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Chicago area has most corruption convictions in nation, UIC study says The Chicago area logged the most public corruption convictions of any federal jurisdiction in the United States during the past 36 years, according to a report released today by the University of Illinois at Chicago. Federal prosecutors secured a total of 1,531 public corruption convictions in the Northern District of Illinois since 1976, said Dick Simpson, head of the university’s political science department. Meanwhile, Illinois logged 1,828 public corruption convictions, the third most of any state, according to the report. Only California and New York had more. But those...

A hysterically funny Email making the rounds is called Chicago Rules and would make me laugh if I didn’t want to cry first. “The guy on the left: He’s Santa Claus. And the guy on the right. . he’s the Easter Bunny! That’s all you need to know” introduces the Barack Obama quote denying any close contact with disgraced and soon to be jailed former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. According to the Email, Obama is alleged to have only acknowledged seeing the former governor from a distance in the stands at a Chicago Bears football game. The Chicago Rules Email...

According to some child psychologists, there is a demonstrable tendency among children who have been victimized by bullies to progress to becoming aggressors themselves. Another symptom associated with bullies is a pronounced tendency for such persons to also be braggarts. It does make you wonder. What exactly happened on the playground at recess when Rahm Emanuel was growing up? When it was announced that Bill Daley was leaving the position of White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel came to the defense of his successor at the White House. Emanuel was quoted as saying, “Historically, the modern Chief of Staff...

With morally-warped exhibitionist 'Hot' Rod Blagojevich checking-into the Gray Bar Hotel for a spell, you're now looking at FOUR of the last six Illinois governors sent to federal penitentiary- if anyone's still keeping count. The equivalent of batting .666... isn't that special. Anyhoo, you people sure do know how to pick a winner... and what a swell president you sent us! As for the shockingly-corrupt Illinois Democratic 'machine', at least they're getting caught, I guess- tho it's hard to say the convictions have produced any sort of deterrent effect.Call it the Illinois Institute of Kleptocracy... just the way things 'work' in the world's biggest cow...

Convicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants to enroll in a substance-abuse program at a federal prison outside of Denver, a move that could shave up to a year off of his prison sentence. Blagojevich’s legal team, however, has downplayed the request, briefly mentioning the drug program by only its acronym in court Tuesday, resulting in hardly anyone noticing among a throng of reporters. And then, a day later, the attorneys declined to comment at all. But the move raises questions about whether Blagojevich suffers from a real substance-abuse problem or is simply angling to reduce his stiff 14-year sentence.

Jackson On Blagojevich Sentence: ‘Sad Day For Illinois’December 8, 2011 9:50 PM CHICAGO (CBS) – U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) was speaking out for the first time on Thursday about the 14-year sentence handed down to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. As CBS 2′s Mike Parker reports, at a rally for Chicago postal workers, Jackson declared that the Blagojevich scandal has “shamed our state.” He also said Blagojevich’s sentencing was “a sad day for Illinois, a very sad day for (Blagojevich’s) wife and for his family. No one is shouting with glee, with excitement over what happened and transpired.”

Racetracks exist at the pleasure of the state. As highly regulated businesses, they need the blessing of the state to set up shop, to open for business, to continue from year to year. If they want to hold more races per day than they used to, or to be open more days per week, or more weeks per year, they need the permission of the state. And, as in most states, the Illinois gaming commission is run, for the most part, by the governor. In 1969, Governor Otto Kerner (D, The Stables) was discovered to have accepted bribes (in the...

Rod Blagojevich, the ousted Illinois governor whose three-year battle against criminal charges became a national spectacle, was sentenced to 14 years in prison Wednesday, one of the stiffest penalties imposed for corruption in a state with a history of crooked politics.

Rod Blagojevich’s sentencing started off with a surprise admission from his legal team that acknowledged the disgraced Illinois governor had engaged in corruption — which was followed by a lengthy apology in which Blagojevich claimed he didn’t realize that he was doing anything wrong. The strategy apparently impressed the judge only enough to reduce the potential sentence from 20 years, but still slammed Blagojevich with a 14-year sentence: Disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in prison after making a final plea for leniency, acknowledging his guilt and saying, “I am unbelievably sorry.” “I believe he...

Rod Blagojevich's sentencing hearing has ended for the day, with the defense emphasizing the damage a long prison sentence would have on Blagojevich’s family. Lawyer Aaron Goldstein also read a letter read to the court from Blagojevich’s wife, Patti. “Your honor, I ask you humbly with the life of my husband and the childhood of my daughters in your hands, be merciful,” she wrote to U.S. District Judge James Zagel. Her husband’s worst fear was that he would not be able to see his daughters grow up, Goldstein said, prompting both Rod and Patti Blagojevich to tear up as they...

