“As we’ve said many times before, we don’t endorse or allow the decisions of state government to be based on campaign contributions,” Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said.
That’s the standard response to every new bombshell allegation that Gov. Rod Blagojevich traded jobs, contracts and appointments for campaign contributions. And it was issued again yesterday.
But, as I reminded subscribers this morning, Blagojevich has defied all credibility by forcefully denying that he is “Public Official A,” including right up to this very minute…
[The spokesperson said that] based on the descriptions arising from the case, the governor is not Public Official A.
Since that statement has already proved to be false, nothing else should be believed.
A former top official in Gov. Blagojevich’s administration said Tuesday the governor gave him a $127,000-a-year state job in exchange for pouring cash into Blagojevich’s campaign fund, including tens of thousands of dollars out of his own pocket.
That bombshell from Ali Ata came as the onetime director of the Illinois Finance Authority pleaded guilty in a deal in which prosecutors plan to have him testify in the ongoing corruption trial of former Blagojevich fund-raiser Tony Rezko.
The plea deal says that just before the governor took office claiming the mantle of reform, Blagojevich met with Ata at Rezko’s office, accepted a $25,000 check and then started talking about the Lemont businessman getting a high-level state job.
The following year, Blagojevich again thanked Ata at a Navy Pier fundraiser for another $25,000 donation, the court records show.
“During this conversation, Public Official A told defendant that he had been a good supporter, indicated that Public Official A was aware that the defendant had made another substantial donation to Public Official A’s campaign and told the defendant that Public Official A understood that the defendant would be joining Public Official A’s administration,” it said.
“Just before the governor took office,” is actually early September, according to campaign finance documents. That was the height of the season, when Blagojevich was hammering away at the Republican culture of corruption.
Ata, Ali
6719 Stonewall
Downers Grove, IL 60516
Occupation: Marketing
Employer: Nalco Chemical
$25,000.00
9/4/2002
Individual Contribution
Friends of Blagojevich
Beginning in or around mid-2003 and continuing through 2004, the defendant provided large sums of cash to Rezko in response to persistent and urgent pressure from Rezko to do so. The defendant provided Rezko with tens of thousands of dollars in cash on four or five occasions during 2003 and 2004, including while he was the Executive Director of the IFA. In total, the defendant provided Rezko with approximately $125,000 in cash during this period, which monies he had withdrawn from a family food distribution business that he was then operating.
[Ata] intentionally concealed the fact that in 2003 he had provided to Rezko, at Rezko’s insistence, a portion of his partnership interest in a real estate venture, in exchange for Rezko’s use of his influence in state government to reverse a state agency’s decision to terminate a lease agreement relating to
Ata was plucked clean.
* Here’s a tidbit from yesterday’s Rezko trial, which I’ll put in context in a bit…
[Steve Loren, former attorney for the Teachers’ Retirement System of Illinois] recalled once sharing a ride home with Levine, who has also pleaded guilty, and asking Levine who Pekin would split his fee with. He said Levine told him it was to go to Ald. Dick Mell, the governor’s father-in-law.
“I said: ‘How can these people be so stupid?’ ” Loren said, explaining it was an obvious conflict for Mell to get consulting money off a state deal.
According to prosecutors, the deal with Mell never went through, and the money instead went to Rezko associate Joseph Aramanda.
* Ata had contributed $5,000 to Dick Mell’s campaign funds in earlier days, but Mell denies knowing anything about the deal.
According to Ata’s plea agreement, he and “Individual D” formed a real estate company together, Addison Venture LLC. “Individual D” then allegedly helped falsify documents so that Ata could avoid paying all the taxes owed on a quick sale of a Chicago property.
“Individual D” has previously been identified as Joseph Aramanda. Aramanda contributed $10K to Blagojevich’s campaign fund in 2002.
These guys were thick as thieves, perhaps literally.
Ata’s lawyer, Thomas McQueen, said Ata would do whatever the government asked of him, including offering court testimony. He may get that chance sooner rather than later, as a prosecutor at Rezko’s corruption trial said Ata could be called as a witness.
This isn’t the beginning of the end. That started a while ago. But you can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel.
* By the way, I uploaded this video in 2006. It shows Tony Rezko escorting Gov. Blagojevich through a crowd. But is that Ata as well? Here’s his pic from the Sun-Times…
There comes a point when absurd denials cease being “funny” and become both serious and tiresome. I think we are there. It is high time the Feds move on the guv and be done with the charades.
