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Days before Gov. Blagojevich was charged with trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder, top Senate Democrat Harry Reid made it clear who he didn’t want in the post: Jesse Jackson, Jr., Danny Davis or Emil Jones. Rather, Reid called Blagojevich to argue he appoint either state Veterans Affairs chief Tammy Duckworth or Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times. Sources say the Senate majority leader pushed against Jackson and Davis — both democratic congressmen from Illinois — and against Jones — the Illinois Senate president who is the political godfather...

Post any comments about the Blago 2:00 (Central Time) News Conference.

But out of vindictiveness, did Jackson then decide to entrap Blagojevich by getting him to ask for money in exchange for giving Jackson the Illinois Senate seat? Did he intend to report the crime to Patrick Fitzgerald? Or was the price just more than Jackson could pay for the favor, and was he overheard on wiretaps arguing about the price? If Jackson had been fully cooperating with U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald in setting up Blagojevich (and Jackson's spokesman says he wasn't), it seems unlikely that he would call a press conference to protest his innocence. More likely he would just...

Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has been dropping dimes on his state's disgraced governor and other corrupt local pols for years, a spokesman said Tuesday. Jackson, a longtime congressman and son of the famed civil rights activist, has been pulled into the controversy surrounding Gov. Rod Blagojevich's alleged attempt to auction Barack Obama's now-vacant U.S. Senate seat. A Jackson spokesman, Kenneth Edmonds, said the congressman had spoken to the feds about Blagojevich and others. He wouldn't provide details, but Chicago's WLS-TV reported the congressman told investigators Blagojevich refused to make Jackson's wife director of the state lottery because Jackson would...

Facing 30 years in prison on corruption charges, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is assembling the best defense team money can buy. The question is, whose money? There has been speculation that Blagojevich will use his expansive campaign war chest, $3.6 million at last count, to pay for his defense. Can he really do that? To paraphrase a fellow Chicagoan: Yes he can! Possibly. State law does not prevent the Democratic governor from tapping his campaign committee's funds to pay legal bills, even though he stands accused of illegally soliciting and obtaining some of the funds in exchange for official actions....

CNN tonight clarifying earlier reports today that Jackson was an informant working with the Prosecutor. Jackson told CNN that in 2002 he was asked for a $25,000 campaign contribution to Hot Rod's 2002 campaign to ensure a job for Jackson's wife at the Illinois lottery. Jackson said he went to the authorities and reported it at that time. Funny thing, that was the year Obama was so proud to be working for Hot Rod's Gubanatorial race! Funny how things work out, eh Democrats?

Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) told federal investigators that Gov. Rod Blagojevich asked for a $25,000 campaign contribution during Blagojevich's 2002 run for governor and may have exacted retribution when the money did not arrive, a political source close to Jackson said Tuesday. After Blagojevich (D) won, he considered and rejected Jackson's wife, Sandi, for the job of state lottery director, the source said. Later, the governor saw Rep. Jackson at an event in Washington and, according to the source, told him he bet Jackson regretted not paying up. *snip* Impeachment committee members remain uncertain what evidence U.S. Attorney...

A congressman who acknowledged being mentioned in a criminal complaint against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been sharing information about public corruption with federal investigators for years, a spokesman said. Kenneth Edmonds, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., told The Associated Press that the congressman had spoken about Blagojevich and others.

CHICAGO – Shortly after his 2002 election, Gov. Rod Blagojevich told Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. he didn't appoint the congressman's wife as lottery director because he had refused him a $25,000 campaign donation, a person familiar with the conversation told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "Blagojevich went out of his way to say, 'You know I was considering your wife for the lottery job and the $25,000 you didn't give me? That's why she's not getting the job,'" the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing federal investigation. Jackson's name has played prominently ever since Blagojevich...

Bye bye, black Senate seat! The political blackbirds are singing a swan song for the hopes of keeping a U.S. Senate seat in African-American hands. The Rod Blagojevich implosion may have dealt that cause a fatal blow. Last week's stunning pay-to-play charges led to calls around the nation for a special election to choose President-elect Barack Obama's successor. That possibility has provoked outrage among black community leaders and politicians. Not so fast, they are saying. Last month, the Concerned Clergy of Illinois demanded that the governor appoint a "qualified" African American "who can fill this vacancy and who has the...

At least some of his constituents want embattled Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. to resign. About a dozen protesters stood outside his Chicago office today shouting, "Ho ho ho, Jesse Jr.'s gotta go." Protest organizer Harold Davis says he believes allegations that an emissary may have offered to raise money for Gov. Rod Blagojevich in exchange for Jackson being appointed to President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat. Davis says Jackson has tainted the democratic process and his political career is over. Others in the south side neighborhood disagree. Several passersby shouted support for Jackson and one yelled, "Leave Jesse alone."