NO BLAGO plate up for sale on eBay the day of Blagojevich sentencing! (Vanity) Hey FReepers, Since I’ve been on this forum for over a decade I hope you’ll excuse this one little indulgence. I believe the FR community will find this news pretty cool. This is a vanity thread about a vanity license plate I’m selling on eBay this week. I am the proud owner (soon to be former owner) of the only NO BLAGO license plate in Illinois. I’m surprised someone in the lamestream media never noticed that and asked me about the item. (Ironically, if you...

A federal judge sentenced Tony Rezko to 10 1/2 years in prison Tuesday, describing his actions under Rod Blagojevich’s tenure as “selfish and corrupt.” Rezko has already served about 44 months. His daughter burst into tears at hearing the sentence. U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve said she found it offensive that Rezko put at risk the Teachers’ Retirement System by scheming for kickbacks with a board member in 2004. “You put their retirements at risk for your own greed and your own thirst for power,” St. Eve said. A pale, thin Rezko gave a brief statement before he learned...

Long known as the “political fixer,” who was friends with a politically young Barack Obama, Tony Rezko once grabbed headlines in a presidential campaign. At the same time in Illinois, Rezko’s name was synonymous with a federal investigation into former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. But since Rezko volunteered to go jail after his 2008 conviction, he’s settled in as not much more than a footnote in both politics and corruption. That’s partly because the investigation into Blagojevich exploded after Rezko’s trial, taking a new turn involving the sale of President Obama’s U.S. Senate seat — conduct that happened when Rezko was...

Federal prosecutors say Tony Rezko deserves to spend up to 15 years in prison for his crimes in two separate cases and that he damaged his own credibility by lying to the court. Prosecutors for the first time publicly addressed why they never called the convicted political fund-raiser to the witness stand after he began cooperating in 2008. They say in more than 19 meetings with them, he did not fully tell the truth about his own wrongdoing until he was confronted by agents with new information. Prosecutors said juries would never have accepted his word. “Rezko’s cooperation was heavily...

Guys like Bill Cellini don't get indicted in Illinois. And the puppet masters don't sit at the defense table in federal court, tapping their fingers, waiting for the jury to pronounce judgment. *snip* They're Democrats, they're Republicans. They're the bosses of the Combine. *snip* All involved should know that their ((prosecutors)) work is appreciated, by every taxpayer in this thoroughly corrupt state who've wondered how the puppet masters of the Combine keep getting away with it. On Tuesday, they didn't get away with it. And Bill Cellini went down.

CHICAGO—A federal judge on Monday delayed the sentencing for ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on multiple corruption convictions, including attempted extortion for trying to sell or trade President Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat in exchange for campaign donations or a high-paying job. A three-sentence notice posted electronically by U.S. District Judge James Zagel said simply that Mr. Blagojevich's Oct. 6 sentencing date has been "stricken until further order by the court." ... Mr. Blagojevich faces a maximum sentence of around 300 years in prison—though federal guidelines dictate he get far less. Most legal experts say Judge Zagel is likely...

Developing...

[M]any of Blagojevich’s former friends and playmates deny knowing him or they are keeping their distance. Erstwhile friends such De Leo, Saviano, Quinn and others have vanished or suffered political amnesia. [F]ormer Illinois State Senator Barack H. Obama used to count Blagojevich and the wheeler dealer Antonin “Tony” Rezko as his friends. President Obama, US Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-9th) and the newly elected Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel used to actively court Blagojevich when they were climbing the political ladder or seeking favors. Emanuel and his family contributed to Blagojevich’s campaign fund on a reliable basis. Schakowsky, herself, sought to be...

The Blago Blog - Inside the Rod Blagojevich investigation and related cases Jackson statement: 'I have many strong feelings' about the caseBy Lark Turner on May 25, 2011 11:42 AM In a statement from Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s lawyer Reid Weingarten, the congressman said he had "strong feelings" about Rod Blagojevich's trial, but wouldn't elaborate. "As you can imagine, I have many strong feelings about this entire matter," Jackson says in the statement. "My strongest feeling, however, is respect for our judicial system. Therefore, I will have no further comment about the case or how it has affected me until...