If Rod Blagojevich isn’t “Public Official A” maybe he could shed some light on who really is “Public Official A” is.
Is Rod so out of touch that he couldn’t do that?
I still say that the spinsisters, Abby, Becky, and Rebecca, need to watch what they are saying. (I just had to throw in Becky’s name for the corruption policeman who posted last night at 1:06 a.m. to inform me how uninformed I was about Becky. She has apparently left the administration per Bernie’s article WAY back in September of 07, or sometime in 07.) Forgive me for not being able to keep up with the revolving door at POA’s Springfield and Chicago office. Get used to it, that door is soon going to start doing more RPMs than a Kitchenaid mixer. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving person, “Mr. No More Business As Usual.” Boy was that an understatement.
- Dan S, a Voter & Cubs Fan - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:38 am:
With these breaking stories will impeachment procedeings finally start or does Fitz want to bag this one himsef, or will both happen?
“This isn’t the beginning of the end. That started a while ago. But you can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Then whats the silver bullet? Do the feds need rezko to turn over after he is found guilty and testify against POA? Is that when indictments come down? Whats the timeline?
Dan, both can happen. The Illinois Constitution states that impeachment and removal from office, regardless of the outcome, do not preclude criminal prosecution. “An impeached officer, whether convicted or acquitted, shall be liable to prosecution, trial, judgment and punishment according to law.” (Article IV, Section 14)
- Miss my old job! - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:44 am:
Does this mean I can get my job back at the state? I mean the one that the Blagojevich goons replaced me with 5 new employees.
And so it goes, as the world turns, these are the day of our lives, and for POA they will be short lived. I guess he will soon fight corruption at a Federal prison. I think POA should start reading Jim Laski’s book about the time he spent “on vacation”. Maybe POA can pick up a few tips for his stay.
== “Remember that some of these alleged bribes were handed over during the 2002 campaign” ==
I think you’ve used a poor choice of words here. Contributing to a campaign is not illegal and does not constitute a bribe, particularly in an instance where the candidate is not an incumbent and not in a position to offer anything in return. Perhaps you could make the inference that the candidate in question was ahead in the polls at the time, but it’s also true that no Democrat had won that office in 26 years, so the outcome was by no means certain. I just have an aversion (and you have usually been pretty good about this) to seeing legal political activities mischaracterized as criminal. There’s certainly enough here that is unseemly so I don’t see the need to reach beyond the abundant material worthy of criticism and scrutiny.
At what point do POA’s spokespersons put there own credibility and for that matter future employment at stake by spewing the rhetoric. I would think the job as spokesperson may not be worth it no matter what the pay.
Rezko isn’t ready yet. He will wait until the prosecution finishes their case to make a firm decision. My opinion is he would run before he will roll. As to the impeachment process, probably not until the fall session. Let the trial run its coarse and see what happens.
Loyalty is one thing, but does Abby realize how foolish she looks the longer she says such ridiculous things on behalf of the governor? How will she get a job once all this is over? Her judgment will be seriously questioned by any legitimate employer.
Your logic would mean that if all contributions were accepted prior to a candidate being elected, then it is not illegal, even if after the candidate’s election the quid pro quo took place. Your logic is not logical.
If that’s your complaint about Rich’s post then it is a very very weak complaint.
I think Blagojevich is approaching the point where his lawyers should be making discreet inquiries as to whether his resignation would forestall indictment.
I have no indication that the feds here roll that way. I have no indication that the governor understands how much trouble he is in. Prudent lawyers might want to find out on behalf of their client.
Also, for “GOP Faithless”: the line of succession after the Lt. Gov is: Atty General, Secretary of State, “and then as provided by law.” The Comptroller and Treasurer would be in line after that but I don’t know in what order.
This line of succession applies only to officers who were elected to their posts. A constitutional officer appointed by the gov to fill a vacancy cannot then succeed to the office of governor.
Ottenhoff may release statements that many find incredulous, but her tenacity in defending her employer is exactly the kind of trait that her job, and her career, demands.
As Joel Cairo laments in The Maltese Falcon: ” . . . I adhered to the course you indicated earlier in your rooms. I certainly wish you had invented a more reasonable story. I felt distinctly like an idiot repeating it.”
Ottenhoff does her job very well, and anyone who needs the kind of cover she provides could do well in hiring her.
While the Tribune keeps up its bizarre fetish for recall, there is an option called impeachment and getting that started just requires the House. There really are no excuses now.
