A Senate Seat for Ethics

Cross-posted from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:

We expected a few bombshells from the Blagojevich trial, but not one involving Emil Jones and the pay-to-play bill.

ICPR, with the support of a coalition of reform groups and many public officials, was the lead organization pushing for HB 1, the pay-to-play bill. We negotiated it, we lobbied for it, we fought every step of the way, despite years of push back from Senate President Emil Jones.

The pay-to-play bill a simple idea. It was endorsed by every major newspaper in the state, it had passed the House without opposition and it was sponsored in the Senate by 48 of the 59 members. But Senate President Emil Jones would not call it for a vote.

The working assumption at the time was that President Jones was blocking the bill to help Gov. Blagojevich (on this issue, as on many others, at the expense of the members of his caucus, his own reputation, and the clear will of the legislature) because of jobs and contracts given to his family members.

All of the statewide officials, except Blagojevich, endorsed the bill. What's more, all of the statewides except Blagojevich adopted rules prohibiting such contributions even before the pay-to-play bill was enacted. And yet Blagojevich opposed the bill, and by proxy, so did the Senate President.

In testimony Thursday, Blagojevich confidant Lon Monk testified that the actual reason Jones was fighting the bill was that Gov. Blagojevich had promised to appoint Jones to the US Senate if Jones would kill the bill.

In September of 2008, ICPR publicly asked Illinois' junior senator, then running for US President, to call his old friend Emil Jones and ask him to stop playing games and call the override vote. Within days, Barack Obama placed that phone call. Apparently, Emil Jones was willing to buck his caucus, but not his presidential candidate. The override passed, the bill was enacted, and Rod Blagojevich threw his fundraising organization into hyperdrive in order to beat the effective date of the new law.

So far, it's just one man's testimony. Whether that's actually why Jones was so adamantly opposed to the pay-to-play bill, we can't know for sure. But the suggestion that Blagojevich, as governor, would favor his campaign fund over the best interests of the state has a ring of truth to it; it fits a pattern, and it's not so far from the working assumption. We expect more testimony on events that fit that pattern in the coming days and weeks.

Mud is splattering from the trial. And some of it is hitting Emil Jones.


To comment, please visit ICPR's blog.

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Chris Kelly pleads guilty to O'Hare scheme

By Bethany Jaeger
Christopher Kelly, a close adviser and fundraiser for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, pleaded guilty today to two counts of mail fraud in one of three federal indictments against him. But it's unknown whether he's cooperating in the ex-governor's ongoing corruption trial.

Read his plea agreement here. The Burr Ridge resident reports to jail September 18 and will forfeit $450,000 for a scheme of rigging roofing contracts with two major airlines and using illegal kickbacks for personal use. On top of a three-year prison sentence for a separate tax fraud case, his plea Tuesday calls for a nearly five-year sentence.


Kelly pleaded guilty to rigging bids to steer $8.5 million in inflated contracts for roofing work done on American Airlines and United Airline facilities at O’Hare International Airport between 1998 and 2006. The scheme benefited BCI Commercial Roofing Inc. in Markham, of which he is president and owner.

About $1 million of the kickbacks went to repay gambling debts and a home loan, according to the plea. Some of the kickbacks also went to entities associated with Tony Rezko.

Kelly originally was charged with 11 counts of mail fraud and six counts of money laundering for the scheme.

• His December 2007 indictment charged him with using corporate funds from his roofing and consulting firms to pay illegal gambling debt. He received three years in prison for those charges.
• His February 2009 indictment includes the O’Hare kickback scheme. His plea seeks nearly 4.5 years more on two counts of mail fraud.
• He still faces trial for his involvement in Blagojevich’s ongoing corruption case, scheduled for court June 2010.

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Burris: No longer in the running

By Bethany Jaeger
No Lisa Madigan. No Roland Burris. The race to be the next U.S. senator from Illinois just narrowed to a more classic competition. The seat has gained national attention for its previous occupant, President Barack Obama.

Madigan, the Illinois attorney general, announced yesterday and Burris announced today that they opted not run in 2010.

“It’s an open seat, and the focus is more going to be more on national issues than would have been the case if Burris were running or if Lisa Madigan essentially would have cleared the field,” said Kent Redfield, political scientist at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

If Madigan would have run, Redfield said she would have been the Democrats’ strongest candidate. “Her not running is a minus for the Democrats, but Burris not running is certainly a plus. There’s no question about that.”


Burris never shed the cloud that hovered over his appointment by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The then-governor had just been arrested on federal corruption charges, accused of trying to personally profit from his powers to appoint the state’s next senator. Early polling of 644 likely voters showed that just 5.3 percent of respondents supported Burris as a candidate for a full term. Numerous Illinois officials, including U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and then-Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, urged Burris step down. Burris wouldn’t budge. His ambitious style came through in, "Always in the running," our profile of him in Illinois Issues magazine.

Burris said today during a Chicago news conference that fundraising had a lot to do with his decision not to run in 2010. Here’s an excerpt of his announcement:

Life is about choices. Make no mistake, I love serving in the United States Senate. I love serving the people of Illinois, make no mistake.

I’m the only African-American serving in the Senate, and I believe that diversity and representation of all segments of our society is essential to who we are as a nation.

The reality of being a U.S. senator today [is that it] requires not only a significant time commitment to performing the job, but an almost equal commitment to raising funds to run competitively for the office.

Political races have become far too expensive in this country.

I was called to choose between spending my time raising funds or spending my time raising issues for my state. The people … should always come first.

The chronicles of Burris’ statements about whether he spoke to Blagojevich, Blagojevich’s brother or Blagojevich’s inner circle was the never-ending story. First he testified to an Illinois House committee that was investigating cause for the governor's impeachment. He said he only spoke with Lon Monk, Blagojevich’s former chief of staff. Then Burris revealed in a follow-up affidavit that he also spoke with the governor’s brother, as well as three insiders: Doug Scofield, John Wyma and former Deputy Gov. John Harris, who just pleaded guilty to wire fraud in the ongoing Blagojevich corruption case.

Burris most recently avoided perjury charges in Sangamon County, where State’s Attorney John Schmidt said Burris’s statements might have been vague, but there’s no proof that he intentionally mislead the Illinois House committee. Burris still faces a probe by the U.S. Senate.

His bow out of the 2010 election eliminated an easy target for the GOP, Redfield said. “It kind of takes Burris and Blagojevich out of the Senate race.”

Now, likely candidates are taking shape. On the Democratic side, they include state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. Redfield says he has the advantage of being the only candidate so far who has run a statewide race before. He also has a significant campaign kitty, with reportedly more than $1 million raised for his potential Senate bid. Two candidates with less name recognition include Cheryle Jackson, chief executive officer of the Chicago Urban League, and Chris Kennedy, head of Chicago’s Merchandise Mart and son of the late U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. Redfield said Jackson also could have a slight disadvantage by being tied to Blagojevich. She was his communications director during his first term.

On the Republican side, U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk of Hinsdale has been reported as set to run for the Senate seat. Redfield said he brings his national experience to the table, but as a moderate Republican, he would have to work to gain the moderate and independent vote. Andy McKenna, chairman of the Illinois Republican Party and businessman, also has reportedly discussed the idea. He lost his 2006 bid.