CHICAGO – Lawyers for Rod R. Blagojevich, the former governor of Illinois, are asking a judge for access to notes from an interview President Obama had with federal authorities over his former Senate seat. The request was made in a motion filed Monday in advance of Mr. Blagojevich’s April 20 retrial on federal corruption charges. The judge rejected a similar request before Mr. Blagojevich’s first trial last summer. Mr. Blagojevich will be tried again on 20 counts after the jury in the first trial was deadlocked on most charges. Prosecutors claim that Mr. Blagojevich tried to sell the Senate seat...

The keynote speaker at the convention of the Junior State of America — a group that aims to develop young political leaders — had an uplifting message for the 230 students in attendance Saturday in Oak Brook. “Young people can change the system,” he said. “It doesn’t happen overnight. Pick yourself up and never give in. Adversity will only make you stronger.” ...delivering the message was impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a convicted felon, might seem unusual for a group trying to strengthen American democracy. But he was well received by the students, who came in from across the state, as...

According to the linked page: "Unnamed freelance journalist has the goods on Obama and Rezko"

Rod Blagojevich wants to cancel his retrial, asking to be sentenced immediately, however, prosecutors and the judge would have to approve of the request. His lawyers filed a five-page motion asking to proceed to sentencing right away and avoid a retrial that’s set to begin April 20. “A second prosecution of this case is an irresponsible use of taxpayer funds in light of the current economic crisis and Blagojevich’s imminent sentencing on the conviction from the first trial,” lawyers wrote in the motion. U.S. District Judge James Zagel and federal prosecutors would have to agree however, to dismiss the remaining...

Congressman told FBI he asked for -- and got -- free home upgrades ### Convicted political fixer Tony Rezko gave U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez free upgrades on a riverfront town house after the congressman asked for them, Gutierrez told the FBI, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned. Gutierrez's comments to federal agents in a previously undisclosed 2008 interview contradict what the congressman told the Sun-Times in 2006 about the purchase. "I walked in with my wife -- as any other consumer could have -- and purchased the unit at the listed price, with no considerations," the Northwest Side congressman said then,...

Attorneys for former governor Rod Blagojevich have asked a federal judge to order prosecutors to produce two phone calls his lawyers say are mysteriously missing from evidence. In a motion filed overnight, Blagojevich's attorneys say the calls would support the former governor's contention that he is innocent of charges alleging he attempted to sell Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat after the November 2008 election. While much of the motion is blacked out to comply with orders that the conversations remain under seal, it appears at least one of the alleged conversations was between then Chief of Staff John Harris and...

Two years after his conviction, Tony Rezko’s lawyers are asking for a new trial. And if two years was too long to wait to ask, blame the government -- and the U.S. Supreme Court, they say. Rezko’s lawyers argued in a Tuesday filing that the businessman who was once part of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s inner circle, started talks with the feds right after his June, 2008 conviction. At the time, Rezko volunteered to be taken into custody. “As this court is aware, Rezko began cooperating with the government shortly after the jury returned its verdict and, at the government’s...

New information has been uncovered by investigators delving into the looming White House/Department of Justice/Chicago political mob scandal. My latest video, posted in the left column, provides the details. Several items are worth noting. First, the New Black Panther voter intimidation case at the Department of Justice is only the tip of the iceberg. There is good reason and evidence to suspect that the Democratic Party has engaged in nationwide voter fraud and election tampering on a scale never before seen in American politics. The players allegedly involved are named in the video. Second, a separate scandal is developing regarding...

Rahm Emanuel's percieved residency issue is about to get real. ### Next week a veteran election lawyer will file paperwork in an attempt to knock Emanuel off the ballot for allegedly failing to meet residency requirements that stipulate a candidate must live in the city for one year before election. Emanuel has been dogged by rumors that he's not a legal resident of the city since he leased his North Side home and moved his family to Washington D.C. to work in the White House.

In a previous post regarding a not-so-well-redacted court filing by Team Blagojevich I speculated that “Senate Candidate B” was the current top adviser to the President, Valerie Jarrett. I can now confirm this is in fact the case, thanks to the White House Counsel’s report regarding the entire Obama senate seat kerfuffle:

A key witness who testified against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich at his summer corruption trial was charged Friday with shoplifting at a Northwest Side store. Rajinder Bedi, 58, is accused of stealing $166 in merchandise from the Home Depot in the 6200 block of North Lincoln. Bedi, who is charged with felony retail theft, did not return a phone message. Bedi had been the $118,000-a-year managing director of the state's Office of Trade and Investment in Blagojevich's administration. Bedi testified under immunity in July at Blagojevich's trial on the ex-governor's alleged efforts to sell President Obama's former Senate seat. Prosecutors...