I think the efforts of a more honest governor to clean up the mess left by this one will provide plenty of fodder for the blog for years to come. If the next governor is serious about repairing the damage, he or she will face a lot of debate and opposition along the way. It will not be boring.
Well it really starting to look like a question of not if it going to happen, but when. The big question is does it happen before or after the end of his term?
“Baghdad Bob” is/was employed by Abu Dhabi TV after his career with Saddam Hussein’s government. Politicians of every stripe need PR people who can spin. Those who spin well enough will find others who need that talent.
Sam Spade’s response to Cairo was: “Don’t worry about the story’s goofiness. A sensible one would have had us all in the cooler.”
“I think the efforts of a more honest governor to clean up the mess left by this one will provide plenty of fodder for the blog for years to come. If the next governor is serious about repairing the damage, he or she will face a lot of debate and opposition along the way. It will not be boring.”
How ever tries to clean up the mess that Illinois Government is going to have be ready for a long hard journey, between the corruption and the state’s increasingly poor financial straight its not going to be for the faint of heart. We need some with a strong will but also the ability to make deals in order to advance the ball.
Sorry Rich. I don’t see how outright lying to the public in an effort to conceal corruption is doing a job very well. I’ve been there. I left when I was told to do that.
Abby appears to be in the same situation that Ron Ziegler was as spokesman for “I am not a crook” Nixon during the Watergate era. She’s just doing her job!
Fitz will do this his way, which is slow and methodical. When an indictment against POA does come down, it will be swift, deliberate, ironclad, and will wring what miniscule amount of testicular virility is left in Elvis. It may not come soon enough for some of us, but IT WILL COME. I’m waiting first for Fitz to reel in Cellini and his buddy, Bob K, as well as a bunch of other staffers, contributors, movers and shakers. Don’t overlook the fact that there are a lot of people on Fitz’ list, perhaps even Mrs. POA. It’s going to take time and, as Rich says, patience.
By the criteria mentioned evaluating Abby Ottenhof’s representations, one could say that Goebbels did a good job as well. She would serve the state better and be remembered with more respect if, confronted with such blatant falsehoods, she resigned rather than propagating them.
A few words of advice for Unindicted Official A-Rod and his minions:
A-Rod: Take the plea deal and try to get sent to the prison with the best barber.
Kjellander, et al: You’re next. It doesn’t pay to mess with the U.S. Attorney.
U.S. District Court Judge Amy St. Eve stated in her court that Public Official A was in fact the governor. To deny that whether you are guv or Abby or whomsoever is patently absurd. The judge is possibly a bit peeved!
The Defense cirtical strtegy is to destory levine, but the foundation of the strategy requires that LEvine is the only source for information connecting Rezko to the pay to play kind of acts.
Bringing Ata into the case adds yet another direct source to Rezko without the need to rely on levine. This is a real coup for the Government. There is a big pile of extra evidnece accumulating that is not washed away by the attacks on levine. At this point they do not need Rezko to go after Blago, but if this case ends in a conviction there is a good bet Rezko will want to deal. They have a lot more on blago now then they had on Ryan, and rezko has to see the writing on the wall.
The truth outta ATA, what a wonderful phrase.
the truth out of Ata, ain’t yet in the sentencing phase.
It means your governor is counting down the last of his days.
I’ts Rod’s trouble-free philosophy
that got him in hot watta
If one’s comments are to be skewered it hurts less if the skewer is sharp and handled with such aplomb as gulag’s riposte. Touche. Should Godwin’s law be modified to include Baghdad Bob? If not Goebbels…Ron Zeigler? Dee Dee Meyers?
+++++
How ever tries to clean up the mess that Illinois Government is going to have be ready for a long hard journey, between the corruption and the state’s increasingly poor financial straight its not going to be for the faint of heart.
++++++++++++++
And no one — and I mean no one — will believe anyone when they say they’re “cleaning up Illinois government.”
That’s really the Blagojevich legacy. I’ve seen enough now to understand that it matters not whether he’s indicted. Obviously, every single state worker has their fingers crossed. And perhaps many Blagojevich voters regret their decision. Whatever. It’s all anti-climax after these past few weeks.
What stinks worse than whatever illegalities Blagojevich may or may not have done is the fact that he made a mockery of ethical reform.
Who’s gonna believe an ethical reformer at this point? We’re all jaded — cynical to the nth degree — and while Ryan may be partly to blame, I think the legacy of blame will fall squarely on Blagojevich. The idea of “up” days and the constant denial of “Public Official A.”
