Results tagged “blagojevich”

The Sun-Times has an interesting read about the battle to legalize ultimate fighting in the state of Illinois. Perhaps as interesting as the battle itself is the fact that former governor Rod Blagojevich's book The Governor is a useful source in the story. Even better? more ›

Rod Blagojevich called into WLS this morning and apologized for the controversial quote in the new Esquire interview in which he claimed, "I'm blacker than Barack Obama." The White House has not commented on the statement yet. After the jump is video from WGN of Blago holding a press conference of sorts in front of his house as he continues the back-pedal. more ›

Second place Democrat Senate candidate Cheryle Jackson made like the Chicago Bulls and dumped her campaign manager last week on Christmas Eve. Campaign Manager Rodney Shelton was replaced by Deputy Campaign Manager Lisa Hargrove. "It's just an internal move," campaign spokesman Bob Kettlewell said of the personnel change. And while Jackson is the bridesmaid to Alexi Giannoulias's bridezilla, her campaign hasn't generated nearly the excitement that former City of Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman's candidacy has. more ›

The election of President Barack Obama topped the Associated Press's top stories of the decade for the state of Illinois. Corruption in Springfield also made the list as the Blago Saga and George Ryan's shenanigans made the list. What else did the AP see as the top 10 stories of the 2000's? Here's the full list. more ›

Two more computers that were stolen from the office of attorney Sam Adam - who's defending ex-gov Rod Blagojevich - were found sold to pawn shops. Luckily for the Blago, case, though, nothing on the computers was related to the impending trial. Adam told WBEZ: "The good thing is the two computers that we thought had a .01 percent chance of having something on them are the ones that were returned, and there was nothing on there. There were no downloaded files. This case is not in jeopardy of anything coming out." In total, eight computers and a safe were swiped from Adam's office. more ›

Rod Blagojevich’s defense attorney Samuel E. Adam suggested that President Obama might be called to take the witness stand in the former governor’s corruption trial. And, perhaps channeling the Sam Adam of his undergrad days, then told the press that questioning Barack Obama would be "an awesome experience.” Obama was one of many high-ranking political officials that were interviewed by federal investigators working on the Blagojevich case, including First Lady Michelle Obama, Valerie Jarrett, and Rahm Emanuel. more ›

Governor Blagojevich will be re-indicted after all, federal prosecutors said today. They told the presiding judge the reindictment will come by late-January or early-February. The reindictment will occur because of the potential the U.S. Supreme Court will throw part, it not all, of the current federal honest services law out in an impending ruling; much of the case against Blago invokes the law. more ›

Openly gay State Senate candidate Jim Madigan was in for a surprise last Thursday when Leo Smith, husband of 7th District State Senator Heather Steans, arrived at his campaign fundraiser party at The Call in Andersonville to sulk in the corner for an hour before drunkenly confronting his wife's rival. more ›

A pair of laptops stolen from the office of lawyer Sam Adams, Jr., who is also defending former governor Rod Blagojevich, were recovered. However, according to Adams, neither of the returned laptops held any evidence related to the Blagojevich case. Because it's considered an ongoing investigation, additional details weren't released but Adams praised the police officers involved, saying, "Without jeopardizing an ongoing investigation, we can say we are ecstatic about the performance of the Chicago Police Department." Adams also wrote a letter praising the officers which can be read at the Tribune's site. more ›

Despite allegedly having a lead and even executing a search warrant in the case of stolen files from the offices of attorneys representing Rod Blagojevich, police turned up nothing in their search over the weekend. Well, almost nothing. After executing the search warrant on his apartment, police arrested 41-year-old Calvin Ware for unlawful use of a weapon, a misdemeanor. Police found a loaded sawed-off shotgun, which Ware admitted owning, along with additional rounds. Still, Ware was not charged with anything relating to the burglaries though his apartment was searched in connection with the crime. more ›

A day after the attorneys for former governor Rod Blagojevich reported that computers and files related to his federal case had been stolen from their offices, police report they're on the trail of a suspect. Police executed a search warrant earlier today at a location close to attorney Sam Adams, Jr's South Side office. No other details have been released related to the search yet. Between eight and 10 laptops were stolen from the office, according to the Sun-Times, half of which had sensitive files related to Blago's case. more ›