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Personnel issue dominates reform hearing

By Bethany Jaeger
Illinois Democrats and Republicans appeared split on whether to use legislation to fire two executive staff members of a hospital planning board plagued by corruption early in former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration in 2003 and 2004. Controversy is nothing new to the Health Facilities Planning Board, and that’s not unique to Illinois. See the National Conference of State Legislators for background on the widespread debate.

Today’s debate, while tense and awkward at times, opens the door for more systemic questions about whether the legislature should fire individuals by name through legislation and whether the legislature can effectively remove politics from the hospital planning process altogether.



The process typically is designed to review hospital construction projects in an attempt to control costs and maintain access to critical health care services. Today’s bicameral legislative committee on government reform, however, didn’t focus on reforming the process (that was the focus of a previous legislative task force — its report is here). Members instead focused on whether the General Assembly should use legislation to terminate two high-level employees. Both are subject to harsh criticism from a hospital executive who blew the whistle on what turned out to be deep-rooted corruption in 2003.

House Republicans, led by Minority Leader Tom Cross, want to fire Jeffrey Mark, executive secretary of the Health Facilities Planning Board, and David Carvalho, a deputy director of the Illinois Department of Public Health that oversees the employees. “In our efforts to continue to fumigate state government, this is another board that needs to be sanitized and start fresh with new players from top to bottom,” Cross said.

Cross added, however: “While we are not alleging that either of the two that held these positions themselves did anything illegal, corrupt activity happened under their watch. They were there before, during and after corrupt activity occurred.”

Both were hired in 2003 and served for six months during a scheme that convicted former board member Stuart Levine and Blagojevich fundraiser Tony Rezko of federal corruption. According to federal prosecutors, Levine and Rezko schemed with a handful of others, including Blagojevich, to rig the state panel to reward themselves and political allies.

Both Mark and Carvalho testified to the committee that they had nothing to do with the schemes and notified appropriate authorities when they noticed irregularities in the way the board operated. For instance, they cited a situation when the board stopped in the middle of taking a vote during a public hearing to sway one more member to support granting a construction permit to a particular hospital project.

“It happened on my watch, yes it did,” Mark said to the committee. “Was I aware of it? Absolutely not. Should I have been aware of it? I’m not sure.” He said he was a subordinate who immediately reported questionable practices to the agency’s lawyer and inspector general. He later cooperated with the U.S. attorney’s office during the investigation.

Carvalho said he, too, conveyed his concerns lawyers and the inspector general. He also said Rezko’s trial revealed he and Levine, in fact, were trying to get rid of him because he was a “pain in the butt.” “What I have tried to do throughout the process is to stand in the way of people, both who were members of the board and people who were applicants, who were trying to get from this process what was not due them under the rules. And today I do feel like that person standing in front of a steamroller for simply doing my job.”

One who did report the suspicious activity directly to federal authorities was Pam Davis, president of Edward Hospital and Health Services in Naperville. She cooperated with the FBI for eight months by secretly recording phone calls and meetings related to her repeated application for a construction permit to build a new hospital in the rapidly growing village of Plainfield. She was pressured to hire a specific construction firm owned by Jacob Kiferbaum, who was scheming with Rezko. “If I did not use their services, I would never have this hospital approved,” she said. The Plainfield hospital project still has not been approved by the board.

Davis stopped short of alleging that Mark and Carvalho acted illegally, but she supports the House Republicans’ efforts to oust them from public office for allegedly protecting the status quo with outdated and unfair regulations and for failing to speak out during irregularities in the board’s proceedings. “While not pointing to any legalities by either of these two public officials, I can only imagine that the corrupt board members felt totally emboldened and powered by this lack of transparency.”

Carvalho said during his testimony: “Contrary to the suggestions of the CEO, the staff of the Health Facilities Planning Board, and I, in particular, are, in fact, grateful to her for her courageous efforts to expose the corruption of that prior board.”

Mark said: “I observed the same things she observed.” He said he felt “confused and surprised, and as I stated before the committee, I consulted the appropriate authorities.”

Mark was recommended for his position more than five years ago by Rezko. “It’s a matter of public record that my name was submitted by Tony Rezko,” Mark said after the hearing. “I met the man once prior to him taking my name. People can perceive whatever they want. I think my background and my record speak for itself. I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished the last five years. I’m very not proud of what occurred during my first six months in this position.”

Sen. Susan Garrett, a Lake Forest Democrat who has been working on the health planning process for a year, said the current controversy could be rooted in bitterness over the panel’s decision to repeatedly deny Davis’ proposal for a Plainfield hospital. “It appears that the process for decades has been political, and that has been the downfall of this whole health facilities planning process. It was our hope and intent to remove the politics,” Garrett said.

“As somebody who is trying to be impartial and bipartisan, we thought we resolved that,” she added. “And I don’t think that has happened. And, quite frankly, I’m not sure today resolved any of the issues that were brought up three days ago or three years ago or three decades ago.”

The measure, SB 1905 (Senate-approved version here), is slated for consideration in a House committee Wednesday afternoon.

Quinn previously tried to name a new chairman of the board, Dr. Quentin Young, in April, but Young soon resigned because of a possible conflict of interest. (He realized that his former practice owns part of a property that rents space to a health care provider. State rules prevents the chair from having financial ties to any facility licensed by the state.)

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Blagojevich pleads not guilty

By Hilary Russell

The last time he entered the building, he wore a running suit. This time, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich wore a suit and tie and maintained his innocence against the 16 criminal counts he was charged with in an April 2 indictment.


“His public persona is very consistent, and whether that’s based in confidence or delusion, I have no idea,” said Kent Redfield, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield. “But certainly he doesn’t act like someone who clearly is in jeopardy of spending a large chunk of the rest of his life in jail if he were to be convicted of all of the charges against him.”

U.S. District Judge James Zagel presided over the arraignment at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in downtown Chicago.

Blagojevich pleaded not guilty to all counts and was represented by defense attorney Sheldon Sorosky. According to the Associated Press, Sorosky requested the prosecutor’s permission to use money from one of Blagojevich’s campaign funds, Friends of Blagojevich, to help pay for additional attorneys to represent Blagojevich. Sorosky reportedly stated his concern that it will take more than one attorney to give his client fair representation.

But if Blagojevich were convicted, the Associated Press reported that prosecutors said they would ask the judge to forfeit the campaign money, which would mean that any attorney representing Blagojevich could be forced to return payments received from the campaign fund.

Redfield said that if money became an issue, that could spell trouble for Blagojevich. “The [former] governor faces a real possibility that he is not gonna have the strongest counsel as he would want because this is a very complex trial. There is a ton of discovery involving all those tapes and the defendants. It’s a very complex case, and it’s not clear where he would get the resources to hire a top-notch legal team to defend himself.”

Blagojevich lost his first legal team just prior to the Senate trial in which he was impeached and thrown out of office. Edward Genson, Sam Adam and Adam's son by the same name, cited different reasons for recusing themselves from the case.

Robert Blagojevich, the former governor’s older brother, also appeared at the arraignment today and was represented by Michael Ettinger. Robert Blagojevich was hired by his brother to act as campaign manager after prosecutors began investigating Christopher Kelly, who initially headed the former governor’s campaign fund.

In a statement released by the former governor’s public relations agency, Blagojevich said: “Now we can begin the process of getting the truth out, and I can clear my name and vindicate myself. I have not let down my family or the people of Illinois. I am innocent of every single allegation."