I’ve had enough. It was sickening enough *in* state government — but watching this from the sidelines is positively perverse. It’s really been a pathetic 6+ years. And that’s putting it mildly.
The day Blago is indicted, impeached, resigns, announces he’s not running again or loses the next election will be greeted like V-E day in Springfield… complete with dancing in the streets (or at least in the halls of the Capitol complex :)
- Six Degrees of Separation - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 2:37 pm:
Now there’s the real story of the day!
Blagojevich declared today Equal Pay Day in Illinois…..
Hmmm…Ata’s job cost him $50,000, and Beverly “every fiber of my being” Ascaridis’ job only cost her $1,500. Sounds like Ata has a good reverse discrimination case, should he wish to pursue it.
actions-not words that reform state government will be the only way an iota of trust will ever be restored between voters and State of IL elected officials, especially the Gov’s office…Pat Quinn has been reputable in most of his endeavors for 30 years and is worth a try after the poor excuses for “leaders” we’ve had in the Gov’s office in the recent past…Quinn will be a refreshing change even if he’ a bit sanctimonious and a total policy
wonk…He will make the legislative process as efficient as possible in Springfield…
The Ryan trial showed that half the jury was made up of people with criminal records.
Blagoavich will not resign and the matter will not even come up for trial until 2010 and at the jury trial all he needs is one holdout.
He’ll easily get that.
What is more, if the other offspring (Madigan, Hynes, etc.) run against him in the primary, he’ll win if there is no black to monopolize that vote.
In the general, the ward bosses will bring him in because they want in on all those commissions and boards.
- I'll take Anon for 500 please - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 2:53 pm:
As someone also in a business where PR intersects public service, I have found two types of people.
One cares about that service and the greater good, and PR happens to be the way that individual can apply his/her talents to advance it.
The other doesn’t give a furry fig about such high-falutin’ concepts and just likes selling stuff (or spinning it). It could be widgets or vacuum cleaners, it just happens to be government, as long as it pays the bills. And in that case, integrity schmintegrity.
I strive to be and hope I am the former type of person. Gentlemen like Mike Lawrence and David Axelrod are beacons in this regard.
I believe anyone employed in this capacity by this governor must be the latter type of person, and I wouldn’t shake their hand if it was offered to me.
The citizens of Illinois deserve better. Much better.
Can you believe this guy is talking about ethical reform at the same time he is doling out jobs with checks on the table? The audacity is astounding. And people ate up the act for a long time too. Fitzgerald is a true blessing for IL.
- Auditioning for a new job - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 4:42 pm:
Come to think of it, last weekend a guy came to the house, very nice, very polite, well spoken, asking if me and the spouse wanted him to shampoo our carpet with a new dry shampoo method. Told him, nope, don’t want to buy your Kirby. He said not selling a Kirby, just selling the shampoo equipment after the demonstration to see if we like it. We said, no, you are trying to sell a Kirby. Told him to take a look in the garage and see that central vac cannister hanging there and then ask your question again. He was slim/medium build, medium height, 40 something, very well groomed with every hair in place. Could it have perhaps been?????
[…] John “Poopy Head” Ruskin compares a journalist — Rich Miller — who covers Springfield and other Illinois political matters to Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. Why? Because Miller posted a few facts that put the lie to the spin being promoted by a comrade of Ruskin’s. In his role as a reporter, Miller has gone after Dems, GOPs and even Greens with equal aplomb when they fib, flop or go flakey, as Sen. Steve Rauschenberger has been doing of late in his anti-Obama zeal. This isn’t the first time the pseudonymous Ruskin has flailed around spewing crap instead of keeping his bizarre inanities to himself… (What’s that? There’s a financial stake for the denizens of Illinois Review to prop up the head of the United Republican Fund, an organization that so many of them also help operate? Go figure…) […]
I just received my annual Blago THREAT - take the ethics test his no bid political hack in California creates every year or LOSE my job! Accept a ball cap or Cubs tickets or a stick of gum from someone doing business with the state and I LOSE my job. Disclose ANY part of the ethics test to ANYONE and LOSE my job. If it weren’t so sad, I would find the irony in this absolutely hysterically funny. With the gov’s “testicular virility” in the proverbial vise, I am seriously contemplating NOT taking this test just to see what happens. The idea of refusing to take the test is growing in my agency, although I doubt seriously if very many employees are actually brave enough to test the waters. Most will take it to keep their bosses from being put in the stocks with thumbscrews in place for not being able to “CONTROL” their employees.