WLS 890-AM has reported this afternoon that the "Blago tapes" - wiretap tapes of phone conversations related to the case of former Governor Rod Blagojevich - along with files relating to the case have been stolen from the offices of Blago's lawyers. We'll update with more info - including specifically which lawyer and any more details we can get - as soon as we have it. more ›

Former governor Rod Blagojevich's motion to move back his trial has been denied. The motion was filed because Blago's lawyers claim a trio of cases before the Supreme Court for rulings could have implications on parts federal mail fraud law and, therefore, could affect aspects of Blago's federal trial. Judge James Zagel disagreed, saying that either way the current start date of June 2010 should give both sides plenty of time to prepare. [WBEZ] more ›

Attorneys for former governor Rod Blagojevich are lobbying to have the ex-gov's federal trial pushed back from its scheduled June start date until September. The reason? They claim a Supreme Court ruling on the "honest services" provision of the federal mail fraud statute expected in the Spring might affect Blago's case. The Trib explains: more ›

He just won't go away. And even though he's already started filming on the show, former governor Rod Blagojevich still doesn't know if he'll be allowed on the reality TV show Celebrity Apprentice. Because when you think "celebrity," you think "Blagojevich." Prosecutors allege that the show will interfere with the federal case against him by tainting the potential pool of jurors. According to reports, concerns are over when the show actually airs: it begins airing in March, just a few months before Blago's trial kicks off in June. more ›

It's been just a hair over nine months since Rod Blagojevich was impeached and a little less than that since he was removed from office. And yet we're still learning about what went on behind the scenes of the Blago administration. Today's Sun-Times features an in-depth look into the clout shenanigans that went on with Blago in charge. The two most prolific supporters in terms of hiring were Blago's right hand man, the late Christopher Kelly, and his father-in-law, Ald. Dick Mell (33rd). Mell was the sponsor for 293 positions with 110 of those getting filled. More than 5,700 total candidates supported by almost 400 political sponsors are listed in the Blago database. Stop by the Sun-Times story to check out full details as well as excerpts from Ald. Mell's and Kelly's lists. more ›

With the CTA facing a budget gap in the hundreds of millions of dollars and another potential CTA fare hike looming, everyone involved is looking for ways to save some cash. The Regional Transportation Authority has now suggested tweaking the free rides for seniors program implemented by then-governor Rod Blagojevich. Instead of giving free rides to all seniors, the RTA has suggested providing free rides to low-income seniors who make below a suggested threshold of $22,000 a year. The RTA cited a study by the University of Illinois in Chicago which estimated the CTA lost between $38 million and $112 million from the new program. According to the RTA, setting the new limit would account for a boost of around $37 million for the CTA. more ›

That then-U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel of the 5th Congressional District of Illinois wanted a hand-picked replacement who could essentially serve as a "seat-warmer" when he was selected as then-President-Elect Obama's Chief of Staff is no surprise. That "seat-warmer" would hold Rahm's seat in Congress until Rahm was done working for Obama and could return to his place on the Hill. And that Rahm had contact with Blagojevich about various replacements - including the infamous "for sale" U.S. Senate seat - is also no surprise. Rahm's admitted they talked shop but also maintained he did nothing wrong. But this morning we're getting more specifics courtesy of an investigation by the Sun-Times who reports that Rahm wanted Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool as his "seat-warmer." more ›

It's the scandal that just won't stop. U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., also known as Candidate 5 in the federal indictment of former governor Rod Blagojevich is still the subject of a federal investigation into his role in the whole Blago saga. Previously, it had been alleged that emissaries for Jackson had promised to raise upwards money for then-governor Blagojevich in exchange for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Obama upon his election. Besides the current federal investigation, there's also an ethics committee probe with which Jackson has promised full cooperation. The investigation has now turned to whether or not Jackson improperly used his congressional staff to aid him in his pitch to Blago and that's beginning to "overlap" with the ethics probe, leading investigators to ask the ethics probe to hang back so as not to interfere with their investigation. more ›

Details continue to emerge in the death of former Blagojevich adviser Christopher Kelly including the fact that the Country Club Hills police department concluded the death was "an apparent suicide." more ›

