Archive for the ‘Illinois’ tag
Rod Blagojevich=Clay Davis. Anybody?…Anybody?
Well, Blago got impeached.
I love how Rod Blagojevich read his resume at the press conference immediately following his impeachment. As if this is supposed to erase the fact that he tried to sell Barack Obama’s Senate seat. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that a politician is a Megalomaniac, but holy crap — how can a person legitimize breaking the law because he did his JOB, once upon a time, and cared for his constituents. This is like saying I can rob Fort Knox because I once helped an old lady across the street.
Anyway, Rod’s bizarre performance reminded me of another Megalomaniac in a little show called The Wire.
Watch Blago’s resume-reading here, and then compare it with Clay Davis’s courtroom performance.
Did you know Blago cured breast cancer? I’m kidding, he didn’t, but I think HE thinks he did. I’m also 90% sure Blago is keeping those black people hostage until he gets his job back. I have nothing more to say…other than sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.
Blagojevich to Appoint Former Attorney General Roland Burris
CHICAGO — Embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has scheduled an afternoon news conference amid reports that he plans to name someone to Barack Obama’s vacated U.S. Senate seat.
Blagojevich was arrested earlier this month on charges that he tried to sell or trade the seat to the highest bidder.
Citing unnamed sources, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday that Blagojevich plans to appoint 71-year-old former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris. Senate leaders have said they will not seat anyone Blagojevich names.
Blagojevich has scheduled a 3 p.m. EST news conference. His spokesman Lucio Guerrero declined to say what the Democratic governor plans to discuss.
The governor has denied wrongdoing and has vowed to remain in office.
Jesse Jackson Jr.: I Am Not A "Target" Of Blagojevich Investigation
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. hosted a highly dramatic press conference Wednesday in which he leveled harsh criticisms at Rod Blagojevich and denied any involvement in the governor’s “pay-to-play” scheme to fill Barack Obama’s open Senate seat.
“I reject and denounce pay to play politics and have no involvement whatsoever in any wrongdoing,” said the congressman. “I did not initiate or authorize anyone, at any time, to promise anything to Governor Blagojevich on my behalf. I never sent a message or an emissary to the governor to make an offer, or plea my case, or to propose a deal about a US Senate seat. Period.”
The remarks came hours after news reports fingered Jackson Jr. as Candidate #5 in the Justice Department’s complaint on the Blagojevich affair. Said candidate stands accused of seeking to send $500,000 or $1 million to the governor in an effort to win appointment to that seat. Jackson, who said he had met the governor for the first time in four years this past Monday, denied that he was “a target of this investigation.” I am not, he added, “accused of any misconduct.”
The language was at times emphatic, with Jackson Jr. getting emotional when talking about a text message he had received from his younger sister, telling him to continue his good work. But looking with a legal eye at the words, there is some noticeable wiggle room. Not being a “target” of an investigation is different than not being a “subject in” an investigation.
Also of note: Jackson Jr. did not do anything to tamp down his public hopes of being appointed Senator. At one point he touted his resume for the post, saying he was one of the most senior officials rumored to take Obama’s seat and had only missed two votes in 13 years in Congress. There is, he added, “no Democrat or Republican who can say that.”
The majority of the press conference (there was no question or answer session) focused on disappointment with Blagojevich — who the entire Democratic Party is running from in sprint-mode speed.
“I thought, mistakenly, that the process was fair, above board and on the merits. I thought, mistakenly, that the governor was evaluating me and other Senate hopefuls based upon on our credentials and qualifications,” Jackson Jr. said. “I thought, mistakenly, that I had a chance and I was being considered because I had earned it. Clearly I was badly mistaken. I did not know the process had been corrupted. I did not know that credentials, qualifications, or a record of service meant nothing to the governor. I did not know that the governor and his cronies were attempting to use the process to extort money in a brazen pay-to-play scheme.”
Illinois Governor Suspends Business With Bank Of America
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich announced Monday that he is asking all Illinois government agencies to suspend business with Bank of America. Blagojevich contended that Bank Of America received a multi-billion dollar bailout from the government and should accordingly restore credit to the Republic Windows & Doors company in Chicago.
