Results tagged “pattiblagojevich”

Remember the back-and-forth between Patti Blagojevich and her old boss about whether or not she swiped the company email list for the purposes of pimping husband Rod's book? Well, now Patti is pissed and she's got the lawsuit to prove it. The Sun-Times' Natasha Korecki reports that Patti has filed a defamation lawsuit against Rick Roberts of the Chicago Christian Industrial League for his initial remarks. Lead attorney Jay Edelson said, "Hopefully, this will send the message that making false statements against Patti or Rod Blagojevich will not go unanswered."

Patti Blagojevich responded yesterday to accusations she swiped an email list of donors from the Christian Industrial League, the charity job she was fired from earlier this year, and used the list to promote husband Rod's new book. Patti's defense? The list was her list to begin with. In an interview with the Sun-Times, Patti said, "The galling thing about this is before I got to CCIL -- there was no e-mail list. They had no e-mail outreach at all. I dumped all my contacts of all my friends...Their list is my list." CIL Director of Strategy Rick Roberts, who made the original accusation, fired back at Patti's claim, saying, "We're a century-old organization. To say there was no contact list is absolutely ludicrous." Roberts added, "The league realizes clearly -- clearly -- it made a mistake hiring Patti." YA BURNT!

Remember Patti Blagojevich's swanky - and controversial - tenure with the Christian Industrial League? You know, the one she got fired from? It turns out that questionable shenanigans really do run with both sides of the Blagojevich marriage as Lady Blago swiped the donor contact list from that old gig and used it to pimp her husband's new - and apparently not-so-great - book via email. Rick Roberts, senior director of strategy at the CIL, told the Tribune, "The last thing we need is to have Mrs. Blagojevich showing poor judgment and unethical behavior. Our list is proprietary." We bet she CC'd the entire list, too, instead of using the BCC option.

• Anne Lockett, the ex-girlfriend of Brown's Chicken Massacre defendant James Degorski, testified against Degorski at his trial today.
• WBEZ takes a look at the case of Devon Young, a 25-year-old man shot and killed by police in June 2008, and the seeming lack of a police investigation into the shooting.
• The Trib talks to Patti Blagojevich.

    

It's been an eventful end of the week for the Blagojevich family. First, Patti returned from the wilds of Costa Rica after being voted off the reality show I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here. Husband Rod, daughters Amy and Annie, and sister State Rep. Deb Mell were at O'Hare to greet Patti upon her return. When asked about the experience, Patti said, "It was nice to go down there and meet people that didn't have an agenda with me, that became my friends and it helped restore my faith in people." Rod added, "She's a heckuva lot more popular [than him]."

• Members of the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid team were to hold a secret meeting this afternoon with aldermen to allay their fears about putting taxpayers on the hook for the cost.
• The amazing story of Ald. Don Parrillo.
• State lawmakers are taking a break from working on the budget and will reconvene Monday to pick the problem back up.

In all his free time between appearing on talk shows and sending his wife to Costa Rica, Blago has been brushing up on his Shakespeare. And he’ll show off his newest skill set at Navy Pier this Saturday in the Second City musical under his name. Although he will not star as himself in Rod Blagojevich Superstar, he will participate in an improv set fueled by audience suggestions for his wife’s escape from the jungle. (And you thought his appearance on Letterman was bad.) He’ll also announce the show’s extension at Chicago Shakes.

• Cook County Circuit Court clerk Dorothy Brown had no problem accepting gifts from employees until the Tribune came calling.
• What began as a simple break-in at a house in Matteson led to that town's biggest pot bust ever.
• Students rallied at Northwestern yesterday in support of classmates who say they were the victims of racial profiling.

We weren't really going to report on the ongoing appearance of Patti Blagojevich on the NBC show "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Outta Here." We've talked it about it way too much as it is, though any show in which Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt join Patti for a prayer has got to be off the charts in unintentional comedy, right? Well, it gets better. Each "celebrity" is competing on behalf of a charity. But the folks at Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation don't want anything to do with Patti's charity cash because they're partners with Children's Memorial Hospital, the same hospital Rod allegedly tried to shake down for $50,000. The Sun-Times' Natasha Korecki has the charity's full statement:

It seems former governor Rod Blagojevich's federal trial might get underway come April 2010. At a status hearing this morning, U.S. District Judge James Zagel said he prefers for the trial to start by next April and by July 2010 at the latest. Zagel also floated the idea of an anonymous jury. Blagojevich defense attorney Sam Adam Jr. said, "If that's what the judge orders I'll be ready."

In an interview with the Sun-Times, Patti Blagojevich says the only reason she will be appearing on the NBC reality television show “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here,” airing in June, is for her children. She says finding a normal job right now would be impossible due to the bad economy and attention she’s received in connection with corruption charges against her husband.

With a trip to Costa Rica and an appearance on an NBC reality game show in her very near future, Patti Balgojevich is making all the necessary plans for someone that's going to be in the jungle. According to the AP (via WLS), Patti "has gotten the necessary travel vaccinations and has attended yoga classes inside a room heated to more than 100 degrees to help her acclimate to Costa Rica's hot weather." She'll also get to take one luxury item with her and she told WVON this week that she's thinking about taking her pillow. No word on whether or not her husband's hair is considered a "luxury item."