Two days after his death, while pieces of what happened are falling into place, plenty of questions still swirl around Christopher Kelly. An autopsy of former Blagojevich adviser Christopher Kelly proved inconclusive and the Cook County medical examiner's office claims they'll need more tests and investigations before they can rule on an official cause of death. Kelly was found by his girlfriend in his SUV late Friday night, parked in a lumber yard, and having swallowed a large number of pills - the Trib reports, "Tylenol wrappers and a large container of pills were found in Kelly's SUV." more ›

The Chicago Tribune is reporting two sources as saying that Christopher Kelly, a key player in the Rod Blagojevich investigation, is dead. more ›

Itching to get your hands on a copy of Rod Blagojevich's new "tell-all" book The Governor? Yeah, neither are we. But, should you want one, they apparently can be had. WBBM's Steve Miller reports that he was able to pick up a copy early and that stores are already selling it. The AP also got a copy and reports on some of things within, such as Blago admitting he wanted to appoint Lisa Madigan to President Obama's vacant Senate seat and says he picked Burris for the spot because of his big ego. Without reading anything in the book, we can also (probably) boil the rest down: he did nothing wrong, he will be vindicated, it was the fault of others. There you go. more ›

Just a few days after formally announcing that she'll be running for the seat that Roland Burris (maybe) is going to vacate, Cheryle Jackson's name is in the news, and it isn't because she's running for federal office. Her name is coming up in conjunction with emails that Illinois Auditor General William Holland has retrieved as part if his investigation into what may be one of Blago's biggest political fiascoes and certainly a hilarious fuck up. more ›

We mentioned over the weekend that former governor Rod Blagojevich, when not setting up his website that still refers to him as "governor," was making an appearance at Elvis Night and singing "Treat Me Nice" without a trace of irony. Well, here's the proof. Kind of makes you want to order one of these shirts (original link via Gapers Block). more ›

It seems Lollapalooza wasn't the only musical treat happening in Chicago yesterday. Former governor Rod Blagojevich was on hand to perform the Elvis hit "Treat Me Nice" at an annual block party near the Magnificent Mile last night. more ›

U.S. District Court Judge James Zagel announced today he wouldn't be giving a public release to the FBI's tapes of former governor Rod Blagojevich's conversations amassed via wiretaps. Several media outlets had requested the release of documents such as the tapes and transcripts. Zagel is still weighing how much information he'll release in regards to the government's case against William F. Cellini, a request made by the Tribune. [Sun-Times] more ›

Rich Miller, who runs Illinois must-read politics blog CapitalFax is having a little fun with the much touted release of former governor Rod Blagojevich's new book, The Governor. In a post on his site yesterday, he explains that he "created a tag called 'Moron'. Clicking the Moron tag shows that Rod Blagojevich's new book is already the second most prevalent product with that tag at Amazon's entire site. It does have a way to go to overtake the first place contestant, however, but Blagojevich is, in my opinion, far more deserving." And he's encouraging his readers to click the tag if they agree with the sentiment. That's a great one, Rich, but there's still a ways to go if you want to hang with 4chan. more ›

We mentioned yesterday that former governor Rod Blagojevich's book is now on-sale at Amazon for $16.47, which we're pretty sure is less than what he wanted for Obama's U.S. Senate seat. But it also gave us the first look at the book's cover, which is all kinds of magical in a "Land of Leprechauns and Unicorns" kind of way. The Governor is due in bookstores September 8. [via Sun-Times] more ›

The saga of the Loop Lab school looks like it may be solved. And it doesn't look good for the state getting it's money back in spite of an earlier ruling. If you remember, then-governor Blagojevich intended for the money to go to the recently burned down Pilgrim Baptist Church but it seems he mistakenly promised it to Elmira Mayes, who was then leading the Loop Lab School which had been renting space at the church at the time of the fire. After a lot of confusion, the school took the money to buy a new space downtown but then flipped the property. Even shadier, the school's leader, Chandra Gill, had been the recipient of a Blago pardon. Lisa Madigan eventually sued the school and the school eventually agreed to repay the state. But an audit by the Illinois Auditor General's office shows that it's very unlikely the state will see that money, calling out the Blago administration for "a lack of due diligence" on its "bureaucratic mistake." more ›