- some former legislative intern - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 6:15 pm:
The Ziegler analogy is a good one. He was completely discredited after Nixon’s resignation. He never did P.R. for elected officials after that, although he did head trade associations.
I hope this does not happen to Abby. She is a good person, but continuing to work for Blago and issuing these obviously false statements begins to hurt her own credibility.
A quick google search of Ron Ziegler offers some great backdrop and history. There are quite a few parallels.
I wouldn’t put all the blame on thre Governor for that foul piece of garbage, the ethics test, or the entire state employees ethics act. It took a majority of the House and of the Senate to pass it. But of course, legislators hardly ever have to pay the personal consequence of the laws they pass. For example, during the debate on the statewide smoking ban, BF Currie pointedly asks about legislative intent when she poses the question whether smoking will still be allowed in “private offices” of state buildings. Since when is there a “private office” in a taxpayer-funded facility?? The Governor is just the top buzzard on a whole heaping pile of government crap. Okay, I have taken a breath . . .
to anon 6:30- The “ethics test” is not something passed by the legislature. It was the invention of Blago’s team. We have had various forms of ethics legislation for many years, e.g., the disclosure form one is required to send to the Secretary of State every year. But only Blago raised it the level of preposterousness to the max with his “test”. You have to laugh to read the papers (or Cap Fax) and then be told to take the “ethics test”.
Even though it is only one question you are still required to take twenty minutes taking the test.
- Rage Against the Machine - Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 12:45 am:
That looks like Ata to me! Well, off to bed so I can get up and do the people’s work tomorrow, honestly and with regard only to the public good. That’s why I would not make a good Governor of IL.
LIVE session coverage...
- OneMan - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:33 am:
Did everyone start laughing at that?
- Garp - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:36 am:
The video is playing “Celebrate” good times. I hope they did, because the tune has changed.
- Dirt Guy - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:36 am:
I would like to know what else is going on when someone pays $125,000 a year to keep a $127,000 a year job.
Is he that supremely stupid, or is he laundering money through Blago’s campaign fund?
- A Citizen - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:37 am:
There comes a point when absurd denials cease being “funny” and become both serious and tiresome. I think we are there. It is high time the Feds move on the guv and be done with the charades.
- Rod's Old Bi-Polar Pony - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:37 am:
If Rod Blagojevich isn’t “Public Official A” maybe he could shed some light on who really is “Public Official A” is.
Is Rod so out of touch that he couldn’t do that?
- Cassandra - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:38 am:
What a den of thieves. We need a really good state painter to memorialize all this.
- Little Egypt - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:38 am:
I still say that the spinsisters, Abby, Becky, and Rebecca, need to watch what they are saying. (I just had to throw in Becky’s name for the corruption policeman who posted last night at 1:06 a.m. to inform me how uninformed I was about Becky. She has apparently left the administration per Bernie’s article WAY back in September of 07, or sometime in 07.) Forgive me for not being able to keep up with the revolving door at POA’s Springfield and Chicago office. Get used to it, that door is soon going to start doing more RPMs than a Kitchenaid mixer. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving person, “Mr. No More Business As Usual.” Boy was that an understatement.
- Dan S, a Voter & Cubs Fan - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:38 am:
With these breaking stories will impeachment procedeings finally start or does Fitz want to bag this one himsef, or will both happen?
- Z - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:39 am:
“This isn’t the beginning of the end. That started a while ago. But you can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Then whats the silver bullet? Do the feds need rezko to turn over after he is found guilty and testify against POA? Is that when indictments come down? Whats the timeline?
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:41 am:
===Whats the timeline?===
Patience.
- OneMan - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:42 am:
Z–
Patience, all in good time. If/when they go after the governor it has to be a strong case so they are taking their time, building it up.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:43 am:
Dan, both can happen. The Illinois Constitution states that impeachment and removal from office, regardless of the outcome, do not preclude criminal prosecution. “An impeached officer, whether convicted or acquitted, shall be liable to prosecution, trial, judgment and punishment according to law.” (Article IV, Section 14)
- Miss my old job! - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:44 am:
Does this mean I can get my job back at the state? I mean the one that the Blagojevich goons replaced me with 5 new employees.