During an appearance with President Barack Obama’s Education Secretary Arne Duncan in Chicago, Gov. Pat Quinn said the only way to clean up state government is by making major changes.

“We have to take the indictment and dissect and identify every part of state government that was put in jeopardy,” Quinn said (download audio file here). “These are allegations, of course, but I think there’s still fire bells going off in the night to alert the people of Illinois and to the governor of Illinois that reform is indispensable.”

Kelly, a former Blagojevich aide, and John Harris, Blagojevich’s former chief of staff, and Springfield businessman William Cellini are scheduled to be arraigned Thursday. Alonzo “Lon” Monk, Blagojevich’s former campaign manager and chief of staff, is scheduled to be in court next week. Harris and Monk are reportedly cooperating with investigators.

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Now there are only 4 states with unregulated campaign finance

Cross posted from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson yesterday signed into law a bill creating campaign contribution limits. They get reform. Now there are 46 states that regulate campaign contributions, and just 4 that are wide open.

And what did Illinois get yesterday? More proof that we need reform.

If you're fed up with business as usual, if the indictment of Rod Blagojevich reads like a rehash of old news, if you're mad as hell and not going to take it anymore, then here's what you can do right now to make reform happen:

* Call 1-800-719-3020. This hotline, offered by CHANGE Illinois, will patch you through to your legislator's office, where you can voice your demand for reform of Illinois' political culture.

* Make plans to attend the rally at the James R. Thompson Center this Thursday, April 9 at 10 am.

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ICPR AND REFORM LEADERS REACT TO BLAGOJEVICH INDICTMENT

Cross posted from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:

Cynthia Canary, Director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, issued the following statement:

“Rod Blagojevich was elected and then reelected governor based on the promise that he would reform and renew state government, but his government was more like an overloaded, malfunctioning sewage system. Now, it’s up to the elected leaders in Springfield to respond to the demands of the citizens of Illinois and clean up this mess. They should start by addressing the free flow of big campaign contributions from special interests. Limited campaign contributions and strong oversight of the campaign finance system would give the people of Illinois reason to believe their elected leaders are serious about changing the culture of corruption.”


Kent Redfield, Director of the Sunshine Project at the University of Illinois, issued the following statement:

“The political system in Illinois is broken and has been for decades. Removing Rod Blagojevich from office by impeachment and putting him on trial in a federal courtroom may teach him a lesson, but it will not reform Illinois. Major changes are required in the way Illinois polices lobbying and openness of government. But the first and most important change needed is to enact reasonable limits on the size of campaign contributions and strong enforcement of campaign finance laws.”

The CHANGE Illinois coalition released this statement:

Leaders of the CHANGE Illinois! coalition on Thursday said the federal criminal indictment of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich has done additional damage to the state’s reputation and urged state legislators to act quickly to enact limits on campaign contributions.

“Rod Blagojevich is just the latest in a very long list of officeholders who have disgusted and disappointed the voters of Illinois,” said Peter Bensinger, a co-chair of CHANGE Illinois! and a former Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. “This should be a wake-up call to state legislators in Springfield. Open your eyes to the need for real reform and vote to limit how much anyone can contribute to political campaigns.”

CHANGE Illinois! is a coalition of civic, business, professional, non-profit and philanthropic organizations aligned to bring government integrity to Illinois, and the coalition is calling for replacing the state’s unregulated campaign finance system with one modeled after the contribution limit system in place for federal elections and in almost all other states.

“How many more public officials have to go to prison before the people we send to Springfield get serious about campaign finance reform?” asked Deborah Harrington, a co-chair of CHANGE Illinois! and President of the Woods Fund of Chicago. “Illinoisans deserve fair and honest government, and voters must demand change in the way all elections are funded.”

CHANGE Illinois! has opened a toll-free hotline (1-800-719-3020) allowing voters to call their legislators and register their support for campaign contribution limits.

CHANGE Illinois! will hold a rally for reform outside the James R. Thompson Center, 100 W. Randolph St., Chicago, at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 9.

“The charges detailed in the Blagojevich indictment are repugnant, and the international headlines are going to cause corporations around the world to think twice about doing business here,” Bensinger said. “We need to restore the public’s faith in government and demonstrate to investors that reform will replace pay-to-play as the dominant force in Illinois politics.”

For additional information about CHANGE Illinois! and a list of member organizations, go to www.ChangeIL.org.

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More to the story

by Jamey Dunn
U.S. Sen. Roland Burris is likely to get an earful on his five-day “listening tour” of the state this week. It started off with a bang today in Chicago. He was hounded by media asking about the weekend’s headliner that contrary to what was on public record before the Illinois House, Burris had spoken with close friends and confidants of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich before being appointed to fill the seat vacated by President Barack Obama.


The new information comes in an affidavit that was filed with the Illinois House impeachment committee February 4 but that was not revealed until this past weekend.

Burris wrote that Rob Blagojevich, brother of the former governor, called him three times for fundraising help before Burris was appointed to the U.S. Senate. In his affidavit, Burris said he didn’t give any assistance or money to Blagojevich because “it could be viewed as an attempt to curry favor with him regarding his decision to appoint a successor to President Obama.” Burris also wrote that he discussed his interest in the U.S. Senate seat with three other former Blagojevich insiders — Doug Scofield, John Wyma and former Deputy Gov. John Harris — between June and the November election.

Illinois Republicans allege that his new affidavit contradicts 1) his sworn testimony before the Illinois House impeachment committee in January (scroll down) and 2) his written affidavit filed January 5 with the committee. The GOP is calling for the Sangamon County state’s attorney's office to investigate possible perjury charges against Burris.

When Burris appeared before a special House impeachment committee in January, he only specified that he talked to Lon Monk, a close friend of and former chief of staff to then-Gov. Blagojevich, regarding his interest in the U.S. Senate seat. In his affidavit, he wrote that he did not speak with Blagojevich “or any or his representatives regarding my appointment.”

Both Burris and his lawyer Timothy Wright III said in a Chicago news conference Sunday that Western Springs Republican Rep. Jim Durkin’s line of questioning allowed that information to fall through the cracks. Wright said that after reviewing a transcript of Burris’ January 8 testimony, he realized that some details had been left out. Wright said he phoned Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, chair of the House committee, and asked her what to do. He said she told him to file an affidavit with her office.

House Democratic spokesman Steve Brown, speaking on behalf of Currie, said this morning that the staff became aware of Burris’ new affidavit on February 11, shortly before leaving town for a long weekend. He said they will further discuss the situation when they return to Springfield tomorrow.

Burris maintained during the news conference that he did not lie before the House committee and that the affidavit was meant to supplement his testimony, not change his story. He blamed any perceived inconsistencies on misleading media coverage.

He will give speeches and seek feedback from Illinoisans. Burris went to Peoria today and is scheduled to go to Bloomington-Normal, Rockford, Chicago and North Chicago before the end of the week.

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Chris Kelly indicted again

Christopher Kelly, a former campaign manager to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, received another federal indictment today, this time alleging he rigged roofing contracts with two major airlines to pay for gambling debts and a house, among other things.

We wrote about him a little more than a year ago, when his first indictment said he used corporate funds from his roofing and consulting firms to pay illegal gambling debt and bookies.

