Rod Blagojevich officially facing federal corruption charges

[Balta1701]

Fitz likely to be asked to stay on in U.S. attorney's office.

[Balta1701]

JOLIET, IL- The Joliet JackHammers have offered former Illinois Governor and huge baseball fan Rod Blagojevich a contract for their upcoming 2009 season. Blagojevich can sign for the JackHammers and be one of the team's "rookies" on their roster. He will receive a monthly salary in addition to a free host family. The JackHammers home opener is Friday May 15th at 7:05pm against the Schaumburg Flyers at Silver Cross Field.

 

"We figured with his vast knowledge and love for the game he

would be a great addition to the team," said JackHammers Executive Vice

President/General Manager, Kelly Sufka. "Wally Backman, manager and former

major league player, will do what he can to get him as many at-bats as possible,

but he may have to work hard in spring training to find himself a regular spot

in the line-up."

 

The JackHammers are making the governor the regular rookie

offer with a few extras. In addition to receiving his Northern League salary and a

free host family, the JackHammers will offer incentives in his contract unlike

any ever offered a rookie player! First, the team would like to have a Blagojevich

bobble-hair night, where 1,000 bobble-hairs (the hair instead of the head will bob)

will be given away and the Governor will throw out a first pitch. The team also

plans on having special "golden" seats available for purchase as well as a few

other fun events to fill out the evening. Never in JackHammers history has a

rookie player been offered a promotional item in their likeness.

Travel arrangements will be made exceptionally comfortable for Blagojevich.

He'll have his own seat on the luxurious coach bus during the JackHammers road

trips. As is the case usually for only team veterans, Blagojevich will get his own

room on the JackHammers overnight trips to Kansas City, KS; Fargo, ND; and

Winnipeg, MB.

 

This afternoon the JackHammers faxed a contract to Blagojevich's PR

firm in Florida. Blagojevich and his representatives have not responded to the

JackHammers.

 

Financial terms of the contract will not be disclosed.

 

The JackHammers play a 96-game schedule as part of the Northern

League of Professional Baseball from mid-May until late August. The JackHammers

opponents are located in Schaumburg, IL; Gary, IN; Fargo, ND; Kansas City, KS;

and Winnipeg, MB.

[Balta1701]

This could so get fun...

Here’s a little example, an insight I’d like to share, how the system works. They give these speeches and they act like they’re so moral.

 

There’s a prominent legislative leader, OK, you know, who was going to work with us on a couple of issues. But, you know, this is very common, he has a little laundry list of stuff he wants, and among these things—this is how the system in Springfield works, where a bunch of these lawmakers go down to Springfield, nobody even knows who they are, they’re away from their families, it’s a whole different world down there, a bunch of them are cheating on their spouses, a lot of them drink in excess, very few of them know what’s going on.

 

They just take their marching orders from legislative leaders, and then the legislative leaders (have) got to do things for them so that they can keep `em happy.

 

So the House Democrats, for example, virtually every one of them is getting extra pay because (Illinois House Speaker Michael) Madigan has given them all chairmanships and sub-committee chairmanships. Virtually every one of them, you know, have extra stipends that they get. That’s how he buys them off to do his bidding, and basically be blind and just follow the leader.

 

Another legislative leader came to us because one of his members was sleeping with his secretary. And then the wife found out and she wanted that secretary fired. But this guy was in love with his secretary, so he goes to the legislative leader, they come to us, they want us to hire this woman so that we can keep that guy happy and, you know, then hope that they might work with us on some issues.

 

Those kinds of insights on how government works.

 

And it’s not just state government. I saw that as a (U.S) Congressman in Washington, that sort of stuff. And it’s, you know, part of the human dynamic and I don’t want to be too judgmental, but these same guys get up and they get holier-than-thou on their soapboxes and there they are doing that sort of thing, promoting that kind of thing, and you know, yeah, people are human and they make mistakes, but cheating on your wife and sleeping with your secretary, that’s the wrong thing to do.

...

 

I’ll continue to be, you know, as much as I can, I want to continue to be a voice for the people I fought for as governor. And I feel like in many ways I can provide insights now that I’m not governor that I couldn’t as governor because you’ve got to work with those people, that I think in the long run can be very helpful to the people of Illinois to know how their government works and how it screws them for the benefit of those who make the rules.

 

Think about it. They want to raise taxes on the working guy. There are 10 Democratic state reps who are double dippers. They take their marching orders from Mayor Daley.

 

There’s another fact that your listeners probably don’t know: For every dollar that’s raised through a state income tax, the city of Chicago gets what’s called a local government distributive share. So they get a piece of it.

 

That’s why Mayor Daley and a lot of other mayors across the state want the state lawmakers to raise the income tax because they’ll be the ones who do it, but they get a piece of the action, they get some of the money.

 

So those 10 double dippers. Rep. Joe Lyons (D-Chicago), for example, Rep. [John] D’Amico (D-Chicago) and a lot of these other guys who have big city jobs and they get paid $70,000 or better as state reps part time, are gonna raise taxes on people to pay for their two government jobs because the mayor gets a piece of the action to pay for that job that they have a (the city department of) Streets and Sanitation. It’s sickening. And wrong....