ABC News CHICAGO – Businessmen with ties to both Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson discussed raising $1 million for Blagojevich to help persuade him to appoint Jackson to President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat, according to a published report. Citing unnamed sources, the Chicago Tribune reports in a story for Friday's editions that businessman Raghuveer Nayak and Blagojevich aide Rajinder Bedi told attendees at an Oct. 31 meeting that they needed to raise the money for the governor to ensure Jackson's appointment. "Raghu said he needed to raise a million for Rod to make sure Jesse...

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. said Friday that he was fighting to get "my name back" after he was identified as "Senate Candidate 5" in a criminal complaint against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. says neither he nor any emissaries offered favors in exchange for a Senate appointment. Jackson, the son of famed civil rights leader Jesse Jackson and a six-term Democratic congressman from Chicago, had publicly sought to succeed President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate. Jackson had talked to Blagojevich, the person with the sole power to make the appointment, on...

fundraiser held by Indian-American businessmen three days before Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested on corruption charges emerged Friday as a potentially key event in the federal investigation into whether he tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat. Questions are being raised about last Saturday's event for Blagojevich because Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s brother, Jonathan, was among those attending. The Indian community has a long history of supporting the Jackson family's political aspirations, and the congressman has been clear about his interest in succeeding Obama.

As Gov. Rod Blagojevich was trying to pick Illinois' next U.S. senator, businessmen with ties to both the governor and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. discussed raising at least $1 million for Blagojevich's campaign as a way to encourage him to pick Jackson for the job, the Tribune has learned. Blagojevich made an appearance at an Oct. 31 luncheon meeting at the India House restaurant in Schaumburg sponsored by Oak Brook businessman Raghuveer Nayak, a major Blagojevich supporter who also has fundraising and business ties to the Jackson family, according to several attendees and public records. Two businessmen who attended...

Pressure grew on two of President-Elect Barack Obama's closest political aides today as new details emerged of the "pay-for-play" allegations against the governor of his home-state. Rahm Emanuel, Mr Obama's new chief of staff, and Jesse Jackson Jr, the co-chairman of his presidential campaign, both faced new revelations about their possible involvement in the scandal. Fox News Chicago reported that Mr Emanuel, a Chicago politician who won the Illinois governor's former Congressional seat, may have been captured on FBI wire-taps discussing the fate of Mr Obama's vacated US Senate seat with Gov Rod Blagojevich. The TV station said Mr Emanuel...

Report: Jackson Backers Sought Cash For Obama Post CHICAGO (CBS) ― Businessmen with ties to both Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson discussed raising $1 million for Blagojevich to help persuade him to appoint Jackson to President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat, according to a published report. Citing unnamed sources, the Chicago Tribune reports in a story for Friday's editions that businessman Raghuveer Nayak and Blagojevich aide Rajinder Bedi told attendees at an Oct. 31 meeting that they needed to raise the money for the governor to ensure Jackson's appointment. "Raghu said he needed to raise a...

Is there nothing sadder than the loss of innocence? Some of us lose it upon learning there is no Santa Claus. For others it accompanies the death of a close friend or forlorn love. For 43-year-old Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., aka "Senate Candidate 5", loss of innocence came earlier this week when he discovered that there is something called "pay-to-play" politics going on in Illinois. Watching his press conference on Wednesday was difficult. Something in me died that day as I watched a plucky, young, silly heart thrust in front of the callous media glare that had served him so...

The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. issued a statement Thursday evening, denying he had anything to do with the Illinois governor's alleged pay-to-play scheme. Jackson Sr. is the father of U.S. Rep Jesse Jackson Jr., the man called "Candidate 5" in the U.S. attorney's complaint against Rod Blagojevich. "Our office has received calls today inquiring about or suggesting that I or a member of my family served as an emissary in Governor Blagojevich's "pay-to-play" scheme, revealed through wire-taps, to fill the state’s open Senate seat," Jackson Sr.'s statement read. " It is not true. Such speculation is unfair, has no basis...

The cookie continues to crumble… Barack Obama has chosen to surround himself with crooks and liars. It was just yesterday that Jesse Jackson Jr. soberly exclaimed that he had not met Rod Blagojevich in 4 years… I mean, that sounds odd considering the fact that Jesse is a member of the Illiniois delegation to the House of Reps, and Rod is the State governor and both come from the same party… Anyway, here’s a video taken in Denver (thanks Ace) during the Democratic National Convention in August which shows the two men not only being in the same vicinity, but...