- SLICK - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:44 am:
And so it goes, as the world turns, these are the day of our lives, and for POA they will be short lived. I guess he will soon fight corruption at a Federal prison. I think POA should start reading Jim Laski’s book about the time he spent “on vacation”. Maybe POA can pick up a few tips for his stay.
- Ravenswood Right Winger - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:49 am:
Pat Quinn must be licking his chops right about now.
- joe - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:49 am:
Senator Mike Jacobs demonstrated keen political insinct calling on King Blago to resign two weeks ago.
- Anon - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:50 am:
== “Remember that some of these alleged bribes were handed over during the 2002 campaign” ==
I think you’ve used a poor choice of words here. Contributing to a campaign is not illegal and does not constitute a bribe, particularly in an instance where the candidate is not an incumbent and not in a position to offer anything in return. Perhaps you could make the inference that the candidate in question was ahead in the polls at the time, but it’s also true that no Democrat had won that office in 26 years, so the outcome was by no means certain. I just have an aversion (and you have usually been pretty good about this) to seeing legal political activities mischaracterized as criminal. There’s certainly enough here that is unseemly so I don’t see the need to reach beyond the abundant material worthy of criticism and scrutiny.
- Leigh - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:51 am:
At what point do POA’s spokespersons put there own credibility and for that matter future employment at stake by spewing the rhetoric. I would think the job as spokesperson may not be worth it no matter what the pay.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:52 am:
===Contributing to a campaign is not illegal and does not constitute a bribe,===
It does if an official favor was traded for it. The same was said of Ryan’s selling of CDLs for contributions.
I stand by my depiction.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:54 am:
Rezko isn’t ready yet. He will wait until the prosecution finishes their case to make a firm decision. My opinion is he would run before he will roll. As to the impeachment process, probably not until the fall session. Let the trial run its coarse and see what happens.
- Anon - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:56 am:
Sir I respectfully disagree precisely because he was not in a position to offer any official favors.
- Wacker Drive - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:56 am:
Can the Spin Sisters get into legal trouble for aiding and abetting Rod and his little enterprises?
- You GO Boy - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:02 am:
What a battle of the lyin’ titans….who is the bigger liar, Blago or his hack mouthpiece.
- Mr. Cub - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:02 am:
Loyalty is one thing, but does Abby realize how foolish she looks the longer she says such ridiculous things on behalf of the governor? How will she get a job once all this is over? Her judgment will be seriously questioned by any legitimate employer.
- Crystal Clear - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:04 am:
Anon,
Your logic would mean that if all contributions were accepted prior to a candidate being elected, then it is not illegal, even if after the candidate’s election the quid pro quo took place. Your logic is not logical.
If that’s your complaint about Rich’s post then it is a very very weak complaint.
- OneMan - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:06 am:
Anon,
So using your logic he could have said
“Give me this money and if elected I will pardon your kid” and that would have been legal?
Sorry don’t think so.
- downstate GOP faithless - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:07 am:
just what is the order of succesion, should something happen? i know PQ moves up, but who replaces him?
- Another Win Win Day - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:11 am:
If the Spin Sisters were to walk today, Blagojevich is vindictive enough to sabotage their futures regardless.
- He Makes Ryan Look Like a Saint - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:14 am:
The upcoming months are going to be fun. Rich, it may be a good time to raise your advertising rates!!
- S. Illinois - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:16 am:
Now the Daily Herald is reporting that Blago, Rezko, Kjellander, et al actively tried to get Patrick Fitzgerald ousted:
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=177986&src=109
- anon - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:18 am:
Hey Bill better start taking up a packaged tuna collection for POA
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:18 am:
I think Blagojevich is approaching the point where his lawyers should be making discreet inquiries as to whether his resignation would forestall indictment.
I have no indication that the feds here roll that way. I have no indication that the governor understands how much trouble he is in. Prudent lawyers might want to find out on behalf of their client.
- OneMan - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:19 am:
downstate GOP faithless
No one replaces the LT. Gov, if the position is ‘open’ for some reason it remains so.
Illinois constitution Article V section 7
- Old Hen - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:22 am:
Now there’s the real story of the day!
Blagojevich declared today Equal Pay Day in Illinois…..
- Garp - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:22 am:
Blogo must be following the advice of his attorneys in denying he is POA. Right? He is spending millions for something.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:26 am:
Also, for “GOP Faithless”: the line of succession after the Lt. Gov is: Atty General, Secretary of State, “and then as provided by law.” The Comptroller and Treasurer would be in line after that but I don’t know in what order.