 

I feel like I can serve the people in a good way now. Because I have all kinds of insights that virtually no one has. And I can talk about the fixtures (?), you know, that I fought that system down there, and these people, and how we created opportunities for families, and we did it on the backs of the system, not on people. And I can give anecdotes and all kinds of stuff. … I don’t know if it’s dirt or not, it’s just facts, and they should know it…

 

My state senator here, who is the senate president, John Cullerton, drives around the neighborhood in a Jaguar. He works in a politically-connected law firm that does business, that gets businesses, you know, from state government.

 

They do real estate property tax work They represent big commercial properties downtown. And they get a piece of the savings. Madigan makes millions of dollars doing that that as well. Cullerton and Madigan have been part of an effort to prevent property tax relief for homeowners.

 

Because they way the property tax system works is, it’s a zero sum game. If you ease the burden on commercial properties, then you increase the burden on homeowners.

 

And there was an effort by [James] Houlihan, the [Cook] County Assessor, to change the formula and protect homeowners.

 

The legislative leaders who make money representing these properties downtown simply prevent homeowners from getting relief by not calling the bills.

 

And so, you know, these are the sorts of things that they can get away with. They’re probably legal, but they’re grossly unethical.

 

And, again, it’s the average guy in the neighborhood who’s getting screwed as they drive around, you know, working neighborhoods in Jaguars pretending to be on the side of the people.

 

See, those are the kinds of things I’d like to be able to tell, and let the voters and people know who they are and know what they’re doing to `em.

[Balta1701]

Senator Roland Burris seemingly does a complete 180 degree turn regarding his under-oath testimony about his relationship with Blago and how he got in to the seat.

Senator Roland W. Burris of Illinois acknowledged in documents made public Saturday that the brother of former Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich sought campaign fund-raising help from him in the weeks and months before his appointment to succeed Barack Obama as the state’s junior senator.

 

Mr. Burris said he provided no money to Governor Blagojevich’s campaign in response to the brother’s request.

 

The disclosure was different from Mr. Burris’s earlier descriptions, including one under oath, of his conversations with those closest to the former governor. It raised new questions about events that preceded Mr. Burris’s unusual appointment in late December and prompted some Republican lawmakers in Illinois to immediately demand an inquiry into whether Mr. Burris committed perjury.

 

In a sworn affidavit he sent this month to the leader of the state legislative committee that investigated whether to impeach Mr. Blagojevich, Mr. Burris said that the former governor’s brother, Robert, had called him three times in October and November, seeking assistance in raising campaign money for the governor, who was then in his second term.

 

The senator, who had been a past donor to Mr. Blagojevich, a fellow Democrat, said he gave no money and had, in the final conversation, advised the governor’s brother that he could not contribute “because it could be viewed as an attempt to curry favor” with the governor as he made a decision on whom to send to the United States Senate.

 

Mr. Burris did not mention those conversations last month when he was testifying under oath before the legislative committee considering impeachment for Mr. Blagojevich, who was charged on Dec. 9, in part, with trying to sell President Obama’s former Senate seat for campaign contributions, a high-paying job or a federal cabinet post. Nor did Mr. Burris tell the committee about conversations he had with the governor’s chief of staff (who now faces federal charges along with the former governor) and with one of the governor’s top advisers about the status of the Senate seat.

 

The committee asked Mr. Burris directly whether he had discussed his desire to be appointed to the seat with anyone on a list of Mr. Blagojevich’s top confidants; Robert Blagojevich’s name was specifically mentioned.

 

At that time, Mr. Burris cited an earlier conversation with a former aide to Mr. Blagojevich but mentioned nothing of Robert Blagojevich’s more recent calls seeking campaign contributions, which his affidavit suggests alluded at least twice to the Senate seat but does not make clear whether Mr. Burris ever told the governor’s brother of his wish to fill the post.

 

Mr. Burris and his aides said that he had truthfully testified before the state panel in January — just before he was seated in the Senate — but that the “fluid nature” of the questions and answers had led him to be “unable to fully respond to several matters.” They emphasized that once Mr. Burris had reviewed a transcript of his testimony, in late January, he had voluntarily submitted the new affidavit this month “so everything was transparent.”

I wonder how much he paid for the seat.

 

The Illinois House Republicans want him investigated for Perjury.

[southsider2k5]

Senator Roland Burris seemingly does a complete 180 degree turn regarding his under-oath testimony about his relationship with Blago and how he got in to the seat.

I wonder how much he paid for the seat.

 

The Illinois House Republicans want him investigated for Perjury.

 

Awesome. Just awesome. The funny part is if the Senate and/or Illinois House/Senate had stuck to their guns and refused to seat him, this eventually would have come out and they would have looked like geniuses. Instead they caved, and now they have to go through this stupid stuff all over again.

[lostfan]

Anything I said in support of Burris was based on the benefit-of-the-doubt assumption that he wasn't completely full of s*** for the record.

[Kyyle23]

I wonder if he has already etched "US Senator" on his creepy gravestone?