From the dangerous jungle of Springfield to the literal jungles of Costa Rica. This morning comes confirmation of what we pretty much knew was going to happen all along: Patti Blagojevich will be on the NBC show "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Outta Here." WBEZ has the press release which has all the details, including the fact that the ex-governor will also somehow be involved in the show "in other ways which will be a surprise."

We suppose someone in the Blagojevich family has to earn some income. And it now looks like it will be Patti. If Blago's lawyer Sheldon Sorosky is to be believed, it appears as though Patti is going to accept an offer to be on the NBC show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here. Speaking to reporters yesterday, Sorosky said of Patti and the show's offer, "It appears she's going to do it." While the entire cast hasn't been named for the June 1 premiere, we do know that the currently announced "celebrities" include Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt, Sanjaya from American Idol, and lesser Baldwin Brother Stephen. Wow, we never thought we'd see the day where we're actually rooting for a member of the Blagojevich family to succeed.

Since her husband can't leave the state to participate in the reality TV show "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Outta Here," it looks like Patti Blagojevich will step up to the plate and take one for Team Blago. The Sun-Times Natasha Korecki is reporting that Patti and NBC are in discussions to put her on the show in her husbands place. Well, we suppose she could use a job...

Yesterday evening, the other shoe dropped and Rod Blagojevich and five others were indicted on a wide range of fraud and corruption charges. The indictment contains 19 charges in all against Blagojevich, his brother Robert, former Chief-of-Staff John Harris, former adviser Lon Monk, former fundraiser Christopher Kelly, and power broker William Cellini. Here are some of the highlights from the news surrounding the indictments.

• In the latest bit of bad news for U.S. Sen. Ronald Burris, Darrel Thompson, his chief of staff, has resigned. Could the Senator himself be far behind?
• An afternoon shoot-out in an alley along 87th Street on the city's South Side has left a 13-year-old, a 15-year-old, and 17-year-old dead.
• Patti Blagojevich is shakin' off that firin' by the Chicago Christian Industrial League just fine as she's selling a house to bring in a little extra money.

The feds have hit Patti Blagojevich with a subpoena that has many wondering if she'll be joining her husband in receiving a grand jury indictment this spring. Lady Blago reportedly complied with the subpoena, handing over any and all notes relating to over 40 individuals relating things ranging from her husband's fund-raising to her own real estate deals. Speaking to the Sun-Times, her attorney Raymond Pijon said he hopes the feds "consider the 'family structure' as they weigh that decision."

Now that he's no longer Governor, Rod Blagojevich can turn his attention to his upcoming federal trial and, more importantly, finding a new lead attorney. Star defender Ed Genson quit Blago's legal team on the heels of Blago's media blitz, which Genson disapproved of. With that, all the ex-gov is left with is "longtime friend" Sheldon Sorosky. The father-son pair of Sam Adams Jr. and Sr. handles some of Blago's impeachment proceedings but have not yet committed to the federal portion of Blago's legal woes. The Sun-Times reports that Rod and Patti met with several prospective attorneys over the weekend in an attempt to fill out the roster.

Anyone looking to hire a foul-mouthed wife of a twice-impeached governor who clouts her way into jobs she's not qualified for and is under federal scrutiny for her real estate dealings? Then Patti Blagojevich wants to hear from you (no phone calls, please).

A Chicago Christian Industrial League homeless shelter is struggling to stay afloat after a deal by Mayor Daley moved them to new digs they can't afford and Patti Blagojevich's fundraising efforts have fallen short according to an investigation by NBC 5 and the Sun-Times. It seemed at first to be pretty simple: the city moved the League 's homeless shelter from its "crumbling" Greektown location into a new $25 million building in Lawndale which cleared the way for developer Michael Marchese and businessman William F. Cellini - who was recently indicted for trying to shake down a Hollywood producer - to build a brand-spanking-new condo unit on the site of the old shelter. What could go wrong?

The family of Illinois' First Lady, Patti Blagojevich, has come to her defense in the wake of the charges brought against her husband by federal agents. State Rep./sister Debra Mell, Chicago Alderman (33rd Ward)/ father Dick Mell, and brother Rich Mell sat down with NBC 5 for an interview in which they sought to set the record straight on the woman some media outlets have referred to as "Lady Macbeth." Said sister Deb, "That is not my sister. My sister is a good woman, a good mother, a great friend, my closest friend, that's not my sister, no." Ald. Mell, who's relationship with his daughter has been strained since Mell accused the governor of promising positions in exchange for campaign contributions, said, "This is a pressure cooker that she's living in. And right, wrong, indifferent, whether they put themselves there, I don't know. All I know is what I see...She said, as rough as it is, what happened two years ago when her mother died was harder." The family denied any talk of a federal investigation into Patti's real estate dealings.

We might have to add a new category to the Rod Blagojevich Death Pool -- "Before/After Patti Gets Indicted". Patti Blagojevich has been laying low at her new job with the Chicago Christian Industrial League, but that hasn't lessened the heat federal investigators are putting on her and her former real estate company, River Realty.

• Drew Peterson Watch: the Cowardly Lion's attorney says a racy message recently found on missing wife Stacy's phone is proof that she was having an affair, and ran off.
• The mini Wrigley Field formerly at the New City YMCA is being relocated to Humboldt Park.
• If you're a Streets and San worker around 53rd and Union, be careful that woman you offer money for sex isn't an undercover officer.
• Kanye West, blogger.