This line of succession applies only to officers who were elected to their posts. A constitutional officer appointed by the gov to fill a vacancy cannot then succeed to the office of governor.
- anon - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:28 am:
Ottenhoff may release statements that many find incredulous, but her tenacity in defending her employer is exactly the kind of trait that her job, and her career, demands.
As Joel Cairo laments in The Maltese Falcon: ” . . . I adhered to the course you indicated earlier in your rooms. I certainly wish you had invented a more reasonable story. I felt distinctly like an idiot repeating it.”
Ottenhoff does her job very well, and anyone who needs the kind of cover she provides could do well in hiring her.
- undecided - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:30 am:
Rich, Your blog is highly succesful! The topic of Illinois corruption is riveting!
Would it be proper to say that you are profiting from corruption?
I was wondering how you would be able to keep the blog interesting if we had an honest Governor.
The good news is that Illinois will always have evil to root out.
- archpundit - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:30 am:
While the Tribune keeps up its bizarre fetish for recall, there is an option called impeachment and getting that started just requires the House. There really are no excuses now.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:31 am:
Anon, I don’t think Baghdad Bob got a corner office at Hill and Knowlton following Saddam’s ouster.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:32 am:
===I was wondering how you would be able to keep the blog interesting if we had an honest Governor.===
I’m endorsing Rod for reelection. lol
Seriously, I love the man.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:33 am:
===Ottenhoff does her job very well, and anyone who needs the kind of cover she provides could do well in hiring her.====
Agreed.
It’s also her birthday today, so lay off.
- Dirt Guy - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:34 am:
Look at the bright side Rod. There is free health care for all guests of federal government when you are staying at one of their facilities.
I’ll bet he takes credit for it and issues a Press Release.
- North of I-80 - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:35 am:
This headline most interesting: Feds: Blagojevich insiders tried to have U.S. attorney ousted
Getting closer to Feds going RICO on the entire operation. Agree, Rich will be very busy soon and should raise advertising rates now.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:35 am:
I think the efforts of a more honest governor to clean up the mess left by this one will provide plenty of fodder for the blog for years to come. If the next governor is serious about repairing the damage, he or she will face a lot of debate and opposition along the way. It will not be boring.
- RMW Stanford - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:36 am:
Well it really starting to look like a question of not if it going to happen, but when. The big question is does it happen before or after the end of his term?
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:38 am:
North, there’s a new thread on that topic.
- anon - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:41 am:
“Baghdad Bob” is/was employed by Abu Dhabi TV after his career with Saddam Hussein’s government. Politicians of every stripe need PR people who can spin. Those who spin well enough will find others who need that talent.
Sam Spade’s response to Cairo was: “Don’t worry about the story’s goofiness. A sensible one would have had us all in the cooler.”
I don’t anyone in the cooler yet.
- anon - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:43 am:
It’s also Shakespeare’s birthday! Is Abby channeling the bard???
- He Makes Ryan Look Like a Saint - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:46 am:
Happy Birthday Abby, Rich, I am sure you have a picture of her, Lets make her more famous than she already is!
- RMW Stanford - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:51 am:
“I think the efforts of a more honest governor to clean up the mess left by this one will provide plenty of fodder for the blog for years to come. If the next governor is serious about repairing the damage, he or she will face a lot of debate and opposition along the way. It will not be boring.”
How ever tries to clean up the mess that Illinois Government is going to have be ready for a long hard journey, between the corruption and the state’s increasingly poor financial straight its not going to be for the faint of heart. We need some with a strong will but also the ability to make deals in order to advance the ball.
- Bill - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:55 am:
Happy Birthday, Abby!
Take the rest of the day off.
- S. Illinois - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 12:03 pm:
Sorry Rich. I don’t see how outright lying to the public in an effort to conceal corruption is doing a job very well. I’ve been there. I left when I was told to do that.
- Captain America - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 12:05 pm:
Abby appears to be in the same situation that Ron Ziegler was as spokesman for “I am not a crook” Nixon during the Watergate era. She’s just doing her job!
- Flounder - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 12:06 pm:
Sorry Bill, Abby won’t be taking any time off for a long time.
- Little Egypt - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 12:07 pm:
Fitz will do this his way, which is slow and methodical. When an indictment against POA does come down, it will be swift, deliberate, ironclad, and will wring what miniscule amount of testicular virility is left in Elvis. It may not come soon enough for some of us, but IT WILL COME. I’m waiting first for Fitz to reel in Cellini and his buddy, Bob K, as well as a bunch of other staffers, contributors, movers and shakers. Don’t overlook the fact that there are a lot of people on Fitz’ list, perhaps even Mrs. POA. It’s going to take time and, as Rich says, patience.