Corporate America usually steers clear of controversial pitch people, but pistachio grower Paramount Farms is plowing a different path. The unit of Roll International Corp. has signed Rod Blagojevich, the former Illinois governor who was convicted of lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, the MTV star who recently made headlines after being charged with disorderly conduct, to appear in its new $20 million ad campaign that begins Monday.

It appears that President Obama has pulled strings to help his shady banker friend win a tight U.S. Senate race by delaying an overdue federal report on his mob-connected bank’s failure until after the election. Federal regulators will conveniently postpone issuing a material loss report on Illinois Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias’ Chicago bank (Broadway Bank) because releasing it before the election could create "another political headache" for Giannoulias in a “close contest” with his Republican opponent, reports the state’s largest newspaper. Currently Illinois State Treasurer, Giannoulias helped operate the family bank before it was shut down in April for...

A onetime top fundraiser for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich who was already convicted of taking kickbacks from state contractors pleaded guilty Friday in a separate scheme involving the bogus sale of his pizza restaurants. After the plea by Antoin "Tony" Rezko, his lawyer touted his client as "ready and willing" to be a "formidable witness" at Blagojevich's retrial, though prosecutors didn't put him on the stand for the former governor's trial this summer. Rezko pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud in connection with $10 million in fraudulent loans he arranged for business partners to buy a chain...

TRIAL NO. 2 | Lawyer says ex-top adviser to gov 'willing and able' to talk -- but 'it's government's call to decide' ### Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a convicted former top adviser of Rod Blagojevich, is ready to testify at the former governor's upcoming federal corruption trial, Rezko's lawyer said Friday. Rezko is "ready, willing and able to testify" against Blagojevich and his wife, Patti, defense attorney Joe Duffy said after a federal hearing where Rezko pleaded guilty to a new fraud charge. "It's the government's call to decide" who to use as a witness, Duffy said. But Rezko would be...

  Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., like his famous father, has become a Democratic Party kingmaker, both in Chicago and on Capitol Hill. He's also, according to the September 21 Chicago Sun-Times, the mastermind behind a scheme to raise $6 million in campaign contributions for then-Illinois Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich in return for a U.S. Senate appointment. The allegation, made by a Chicago-area businessman-fundraiser, Raghuveer Nayak, contradicts Jackson's assertions that he hadn't tried to buy Barack Obama's pending vacant Senate seat in the weeks prior to Election Day 2008. The actual version of events may well determine whether federal...

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. directed a major political fund-raiser to offer former Gov. Rod Blagojevich millions of dollars in campaign cash in return for an appointment to the U.S. Senate, sources said the fund-raiser has told federal authorities. The allegation by Oak Brook businessman Raghuveer Nayak counters public statements made as recently as last week by Jackson that he never authorized any deal to attempt to buy the Senate seat. » Click to enlarge image The allegation that Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. directed a major political fund-raiser to offer former Gov. Rod Blagojevich millions of dollars in campaign cash in...

Jackson Jr. declared this morning that if government prosecutors have evidence on him tied to Rod Blagojevich: “Bring it on.” Jackson, speaking on WLS radio’s “Don Wade & Roma” show this morning, for the first time publicly responded to an allegation that he was present at a meeting when fund-raisers discussed collecting $1 million for Blagojevich in exchange for Jackson’s appointment. Jackson said two Indian fund-raisers began speaking in another language at an Oct. 28, 2008, meeting, and he didn’t know what they were saying. “I’m not alone at the meeting, it baffled me, you know: ‘Jackson sits alone with...

EXCERPT Federal Prosecutors have said that at that meeting, one of the businessmen discussed donating one million dollars to Blagojevich if the ex-governor would name Jackson to replace Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate. On the radio show this morning, Jackson denied that. He did say that one of the Indian-Americans began speaking in a language he did not understand, and said “I did not participate in any part of that conversation nor do I even remember hearing it, and I have witnesses present." Jackson said he has been avoiding the media since the Blagojevich arrest because he had been...

The Mob + the Daley Democratic Machine: Lessons Learned And Now In Practice By Democratic Leadership In Washington, D.C. by Daniel T. Zanoza, Executive Director AUTHOR'S NOTE: I first wrote and posted this column in January of 2009. Little did I know at the time my commentary about Chicago-style politics and its influence on the Obama administration would be so prophetic. From the Louisiana Purchase and the Nebraska Corn Husker Kickback, which helped to pass the Health Care Reform legislation, Washington, D.C. has seemingly become a mirror image of how things have been done in Chicago for nearly a century....