The most recent indictment says he allegedly funneled more than $1.18 million in proceeds from fraudulent contracts (see U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's news release here). He’s the president and owner of a roofing firm, which allegedly rigged bids to steer $8.5 million in “inflated contracts” for roofing work done on American Airlines and United Airlines facilities at O’Hare International Airport. The scheme allegedly helped Kelly pay $383,000 in personal gambling debts, $700,000 for a personal loan to buy a house and $40,000 in personal expenses. The scheme also granted $450,000 to a president of the consulting firm allegedly involved in the activities.

Kelly was charged with 11 counts of mail fraud and six counts of money laundering. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The feds also are seeking the $1.18 million involved in the money laundering counts, $1.6 million involved in the contract fraud, as well as Kelly’s Burr Ridge house. He’ll be arraigned at a later date.

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Blagojevich's media tour continues

By Hilary Russell
Rod Blagojevich is still hitting the talk show circuit less than a week after he was impeached and removed from office. On Tuesday, he appeared for a second time NBC’s “Today” show and “Larry King Live,” as well as the “Rachel Maddow Show.” It was his interview with late-night talk-show host David Letterman that perhaps got the most laughs and showed a side of Blagojevich most probably haven’t seen lately — a sense of humor about his situation.


Letterman wondered aloud why former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was even on the show’s guest list. And despite having the perfect topic for his daily ‘Top Ten” list, Letterman instead decided to ask the man himself.

“Why exactly are you here, honest to God?” asked Letterman. Blagojevich laughed and replied, “You know, I’ve been wanting to be on your show in the worst way for the longest time.”
“Well you’re on in the worst way, believe me,” Letterman said.

Letterman went on to list former Illinois governor’s who ran into legal trouble — Otto Kerner, Dan Walker, and George Ryan — before asking, “I mean, is this just part of the oath of office that you guys take? How is that possible? What is that?”

“Here’s my opinion,” Letterman continued. “I saw you on ‘The View,’ I saw you on the ‘Rachel Maddow Show,' I saw you on the 'Today' show, and every other show that is currently in production, and the more you talked and the more you repeated your innocence, the more I said to myself, ‘Oh this guy is guilty.’”

Blagojevich repeated much of the same statements he’s given during each of those appearances but remained upbeat throughout the interview, especially when Letterman asked about his hair.
“Do you use shampoo and conditioner? Or is it two separate things?”

“So you get a knock on the door one morning and it’s the FBI and they’re coming to arrest you, I mean what was that? What time did that happen?” Letterman asked. It was a little after six in the morning,” answered Blagojevich. “Six a.m. So you’re thinking … what do you think?” Letterman asked.

“Well I went to bed the night before feeling good about the future of Illinois,” said Blagojevich, prompting Letterman to laugh.

When the host asked Blagojevich what he’ll do now, Blagojevich said he’s looking for work. "This seems like a fun place to work," he said. “Oh yeah it's nothin' but fun here," said Letterman.
"Elvis performed here," added Blagojevich.

“Boy,” said Letterman before introducing his next guest, “I really wouldn’t give your troubles to a monkey on a rock.”

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Turning The Page on WhatsHisName

State Senator Ricky Hendon said something remarkable during the impeachment trial yesterday, and I'm paraphrasing here:

"Congratulations to the press. You have reestablished your power. Use it wisely."

Its going to take ALL of us to "turn the page", move beyond our former governor, and move Illinois forward.

And just as even the lowliest fungus needs a ray of light to survive, our former governor needs media attention.

Bloggers, t.v. reporters, newspaper editors: You want to stick it to our former governor? Stop covering him.


I realize this can't happen immediately. There will be the necessary stories today, the editorials this weekend.

But starting Monday, can we declare an end to his 15 minutes of fame?

1. Just because WhatsHisName has a press conference, doesn't mean we need to show up. We know it'll be the same-old circus, hardly newsworthy.

2. Just because the U.S. Attorney has a press conference, doesn't mean we have to seek a comment from WhatsHisName or his attorneys. Why should we aid them in their defense?

3. Just because the legislature advances campaign reform or ethics reform legislation, doesn't mean we have to mention WhatsHisName by name. Reform is needed, no matter who the governor was or his party.

4. Just because WhatsHisName says or does something outrageously stupid, we don't have to write about it. Again, nothing "new" there.

In keeping with that spirit, this is the last time I'll be blogging about WhatsHisName.

Here are my final thoughts on WhatsHisName's final chapter:

Even if we are to give him the benefit of the doubt in every instance, even if we are to believe the point-of-view he articulated in his closing statement, the best thing I can say about WhatsHisName is that he was a Dictator, not a Governor.

WhatsHisName can argue that he was elected by the people. Even if you ignore the fact that his election had more to do with the lack of leadership from the GOP, or that he got less than 50% of the vote in his last election, or that his popularity now is at historic lows for any governor ever. There have been lots of popular dictators who've won elections overwhelmingly. Fidel Castro comes to mind.

WhatsHisName can argue that he was trying to what was right for the people. Even if you believe that his heart was in the right place, trying to expand health care, create jobs, increase education funding. Despite the evidence from his trial that he was willing to thwart health care programs, hold up jobs projects, and run our state finances to advance his own personal interests, you can believe those things. But nearly every dictator has used populist ends to justify breaking the law as a means.

At the end of the day, WhatsHisName believed and acted as though he was Above The Law. Violating the Constitutional separation of power. Breaking state and federal laws. Using his office for his own personal, financial and political gain. Dictator, dictator, dictator.

Finally, in response to some of the pundits and reporters out there who want to give U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald ALL the credit and the Illinois General Assembly NONE of the credit for yesterday's turn-of-events.

Its certainly true that WhatsHisName's arrest and revelations about efforts to auction off a U.S. Senate seat crystallized public opinion, making impeachment a slam-dunk.

Its also true that many of the allegations included in the impeachment indictment happened during WhatsHisName's first term, and so he surely could have been impeached sooner.

Why then, did it take so long?

First, when lawmakers, led by Speaker Madigan, complained about WhatsHisName's efforts to subvert the General Assembly, ignore the Constitution, violate state laws like those granting JCAR rulemaking authority, what did the pundits and reporters do? They covered it as a battle of personalities and personal intrigue, instead of advancing public discussion of the fundamental legal questions at the core of Madigan's arguments.

Secondly, while there were certainly enough Representatives to indict WhatsHisName, and probably enough Senators willing to convict last Spring, no one who pays close attention can honestly believe that House prosecutors would have gotten a fair hearing as long as Emil Jones was President of the Senate, or even be certain that a trial would have taken place.

Personally, I think WhatsHisName would have been impeached this year even without the U.S. Attorney's actions. owing to the change in leadership in the Senate. And Senate President John Cullerton, and the members of the Senate who elected him, deserve as much if not more of the credit than the U.S. Attorney.

Sine die.

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Meet Gov. Pat Quinn

By Bethany Jaeger
Pat Quinn was once booed on the House floor in 1976 (see our recent Pat Quinn profile here). Tonight, he received a standing ovation as he took the oath as Illinois’ 41st governor. Before all constitutional officers and legislative leaders, as well as family and friends and some lawmakers, Quinn smiled and raised his right hand.



Turning to the audience, filled with all constitutional officers and legislative leaders, he addressed the serious challenges ahead. He first recited the familiar words of one of his favorite politicians, Abraham Lincoln, by honoring the philosophy of “government of the people, by the people and for the people.”

