Illinois Governor Arrested on Corruption Charges

by Anne Landman — December 9, 2008 - 1:55pm
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Illinois Governor Rod BlagojevichThe Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich after wiretaps showed he planned to sell or trade the open Senate seat left by Barack Obama to obtain financial and personal benefits for himself and his wife. If he couldn't get what he considered to be satisfactory compensation for the appointment, Blagojevich planned on taking the Senate seat himself. The government also accused Blagojevich of threatening to withhold state financial assistance to the troubled Tribune Company, publisher of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, unless the Tribune fired its editorial board members who had been critical of him. The Governor is alleged to have said in a phone call about the board members, "Our recommendation is fire all those [expletive] people, get 'em the [expletive] out of there and get us some editorial support." Blagojevich is the second Illinois governor in a row to be arrested and charged with corruption. Former Governor George Ryan was convicted of racketeering and fraud in 2006.

Main Source: 
CNN, December 9, 2008

Comments

The Republicans wasted no time on this one.

Submitted by Mutternich on December 10, 2008 - 5:14pm.

Browse http://www.rodblagojevich.com and you get redirected to the website of the Illinois Republican Party, http://www.weareillinois.org, which conspicuously urges President-elect Obama and Senator Dick Durbin to keep Patrick Fitzgerald on as U.S. Attorney in Chicago and invites you to "click here" if you've "had enough of corrupt politicians like Rod Blagojevich."

Not that there's anything wrong with that. Keeping Patrick Fitzgerald, that is. But I hereby nominate the Republicans' appropriation of Blagojovich's name for their own website, without even adding "-sucks" or "-isabum" so surfers will have some idea of where they're being directed, for a Falsies award next year. :-)