.
I think it's important for the party to begin policing itself. It we want to change politics, we have to drive corrupt politicians out of the party and then out of office.
I hope they throw the book at this guy.
larry
· 11 months ago
Jackson Jr met with the govenor Monday....either he was the person worrying about the $$ or he was there and later dropped a nickel on the gov..in either case anxious Jackson will be in the House for awhile or in legal trouble. DUCKWORTH for Senate...thats Barack choice and a damn good one.
Paul
· 11 months ago
I live in Illinois. I think the Illinois Democrats stepped forward to help take Blago down. They held their breath until after the 2008 election. Then they acted to have Blago gone long before the 2010 election, when Blago would be up for reelection. It was not like he did not have a lot of enemies in the Democratic party. I would not even be surprised if Obama participated in taking Blago down by extending a noose, in which Blago obligingly stuck his neck.
pdxprobert
· 11 months ago
I read where theres an effort to have a constitutional convention in Illinois.. hows that effort going... wouldnt it be a good thing to have that occur?
KarenMrsLloydRichards
· 11 months ago
Merry Fitzmas, Rod!
RitornaVincitor
· 11 months ago
Blagojevich looks a bit like Dan White.
anarchy
· 11 months ago
I'm a lifelong Chicagoan.
good riddance to a very bad Governor. couldn't have happened to a nicer guy, LOL.
our last Governor is cooling his heels in jail as well, let's hope the brief talk of a pardon for George Ryan is now over.
now we just need to be rid of Richard Daley the entire City Council, and especially Cook County Board Commissioner Todd Stroger - but the main problem is that; in a TRUE Democracy the people tend to get exactly the type of leadership they deserve.
doesn't say much for Chicagoans nor the residents of the state of Illinois, sad to say.
Guv of il is good man, under investigation for about forever, only charged to keep senate all white. I hope they replace biden or hillary clinton seat with a black or hispanic
p roberts
· 11 months ago
what's all this talk about calling for Blagojevich to "resign?" ... "throw him in prison" sounds a lot more fitting
it gives me chills to see how calm and collected he continues to act
All Comments
After reading the BS in this morning's paper, I felt quite animated with disbelief.
You know, everything we do, all of our experiences, these are the very things that make us think and make us what we are. We are not "some idea," we are largely the summation of our experiences. Then there is the mystery of our essence, but I digress. There are truly no wrong or right answers. That's what's challenging. We make up our minds, we change our minds. ". . . There is time for a hundred indecisions, and for a hundred visions and revisions . . ." (Eliot, 1917).
I had to reiterate to myself, you know, what I value the most: striving with the purpose of understanding and growing within myself, to be humble, to be humane, to take action in the essence of compassion.The duplicity of this effort is what can form the best possible humanity. Only in this way can we form the fundamental foundation of a healthy society. If each of us cannot do this, we cannot possibly thrive as a culture, as a nation, as a world. Without personal introspection and a higher conscience, there is not much hope for us as a whole.
But according to zen, "Everything is just as it should be," (Suzuki, 1971). I agree. Everything is just as it should be. How could this not be so? This is what our leaders have delivered to us: an economy that has rotted from the inside out. What we have here is an oligarchy of companies that have experienced record profits over the past eight year. Paralleling this growth is a nation that has experienced record layoffs. Paralleling the record layoffs is a conglomerate of CEOs who have experienced record bonuses. What is the difference between this situation and Medieval Feudalism, other than the tools?
And now that sacrifice is required, the leadership who caused this corporate mess is scrambling to grab what they can and to pass the responsibility. At the same time, one can not be too worried. Things could get worse. It is what it is.
Democrat or republican - It doesn't matter. They may have different legislative priorities when they're in control, but they're all politicians to the core.
Dirty, stinking, corrupt politicians.
Yeah, I know some are not that bad. And some (who just haven't been busted yet) are much, MUCH worse.
When is a quid pro quo legal and when is it illegal?
If he had any honor (which he doesn't), Blago would resign, let Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn take over and appoint Obama's replacement.
He's been under investigation for so much. He had to add this, and try to taint Obama, too. Sheesh. No wonder some of those he was touting as replacements seemed so lame -- he was trying to attract their bidding!
I can think of THREE other Illinois governors who were sent to the slammer, but I think he might be the only one arrested WHILE STILL IN OFFICE. Any historians out there with the goods?
http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/trouble.html
Unf**kinbelievable!!!
Boy, corrupt politicians? What's new?
((((((((shaking my head))))))))
I hope Pat Quinn will be able to take over and repair the damage to the Democratic Party. And ditto to Molly Weasley's remarks.
http://thesebastards.blogspot.com/
in comparison, I live in Oregon.. we have no sales tax, no toll roads and property taxes that in my case about 25% less than my brother who lives in northern Illinois...and our property values are much higher than where he lives...
Ive heard Illinois is amongst the most corrupt states in the union.. I hope this event leads to it becoming one of the least corrupt...
That sums our corrupt political system up in one sentence. "It is a valuable commodity."
Our country is FUBAR. It doesn't matter if it is a Dem or a Repub...It gets worse every day.
We can't act like Republicans.
Obama needs to set a good example to Congress by not playing politics or making excuses or drawing comparisons....just say, "there is no room for corruption in politics". There is a new sheriff in town.
I was pleased when Jefferson lost in LA. His high profile corruption case was a stain on the party. Enough.
I think it's important for the party to begin policing itself. It we want to change politics, we have to drive corrupt politicians out of the party and then out of office.
I hope they throw the book at this guy.
good riddance to a very bad Governor.
couldn't have happened to a nicer guy, LOL.
our last Governor is cooling his heels in
jail as well, let's hope the brief talk of a
pardon for George Ryan is now over.
now we just need to be rid of Richard Daley
the entire City Council, and especially Cook
County Board Commissioner Todd Stroger -
but the main problem is that; in a TRUE
Democracy the people tend to get exactly
the type of leadership they deserve.
doesn't say much for Chicagoans nor the
residents of the state of Illinois, sad to say.
joezeon.blogspot.com
it gives me chills to see how calm and collected he continues to act