He called upon Illinoisans to prepare to make sacrifices and to work together to solve the state’s economic crisis, fiscal crisis and integrity crisis. Then, fighting tears, he read a letter written by an admiral in the U.S. Navy about his late father, Patrick Quinn. He said the people of Illinois could benefit from the same characteristics possessed by his father. “If all of us, the people of Illinois, are cheerful, earnest, cooperative, frank and honest, we can achieve great things in the Land of Lincoln.”

After receiving congratulations from lawmakers, he conducted his first news conference as governor in the Statehouse Press Room. He often intermixed serious statements with more relaxed and jovial moments. Meanwhile, one flight of stairs below, people stood on watch for the locks to be changed on the executive office.

Quinn will make his first announcement as governor at 10 a.m. Friday outside of that Statehouse office. Joking with reporters, he said it will be a surprise. Otherwise, he said, “you won’t come back. It’s my one-and-only shot.” He said he plans to regularly be available to the media because he enjoys the exchange and because it keeps public officials accountable.

Seriousness culminated with mention of the state budget. He said with no cooperation from Blagojevich’s administration to ease the transition, the governor’s annual budget address has been moved back from February 18 to March 18, giving him time to assess the damage and find out what the true size of the deficit. “I think the governor has to level with the people of Illinois. That’s what they want. And then we’ll have a blueprint for digging out of this morass.”

He said the budget he will propose will be one “that will be a proper one for the times that we are finding ourselves in.” Tax increases could be on the table, but Quinn said: “Nobody likes paying taxes. April 15 is not my favorite day, never will be. So I think it’s important to understand that in our democracy, the price of being in a democracy is that citizens agree that they do have to pay taxes in order for the common good. And so we will find a way to have a fair system, which hopefully keeps taxes as low as possible.”

He repeatedly tried to shift the public’s focus to the future. “There’s a reason God put our eyes in front of our head. If we’re going to always look backwards, we probably won’t go very far in Illinois or anywhere else. I think we need to look forward.”

Priorities will include funding a capital plan, which he said will emphasize sustainable and efficient energy and conservation and infrastructure that will allow for fiber optic lines down the road. Other priorities will include public safety, education and health care.

He addressed various issues before heading to the Executive Mansion a few blocks away for dinner with his family, including his 91-year-old mother. Here’s a brief summary of the topics he addressed and philosophies that could drive his proposals next month:

• Public employee positions will be “under review.” He said, “If you are doing a good job and being diligent, that’s what we’re looking for.”
• The recently appointed director of the Department of Natural Resources, former Rep. Kurt Granberg of Carlyle, might not be up to par with Quinn’s desire to have a “natural resources professional” in that position.
• He plans to open state parks and historic sites that Blagojevich closed after cutting state funding.
• He will take down the Chicago Tollway signs with Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s name on them and might replace them with signs that say, “The people of Illinois welcome you.”
• Quote of the night: “I am proud of being frugal. I’m a VIP member of the Super 8, and I moved up from Motel 6.”
• He followed up with this: “I think being frugal is useful, but I am very generous. I think everyone will tell you that I’m very generous to a fault.”
• He would not address whether he will run for governor in 2010. “I don’t think the people of Illinois need politics right now. We’ve had our dose of that — a heavy dose — for the last seven weeks. I think this should be a year of governance, where people really work on repairing damage and making things better. And there will be plenty of time for politics in 2010.”

Blagojevich: I will continue to fight for the people
By Jamey Dunn
At the same time Quinn gave his news conference, Blagojevich spoke outside of his home and said he was “saddened” but “not surprised” by the Senate’s decision to remove him from office. He listed what he deems as his accomplishments in health care and education and listed all the public servant jobs he has held from his most recent office back to when he was a prosecutor. He said that although he is no longer governor, he will continue to fight for the people of Illinois and to prove his innocence.

"I love the people of Illinois today now more than I ever did before."

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Senate president sets a new tone

By Hilary Russell
Breaking promises, dismissing the legislature and provoking unconventional — and allegedly illegal — methods of fundraising will no longer be the rule to follow, said Senate President John Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat, following the conviction of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The conviction immediately removed Blagojevich from office and forbids him from holding any public office in Illinois in the future.




“We found no pleasure in today’s outcome,” Cullerton said. “We cannot change the past. The people of Illinois have every right to expect a future with those who are elected to do so in a matter befitting to office.”

Surrounded by 13 of his colleagues, Cullerton laid out the challenges the state needs to overcome, including its history of machine-style politics and a major financial deficit made worse by repeated scandal.

“We removed Mr. Blagojevich, former governor, from office for three reasons,” he said. “He has demonstrated a clear inability to govern. He has shown disdain for the laws and processes of this state, and he has deliberately and pathologically abused his power without regard for the people he was elected to serve.”

Blagojevich said all week long on national TV interviews that personality conflicts with the state legislature led to his impeachment, combined with their desire to get him out of office so they could raise state taxes.

“That’s not what this impeachment was about,” Cullerton said. “We read the impeachment articles that the House charged him with, the criminal offenses and abuses of power. And that is what the debate was about.”

“We did not do this for political expediency. We’re not settling old scores. We did not conspire to remove the governor for our own amusement or advantage,” he added.

Just as emphatically, Cullerton promised that the state, the home of the newest U.S. president, is on its own path of change.

“There’s going to be a new spirit of cooperation with the House and with the governor and with the Senate to help solve our problems.”

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Unanimous vote to convict Blagojevich

By Jamey Dunn
Senators on both sides of the aisle expressed disappointment with then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich before unanimously voting — 59 to 0 — to remove him from office Thursday. They also voted to prevent him from holding any future public office in Illinois.


Before the vote, all senators were allowed five minutes to speak during public deliberation, an exercise that spanned two and a half hours.

The governor was called everything from an “unusually good liar” by Sen. Matt Murphy, a Palatine Republican, to a “devious, cynical, crass and corrupt politician” by Sen. Dale Righter, a Mattoon Republican.

Sen. James Meeks, a Chicago Democrat, was enthusiastic about calling for impeachment. “This is not a sad day for me. This is a great day. We have this thing called impeachment, and it’s bleeping golden, and we’ve used it the right way.”

The fact that the governor presented no defense and only came to Springfield on the last day of the trial to make a closing argument did not seem to help his case with any of the senators. “The silence that spoke the loudest was the absence of the governor,” said newly elected Sen. Toi Hutchinson, a Democrat from Chicago.

Some senators made a connection between impeaching a governor on pay-to-play politics and a need for campaign finance reform in Illinois. “He became obsessed with assuming more and more power and monetary awards for himself and his future aspirations,” said Sen. Susan Garrett, a Democrat from Lake Forest.

Political scientist Kent Redfield of the University of Illinois at Springfield said the general public would tend to agree. “I think people will really make the connection between unlimited [campaign] contributions and the corruption.”

Many said they felt frustrated with the negative attention cast upon Illinois. Sen. Terry Link, a Waukegan Democrat, compared the impeachment to an infamous page in Illinois darker history, the 1968 Democratic National Convention. “The whole world is watching Illinois again today. And you know what? I'm sick and tired of it.”

