Illinois' Own Family Feud Really Just Getting Started
By Sam Bakken in News on Jan 14, 2005 9:59PM
So, do you give a shit about this whole thing? We don't want to tell you what to do, but it is going to get really interesting. So you should. Since it's Friday, here's a short recap of the feud this week and a bit of speculation from your friends at Chicagoist.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Cook County State's Attorney Richard Devine have announced that together they will investigate allegations made by Ald. Richard Mell (33rd), his father in law, that the governor's top advisor, Christopher Kelly, traded state posts for political donations. Immediately afterwards, Blago ordered his own investigation.
It all started when, over Christmas Eve dinner with the fam, Blago heard comments that his wife's second cousin Frank Schmidt was accepting debris at his Joliet landfill that he wasn't licensed to accept and bragging about his connections to Blago and Mell. Blago then ordered that the landfill be put under surveillance and then closed it down after he thought he had evidence that the allegations were true. Mell took the move personally and made all sorts of allegations against Blago, including one that his chief advisor traded appointments for cash. Blago dismissed the accusations as wild and untrue. This week a Cook County Judge said Schmidt's landfill could re-open provided he get rid of the illegal debris and enforce strict controls in the future.
Then Mell didn't exactly apologize, saying:
"It has to end -- not for me and not for Blagojevich. It has to end for my wife. It has to end for the rest of my family. This is not something that can continue. This is something that is gonna be put to rest today. What was done is regrettable, I think. I'm hoping there's a possibility of repairing it. I've got a granddaughter who loves to fish and she hasn't been up to Lake Geneva for two years fishing like she used to come. ... So it's got to end and it's gonna end right now."
Well Mell, it's not over.
Some say the whole ordeal may have been a conspiracy to give Blago an image-boost as a stoic politician only interested in justice. Well if it was, it has now totally backfired.
The following is pure speculation. Blago is up for re-election in 2006 and there are rumors swirling about that Lisa Madigan may make a run against Blago in the primaries. Of course this completely depends on who the republicans choose as their candidate and they know that choice is very important. But if Madigan does indeed run and her investigation leads to indictments, it will give her a nice stump issue. The cash for appointments allegations weren't exactly made against Blago himself, but his advisor. So Blago may dodge the controversy and pass the buck. We'll see.