[bmags]

As for impeaching blago seeming 'undemocratic', he was impeached by our representatives with a whole lot state support. I really doubt this will be a slippery slope. When Madigan was drafting impeachment papers in July in didn't have a chance in hell of going through, and his popularity rating was at 30 percent then, incredibly low.

[HuskyCaucasian]

I wonder if he has already etched "US Senator" on his creepy gravestone?

no doubt he has... or will be.

He'll odly forget to mention he was appointed by a corrupt politician.

[NorthSideSox72]

Awesome. Just awesome. The funny part is if the Senate and/or Illinois House/Senate had stuck to their guns and refused to seat him, this eventually would have come out and they would have looked like geniuses. Instead they caved, and now they have to go through this stupid stuff all over again.

I got the impression that the Senate, and the Illinois Assembly, had their hands tied. I think the best they could do, legally, was stall in every way possible. They did that, part way maybe.

 

[Texsox]

Anything I said in support of Burris was based on the benefit-of-the-doubt assumption that he wasn't completely full of s*** for the record.

 

me too.

 

What a shame, it keeps getting worse.

[southsider2k5]

I got the impression that the Senate, and the Illinois Assembly, had their hands tied. I think the best they could do, legally, was stall in every way possible. They did that, part way maybe.

 

The Illinois Assembly could have passed a law that changed the way the governor seats someone in an instance like that. The Senate could have stalled his seating for MUCH longer than it did.

[NorthSideSox72]

The Illinois Assembly could have passed a law that changed the way the governor seats someone in an instance like that. The Senate could have stalled his seating for MUCH longer than it did.

I think that Illinois tried something like that. AG Madigan tried the courts, that failed. I agree, the Senate could have stalled much longer, which I was hoping they'd do as well. But I am not sure the Illinois Assembly has the legal standing to change the way the executive fills a US Senate seat (anyone who knows anything about this, feel free to expound on it).

 

The flip side, of course, was that IL wouldn't have a Senator in that seat, which is bad. But, since Quinn was elected not too long after Burris was seated, it seems like just a few more weeks would have been worth it.

 

[Texsox]

I hope Burris gets a nice pension out of this.

 

Has it been reported how much Blago has in his campaign accounts? And was the law ever changed about using those funds to pay legal bills?

[Balta1701]

I think that Illinois tried something like that. AG Madigan tried the courts, that failed. I agree, the Senate could have stalled much longer, which I was hoping they'd do as well. But I am not sure the Illinois Assembly has the legal standing to change the way the executive fills a US Senate seat (anyone who knows anything about this, feel free to expound on it).

 

The flip side, of course, was that IL wouldn't have a Senator in that seat, which is bad. But, since Quinn was elected not too long after Burris was seated, it seems like just a few more weeks would have been worth it.

The courts can only do so much when the law is clear. Had the Illinois Assembly wanted to stop the ex-Gov from seating someone, it could have changed the law before the gov had the chance to make the appointment, or it could have picked up the pace on impeachment proceedings. They dragged their feet, figured it wasn't a big deal, he's not crazy enough to do something before the December Recess ends, right?

[mr_genius]

and the plot thickens

 

[HuskyCaucasian]

Dick Durbin has asked Burris.. in person... to resign. Burris says he will not.

 

Durbin added that Burris called Durbin months ago saying he was interested in the spot and Durbin told him "if this involves an appointment by Rod Blagojevich... dont do it. It's bad news"... he didnt listen.

Edited February 24, 2009 by Athomeboy_2000

[Balta1701]

Blago scores 6 figure book deal.

[MurcieOne]

Blago scores 6 figure book deal.

 

Lets hope Blago = Canseco and we get some Mitchell report type s*** going. I hope he fairly names those who are similarly guilty and they are forced to defend themselves for their part in the corruption that takes place here daily.

 

I wonder what he will say about RJD.

 

 

 

[LittleHurt05]

Lets hope Blago = Canseco and we get some Mitchell report type s*** going. I hope he fairly names those who are similarly guilty and they are forced to defend themselves for their part in the corruption that takes place here daily.

 

I wonder what he will say about RJD.

 

definitely, I think this book could be great, lots of names being dropped for all the political mis-dealings that go on in Chicago and everywhere else...

 

and you know Blago is the type of guy to give up dirt on anyone, even if he may have been close with them and friends...

[Balta1701]

Sam Zell has lawyered up in this case.

[NorthSideSox72]

Sam Zell has lawyered up in this case.

LOL, this is like a soap opera. New episodes with new shockers every week.

 

[StrangeSox]

So when is Fitzgerald supposed to come out with actual charges?

[Balta1701]

It's indictment day!

Faced with a looming deadline to indict ousted Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich, federal prosecutors in Chicago say there will be a court filing about a "significant criminal matter."

 

The U.S. Attorney's office said it plans to issue a press release and court filing later Thursday. It did not say what case the filing pertained to.

 

The office has been working on the indictment against Blagojevich that's expected as early as Thursday.

[lostfan]

The headline on Fox I saw this morning sounded like it already happened. Has it?

Edited April 2, 2009 by lostfan