A sobering moment came when former Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson of Greenville gave a tearful apology. Recovering from a stroke that forced him to give up his leadership position, he said that partisan atmosphere in the Senate had partially been his fault and urged the new leaders not to make the same mistake. Watson spoke directly to Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno of Lemont and Senate President John Cullerton of Chicago: “The way you two have started this session working together in cooperation is a good sign for the future.”

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Blagojevich makes his case

by Bethany Jaeger, Jamey Dunn and Hilary Russell
Gov. Rod Blagojevich made his case to the state Senate rather than to the national media this morning, asking legislators how they could impeach him for pushing and prodding — sometimes too hard, he said — to protect seniors, infants and middle-class parents.

“I want to apologize to you for what happened,” Blagojevich said to the senators this morning, “but I can’t because I didn’t do anything wrong.”

House Prosecutor David Ellis disagreed and said that the ends don’t justify the means. When the camera is on, Ellis said in his rebuttal, the governor’s "for the little guy." When the camera is off, he’s for legal, personal and political gain, referring to one of the direct quotes in federal transcripts of 61 secretly recorded conversations.


On November 12, 2008, the feds recorded Blagojevich allegedly saying that his decision to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama would be based on "our legal situation, our personal situation, my political situation. This decision, like every other one, needs to be based upon that. Legal. Personal. Political."

“Nothing in that statement about the people of Illinois,” Ellis said to the Senate. “Nothing in that statement about the little guy.”

Blagojevich gave his final speech, lasting about 50 minutes, before the Illinois Senate voted whether to convict him and remove him from office. Senators currently are deliberating on the Senate floor in five-minute speeches. Then they’re expected to take two votes, one whether to remove him and one whether to ban him from holding public office again.

Blagojevich maintained his innocence throughout the morning. He said if he did something wrong, he would have resigned in December. “I wouldn’t put my family through this. I wouldn’t put you through this. And most importantly, I wouldn’t put the people of Illinois through this.

“But I didn’t resign then, and I’m not resigning now because I have done nothing wrong.”

He said out of the first eight grounds for impeachment, which are lifted from the federal criminal complaint, evidence was presented in only one — the four secretly recorded conversations about signing a bill that would subsidize the horse racing industry.

Ellis played the recordings again this morning and said the governor’s own words prove that Blagojevich knew he was doing something wrong. Ellis repeated Blagojevich’s statements: “You should assume everybody’s listening. The whole world is listening. Don’t put it in writing. I would do it in person. I wouldn’t do it on the phone.”

Ellis stopped and asked the chamber, “Who says those words except somebody who has something to hide, something to cover up?”

Blagojevich never denied the voice on the recorders was his. Instead, he said those four tapes show no criminal activity. He then spoke directly to senators: “Take those four tapes as they are, and you will, I believe, in fairness, recognize and acknowledge that those are conversations relating to the things that all of us in politics do to try to run campaigns and try to win elections."

In response to the remaining allegations that he abused his executive powers, Blagojevich repeatedly questioned how he could be impeached for expanding health care to middle-income families, for importing cheaper prescription drugs for seniors and for importing European flu vaccine after a threat of a shortage.

He said the end was a moral imperative, justifying the means. “Always those ways were done in consultation with lawyers. And with all due respect to the prosecutor, Mr. Ellis, always the means were legal, and in most cases, the ends were moral.”

He added that all of those things happened in his first term as governor, and if they were so bad, the legislature should have impeached him then and that the public still voted to reelect him for a second term.

While Blagojevich reminded senators about the presumption of innocence, he also asked them to consider giving him more time to gather evidence. “If you’re not comfortable with an acquittal then extend this process.”

Rep. Jack Franks, a Woodstock Democrat and vocal member of the House committee that recommended impeachment, said that if the governor had agreed to temporarily step aside, they would have considered giving him a month or two to prepare for the trial. Franks added that Blagojevich’s speech today was too little too late, particularly because it was not under oath.

“The way he came here today is so he can give a speech, but he would never answer a question and would never take the oath,” Franks said. “And that’s the big difference.”

Blagojevich continued that he wanted to clear his name so that he could get back to working on behalf of the people.

But Ellis said the governor’s own words, as transcribed in the criminal complaint, show that he no longer wanted the job. Blagojevich allegedly said he was stuck, that he would “suck it up” for two more years and that he contemplated leaving office in early 2009 by getting a position with President Barack Obama’s administration or as the head of a nonprofit organization, “anything, anything but the office of governor,” Ellis said.

Despite being on the same side of the political fence during the impeachment trial, Republican Sens. Matt Murphy of Palatine and Dale Righter of Mattoon had separate opinions about the governor's presentation. Murphy called the governor “a cynical, calculating, self-serving man who has cheated the people of this state good governance.”

Righter, on the other hand, while not condoning any of the charges leveled against the governor, said he was impressed with the governor’s speech, no matter how late in the trial it came. “The governor was pretty gracious in recognizing the fact that he could not have been elected governor, nor could he have achieved many of the policies which have wreaked havoc in this state without help from the majority of the General Assembly. And I think that’s something worth remembering."

Yet, Righter said he took issue with the governor's approach. “The unspoken theme of the governor’s speech was that the end, his end, justified whatever means are necessary. The problem I have with that is it does not square with our process of self-governance.”

Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno said the governor had a point that some of the grounds for impeachment happened during his first term, and she blamed Democrats for supporting Blagojevich's reelection run. But she said it’s not too late for his impeachment. “Quite frankly, I’ll give it some thought. But I am definitely planning to vote to impeach him.”

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Expect the unexpected

Hilary Russell and Jamey Dunn contributed to this report
Since the governor’s public relations firm confirmed Gov. Rod Blagojevich plans to attend the last day of his impeachment trial Thursday, a lot of questions have come to bare.




One, from Sen. Susan Garrett, a Lake Forest Democrat: “How did we get here?”

But senators heard three days of testimony about that, including today’s allegations that Blagojevich abused his executive authority by trying to expand health care and import prescription drugs and doses of flu vaccine without legislative authority.

More immediate questions relate to what would happen if the Senate voted to convict the governor. Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno made a remark in jest that hits on a such a logistical question as: How would the governor get home if he doesn’t have access to the state plane that he often took to get back to Chicago? “I hope he has a ride home because I don’t think he’s going to have the state police to take him,” she said jokingly.

If the Senate convicts Blagojevich, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn immediately would take over. Quinn will be in Springfield tomorrow, his spokesman said.

But then there’s speculation that Blagojevich could resign tomorrow, spawning more questions about how to handle the impeachment. The Senate is allowed to take two votes: the first to convict, the second to determine whether Blagojevich would be banned from holding public office in Illinois again. If the governor resigned, the vote to convict wouldn’t be necessary, said Senate Majority Leader James Clayborne. But what if the senators still wanted to prevent him from holding another office? He said that hadn’t been worked out by the time he addressed the media this evening.

Earlier in the day, after Senate President John Cullerton announced that Blagojevich would give closing remarks around 11 a.m. Thursday, senators said they weren’t that surprised. “He’s all about PR,” Radogno said. “He’s all about press releases. I mean that’s how he’s governed for the whole time that he’s been here.”

“I’ve pretty well formulated my decision, and I will reserve the right to change my mind and be open as I can about this,” said Sen. Dave Koehler, a Peoria Democrat. “But it’s just a bit bizarre how he’s handled this thing.”