Going to a comic convention is tons of fun, and getting your photo taken with a celeb can totally make one's day! But ask yourself this question: When is a picture with disgraced ex-governor Rod Blagojevich much better than one taken with hottie cylon-babe Tricia Helfer? Check out this cartoon and see for yourself!

CHICAGO (AP) - As attorneys and defendants scanned jurors faces for favorable signs during ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's corruption trial, most couldn't get a read on the pokerfaced grandmother at the far end of the jury box taking meticulous notes. JoAnn Chiakulas, a retired state employee, turned out to be the lone holdout standing in the way of a conviction of the ousted governor on charges he tried to sell President Barack Obama's old Senate seat. Nine days after jurors deadlocked on all but one charge against Blagojevich, Chiakulas publicly defended her resolve for the first time in an interview...

CHICAGO (AP) - The juror who was the lone holdout on some counts at former Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich's political corruption trial has said she had a responsibility to follow her conscience and that she stands by her vote. "I could never live with myself if I went along with the rest of the jury," JoAnn Chiakulas told the Chicago Tribune in her first media interview since the trial ended. "I didn't believe it was the correct vote for me."

CHICAGO—Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's retrial will begin early next year, well after the midterm Congressional elections this fall. Federal Judge James Zagel said Thursday he would set a retrial date for early January. The trial wouldn't begin any earlier than Jan. 4, Judge Zagel said, but he didn't set a specific date. The retrial date was discussed after federal prosecutors announced they would not retry the former governor's brother, Robert Blagojevich. The Nashville, Tenn., businessman had been accused of scheming with his brother to sell or trade an appointment to President Barack Obama's old Senate seat and to squeeze...

CHICAGO -- After 14 days of jury deliberation, the verdict in the trial of disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was not guilty on all but one of the 23 counts. And a number of Americans are wondering why -- after months of grandstanding by the prosecutor U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald -- citizens are left with practically nothing after millions of their tax dollars were spent on this Chicago corruption case.

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich may not have to face a retrial until early next year, but next time around his legal team could be far fewer in number. That was the information passed to lawyers in the case in a conference last week, according to sources familiar with the matter. U.S. District Judge James Zagel told the attorneys he is eyeing January for the second trial, the sources said, and he has suggested Blagojevich can have two court-appointed attorneys who are paid with taxpayers funds. Rest @ link

Rod Blagojevich's retrial may not start until next year, and if he wants the public to pay for his defense, he will get only two lawyers -- down from seven. In a private conference last week, Judge James Zagel told lawyers a quick retrial on the corruption charges wasn't likely because of the logistics of getting a new jury pool. Zagel said he didn't want to put a "Christmas burden" on jurors, pushing a retrial possibly to January at the earliest, according to sources with knowledge of the meeting. The two lawyers are not likely to be Sam Adam Jr....

After 14 days of jury deliberation, we have a verdict in the trial of disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. And I don’t think there’s a soul outside of the Blagojevich camp who believes justice was served. According to The New York Times: Prosecutors here once said that the conduct of Rod R. Blagojevich, the former governor of Illinois, was so despicable it would make Abraham Lincoln “roll over in his grave,” but 12 jurors in the federal corruption case against him were apparently not all so certain. After deliberating for 14 days, the jury found Mr. Blagojevich guilty of...

Disgraced Democrat Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois is at it again. In an interview with ABC News, Blago tried to, and clumsily at that, allude to the fact that federal prosecutors were pressuring him to out President Obama as a part of the gov's Senate seat for Payola scam. Blago told ABC News, "when they had me in custody they were very clear about how they wanted me to cooperate and talk about people in higher places." He went on to say that there aren't "a lot of positions higher than governor" naturally leading to the assumption that he meant...

This should be awesome! Here is Blago speaking to Chris Wallace this morning: [VIDEO AT SITE] It's political horse trading that the prosecutors are trying to criminalize and they weren't able to do it without putting on a defense. If we put on a defense and properly explain these things I think the jury will see it for exactly what it is. Political horse trading. Never about campaign funds. I never made a decision to do that. The decision I made was to make a political deal. The Attorney General of Illinoise whose father was blocking the public works bill...

In a second trial on corruption charges, the defense may call Washington officials like White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Sunday.