Sen. Dale Risinger, a Peoria Republican, said it is surprising, however, that Blagojevich didn’t defend himself during the trial even though he’s often mentioned being a former Golden Glove boxer. “It’s hard to feel sorry for him because he’s not tried to defend him self,” he said.

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Blagojevich will attend last day of trial — UPDATED

Just as the Senate prepared to call the last witness in Gov. Rod Blagojevich's impeachment trial this afternoon, Senate President John Cullerton announced that the governor may appear in the chamber Thursday to offer a closing argument.

A spokesman for the governor's public relations firm could not confirm at 3 p.m. whether the governor would, in fact, appear in Springfield tomorrow. Justin Herndon of the Publicity Agency said they were trying to figure out his schedule. But about 35 minutes later, the agency posted this update on it's social networking Twitter site: "Governor says he will go to Springfield tomorrow and appear before senators to make his case." Here's the press release.

The Senate trial rules allow 60 minutes for House Prosecutor David Ellis to make closing statements, which is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Thursday. Then the governor or his legal defense would have 90 minutes to offer closing arguments, to which Ellis would have 30 minutes to offer a rebuttal. Times can be extended with a majority vote of the 59 senators. See Rule 16 of the Senate trial rules.

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Senate trial Day 3: fewer witnesses

Hilary Russell contributed to this report.
Illinois Senate Republicans are concerned about the dwindling number of witnesses the prosecution team plans to call before the full chamber will vote on whether to convict Gov. Rod Blagojevich and remove him from office forever.


“Aside from getting to the verdict of the governor, I think that the people of Illinois deserve to have a full hearing and understanding of how far the corruption goes in this government,” said Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Hinsdale Republican, before the tribunal broke for lunch.

Yet, many senators expect a vote by the end of the week. That’s largely because without a defense presented on behalf of the governor, less time is needed than scheduled.

The prosecution team originally planned to call 13 witnesses, but House Prosecutor David Ellis dropped five House members from the list in favor of reviewing the criminal affidavit affirmed by Daniel Cain yesterday. Today, Rep. Chapin Rose, a Mahomet Republican, testified about the plea agreements of Ali Ata and Joe Cari, previous members of the governor's inner circle.

Michael Kasper, counsel hired to support the House prosecution team, added that rather than have House members testify to give their characterization of evidence, it would be more appropriate for senators to look at that documents themselves and come up with their own perceptions.

Dillard said he was particularly worried about why Rep. Constance Howard, a Chicago Democrat, was scratched from the list. She originally was scheduled to testify about the injury to the people that has happened since the governor’s arrest, including a dropped bond rating that makes it more expensive for the state to borrow.

Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno said the evidence intended to demonstrate the governor’s mismanagement of the state “seems to be getting truncated at this point.” She added: “I think it’s not good for the public. The public is the one that’s been harmed by this … I think that it’s incumbent on us not only to give the governor a fair trial, but to let the public know that we have a good handle on the extent of this corruption.”

The prosecution today is focusing on the governor’s alleged abuse of his executive powers, with additional testimony this afternoon from the legislative review committee, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. Auditor General William Holland also will talk about the administration's effort to import European flu vaccine and Canadian prescription drugs, as well as an efficiency initiative that received bad reviews. We wrote about both items when the House heard similar testimony.

We’ll have more later today.

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Senate trial Day 2: FBI recordings

Hearing Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s voice on secret FBI recordings played today during his Senate impeachment trial drove home the criminal allegation that he attempted to secure campaign cash before a new state law took effect this year. They, along with testimony by the FBI agent who verified the recordings, were anticipated to be the highlight of the trial, but both seemed a bit anticlimactic. Even so, with only a handful of witnesses left on the schedule, senators are speculating that they could wrap up by the end of the week.

The governor’s voice echoed through the Senate sound system. While described as striking, the audio files also were short and incomplete. As GOP Sen. Dave Luechtefeld of Okawville said, legislators previously read more about the alleged scheme in the newspaper than they heard today.



Still, Luechtefeld said: “It does show the [enormity] of this, and I think you sort of catch your breath a little bit once you hear the tapes. And then it kind of whets your appetite for what else is on the tapes.”

Only four short conversations were released by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who is limiting the amount of information released to the impeachment proceedings from his ongoing criminal investigation. The conversations heard today were between the governor and his brother, Rob Blagojevich, and his former chief of staff, Lon Monk. One brief conversation, according to the federal transcripts, was between Monk and John Johnston, a horse racing official who allegedly was the target of the scheme to donate to Blagojevich’s campaign. They all allegedly involved a scheme to secure campaign donations for Blagojevich’s political fund in return for the governor’s signature on a bill to subsidize the horse racing industry.

Blagojevich was heard repeatedly asking whether Johnston was “good for it,” referring to the campaign contribution pledge. “Before the end of the year though, right?” Blagojevich was twice heard asking his brother.

Monk, who was a lobbyist at the time of the recordings, was later heard on a cell phone conversation with the governor telling him to call Johnston. “It’s better if you do it just from a pressure point of view,” Monk was heard saying to the governor.

FBI Special Agent Daniel Cain, who has more than 22 years experience investigating white-collar crimes, also received limited authorization the U.S. attorney to testify before the Senate today. Cain said that he and several other agents listened to the recordings as many times as necessary to verify the accuracy of the summaries and of the direct quotes contained within the affidavit.

Cain later said, “I would not have attributed statements to Gov. Blagojevich if I did not believe those statements were made by Gov. Blagojevich.”

According to the affidavit, the feds noted in early October 2008 that Blagojevich started accelerating corrupt fundraising activities in advance of new ethics legislation. The FBI received authorization to secretly record Blagojevich’s conversations within his campaign office and on his home telephone. Only four of many recordings were released for the Senate’s consideration.

Blagojevich said throughout a media blitz yesterday and today that he had not heard the recordings but that they were taken out of context. He said that the public would have a chance to know the whole truth once he tells his side of the story in federal court. He dismissed the Senate trial as unfair and “fixed” in a way that ensures his conviction and removal from office; however, he and his defense team declined to participate in the trial and missed deadlines to call their own witnesses.

(Contrary to what the governor said on numerous TV interviews, Senate President John Cullerton said the trial rules still allow the governor to call witnesses. A senator would have to make a motion to allow the governor to do so because he missed the set deadlines. Forty senators, or two-thirds of the chamber, would have to allow it.)

While Cain sat before the chamber, he could respond to little else other than that his affidavit was “true and accurate to the best of my belief at the time I signed it.” Senators wanted to know, for instance, whether legislators were recorded on the wiretaps and the conditions that led up to the wiretaps and bugs. They also couldn’t get an answer to how long state funds were withheld from Chicago Memorial Hospital while the governor sought a $50,000 contribution from the hospital administrator.

Senators continuously heard Cain say: “I can’t answer that question. It’s beyond the scope of my authorization.”

Rep. Jack Franks, a Woodstock Democrat and vocal member of the special House impeachment committee, sat in the audience to listen to the recordings. He said the audio files constituted pay-to-play politics. “He sounded like business as usual for the governor. This sounds like he’s done this before, you know? Because it seems like it was so well-orchestrated that this seemed to be normal for him, get it done ahead of time.”

He said while other evidence is important to the Senate’s consideration, the audio recordings make it “real.”

“It’s irrefutable at that point when you hear the governor’s voice and his biggest concern was making sure that he got the money by the end of the year because of the new law. There’s no other explanation for it.”

Sen. Dan Cronin, an Elmhurst Republican, said the lack of the governor’s defense “means there’s something missing, that there isn’t another view or a challenge, but, you know, these tapes pretty much speak for themselves.”

At least one senator wasn’t so sure. Sen. Mike Jacobs, an East Moline Democrat who has publicly feuded with the governor, said he’s not convinced. While Jacobs did not say how he intends to vote on whether to convict the governor, he did say he questioned the broad “abuse of power” allegations made by the House impeachment. He also questioned whether the feds were using the impeachment process to benefit their criminal case. “I never saw the governor act in a manner where I thought he was acting criminal, Jacobs said. “I’m not sure I’ve heard that, yet.”

Yet, Jacobs added, it’ll be hard not to impeach the governor without his defense. “By not being here, I think he’s put himself in grave jeopardy.”

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Media blitz vs. Senate trial

By Hilary Russell and Jamey Dunn
Gov. Rod Blagojevich opted Monday to state his side of the story in the court of public opinion rather than in an impeachment trial considering his possible conviction and removal from office. While the governor had a full day of interviews with some rather quirky and comedic moments, the full Illinois Senate met for its first day of “solemn and serious” deliberations that set the stage for a more dramatic day Tuesday.


It started shortly after 7 a.m. with an appearance on ABC’s
“Good Morning America” and “The View.” He later was a guest on "Larry King Live." In a taped interview on NBC’s the “Today Show,” Blagojevich compared himself to Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Ghandi and Nelson Mandela. While live on “Good Morning America,” he dropped what appears to be a planned bombshell that he considered appointing Oprah Winfrey to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama.

“She seemed to be someone who would help Barack Obama significantly in the presidency, obviously someone with a much broader bully pulpit than a lot of senators,” he told Diane Sawyer. “My consideration of Oprah was tempered by the fact that she probably wouldn’t take it.”

The plug even caught Winfrey off guard. Winfrey received the news from best friend Gayle King while chatting on King’s Syrius radio talk show.

“Wait a minute if I’d been watching [Good Morning America] as I [usually] watch from the treadmill, I’d probably have fallen off the treadmill,” Winfrey said. “I’m pretty amused by the whole thing.” She said if offered the job, she would have said, “Uh, absolutely not. I would say where would I fit it in with my day job, my mid-day job, my night job, my radio job, my magazine job?”

While on “The View,” host Barbara Walters noted that First Lady Patti Blagojevich didn’t appear with the governor as scheduled. Walters said she canceled Sunday because she received advice from her father, Chicago Ald. Dick Mell, who told his daughter that Blagojevich uses people and then throws them away. The governor said on air that Mell’s comment had been taken out of context and was connected to an unrelated dispute over a landfill.

The interview ended on a lighter note when Joy Behar said she had heard that the governor does a good Nixon impression and asked him to raise his hands in peace signs and utter the infamous “I am not a crook” line. When the governor refused, she reached out and touched his infamous hair.

Blagojevich maintained his innocence throughout each interview, often repeating his stance that the impeachment trial process is severely biased toward him and just unfair.

“I’m here talking to Americans to let them know what’s happening in the Land of Lincoln. If they can do this to a sitting governor, deny me the right to bring witnesses in, and prove my innocence,” he said. “If they can do it in Illinois, they can do it in New York and other states where governors fight for the people.”

(Shortly after Day 1 of the Senate trial ended today, Illinois Senate President John Cullerton took issue with Blagojevich’s statements that the trial rules are unfair. Cullerton said the governor still could make motions to present his defense. It would be up to 40 of the 59 senators to allow his motion.)

Some major media personalities did defend the governor today. One source of support came from an impromptu interview with Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera, who said he had been promised the first cable news interview with Blagojevich at 2 p.m. But Blagojevich’s press people canceled the interview at the last minute. Rivera accused Blagojevich’s newly hired publicist, Glenn Selig, of sabotaging the interview. Selig also represents Drew Peterson, a former Bolingbrook cop and suspect in the murder of at least one of his ex-wives.

Rivera knocked on the window of the governor’s SUV in a parking lot after his appearance on “The View.” When the governor recognized the reporter, he got out of his vehicle and granted the interview. Rivera backed up Blagojevich’s complaint about the Senate trial being unfair by referring to the proceedings as a “runaway train” that the governor could do nothing to stop.

Rivera asked Blagojevich if he was broke and what he would do if he lost his position and salary. Blagojevich compared himself to people facing unemployment due to the economic downturn. “There are tens of thousands of Americans who are losing their jobs as we speak. So I’m not the only one. And I’m not going to sit here and start whining about my fate. I’ll pick myself up, and I’ll figure out a way to make a living, and a good living, for my family.”

Rivera joked that he would buy the governor dinner, and Blagojevich laughed and asked if that would be ethical. The two hugged at the conclusion of the interview.

Impeachment trial
By Bethany Jaeger
Meanwhile, Illinois senators reacted to the governor’s media blitz by saying while he has the right not to attend the proceedings, he at least should have presented a defense rather than bounce between New York studios.

“It just goes to the pattern of the Blagojevich governorship, which is public relations and platitudes rather than actually showing up under the Capitol dome to conduct state business, let alone appear at his own impeachment trial,” said Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Hinsdale Republican.

“We’re serious about this. We’ve taken an oath that we will do justice according to the law, and that’s what we intend to do,” said Senate Majority Leader James Clayborne. “This whole process has been embarrassing. We shouldn’t even be here today, but we’re here, and we’re going to do according to the law. We’re going to provide justice according to law.”

House prosecutor David Ellis, who represents the sentiments of the Illinois House when it voted to impeach the governor last month, said his case rests on the governor’s own actions and his own words, not the actions or words of others. Ellis alleged that the governor knowingly broke the law when serving as governor.

“Throughout this testimony, you will see that the governor clearly knew that what he was doing was illegal,” Ellis said to the Senate chamber. “The words he used to his subordinates — ‘Be careful how you say things. Assume everybody is listening. Don’t put anything in writing. Don’t talk on the phone. I would do it in person.’ — that’s the kind of advice the governor was giving to his subordinates throughout this evidence that we’ll talk about.”

Recorded conversations of the governor obtained as part of the ongoing criminal investigation will be “front and center” in Ellis’ case, starting tomorrow with the testimony of an FBI agent who validated the governor’s voice on the secret recordings.

Ellis said the evidence will show that the governor’s words went “well beyond harmless chatter or idle speculation to active plotting to personally enrich himself in exchange for official acts that the governor might take.”

Sen. Rickey Hendon, a Chicago Democrat, questioned some evidence sought by the House prosecutor, including a federal measure that would limit the amount Illinois would get in a stimulus package as long as Blagojevich were governor.

“I took an oath to hear the evidence, to ask tough questions,” Hendon said during a break in Senate action. “We have to ask some questions that otherwise we would have gotten from the defense because they’re not here — because I want to get at the truth.”

Hendon also wanted the ability to vote on each accusation separately as opposed to voting on all of the allegations as a whole. He selectively mentioned the governor’s health care expansions and free mass transit rides for seniors as actions that he supported.

“So those things give me problems,” he said. “But that being said, it only takes one article to impeach. So one charge of guilty with 40 votes is more than enough, and … the House did wrong by lumping everything together. And us as senators have a greater obligation to try to get to the truth and the facts.”

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