- walter sobchak - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 12:11 pm:
By the criteria mentioned evaluating Abby Ottenhof’s representations, one could say that Goebbels did a good job as well. She would serve the state better and be remembered with more respect if, confronted with such blatant falsehoods, she resigned rather than propagating them.
- The Mad Hatter - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 12:14 pm:
A few words of advice for Unindicted Official A-Rod and his minions:
A-Rod: Take the plea deal and try to get sent to the prison with the best barber.
Kjellander, et al: You’re next. It doesn’t pay to mess with the U.S. Attorney.
- gulag - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 12:20 pm:
It’s not often that Godwin’s Law is invoked on this blog. Congrats, Walter Sobchak!
- A Citizen - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 12:31 pm:
U.S. District Court Judge Amy St. Eve stated in her court that Public Official A was in fact the governor. To deny that whether you are guv or Abby or whomsoever is patently absurd. The judge is possibly a bit peeved!
- Anon - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 12:32 pm:
“It’s also Shakespeare’s birthday! Is Abby channeling the bard???”
I think G-Rod would rather she found a way to channel Dickens — “It is a far, far better thing I do . . .”
- Ghost - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 12:45 pm:
The Defense cirtical strtegy is to destory levine, but the foundation of the strategy requires that LEvine is the only source for information connecting Rezko to the pay to play kind of acts.
Bringing Ata into the case adds yet another direct source to Rezko without the need to rely on levine. This is a real coup for the Government. There is a big pile of extra evidnece accumulating that is not washed away by the attacks on levine. At this point they do not need Rezko to go after Blago, but if this case ends in a conviction there is a good bet Rezko will want to deal. They have a lot more on blago now then they had on Ryan, and rezko has to see the writing on the wall.
- Timon - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 12:56 pm:
The truth outta ATA, what a wonderful phrase.
the truth out of Ata, ain’t yet in the sentencing phase.
It means your governor is counting down the last of his days.
I’ts Rod’s trouble-free philosophy
that got him in hot watta
- walter sobchak - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 1:05 pm:
If one’s comments are to be skewered it hurts less if the skewer is sharp and handled with such aplomb as gulag’s riposte. Touche. Should Godwin’s law be modified to include Baghdad Bob? If not Goebbels…Ron Zeigler? Dee Dee Meyers?
- Been There - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 1:17 pm:
Gulag & Walter. Are you two related to Pat Hickey?
- gettin' antsy! - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 1:18 pm:
Oh, please, Mr. Fitzgerald. Can we impeach him first and you can take it from there???
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 1:20 pm:
The curse of living in “interesting times” is coming true before our eyes.
- Arthur Andersen - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 1:26 pm:
did anyone but AA get a chuckle out of Ata’s street address?
“xxxx Stonewall Drive”
As far as Ziegler, I thought one of his best was after he had been caught in a “spin” and he said “that statement is inoperative.”
- Macbeth - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 1:53 pm:
+++++
How ever tries to clean up the mess that Illinois Government is going to have be ready for a long hard journey, between the corruption and the state’s increasingly poor financial straight its not going to be for the faint of heart.
++++++++++++++
And no one — and I mean no one — will believe anyone when they say they’re “cleaning up Illinois government.”
That’s really the Blagojevich legacy. I’ve seen enough now to understand that it matters not whether he’s indicted. Obviously, every single state worker has their fingers crossed. And perhaps many Blagojevich voters regret their decision. Whatever. It’s all anti-climax after these past few weeks.
What stinks worse than whatever illegalities Blagojevich may or may not have done is the fact that he made a mockery of ethical reform.
Who’s gonna believe an ethical reformer at this point? We’re all jaded — cynical to the nth degree — and while Ryan may be partly to blame, I think the legacy of blame will fall squarely on Blagojevich. The idea of “up” days and the constant denial of “Public Official A.”
I’ve had enough. It was sickening enough *in* state government — but watching this from the sidelines is positively perverse. It’s really been a pathetic 6+ years. And that’s putting it mildly.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 2:25 pm:
The day Blago is indicted, impeached, resigns, announces he’s not running again or loses the next election will be greeted like V-E day in Springfield… complete with dancing in the streets (or at least in the halls of the Capitol complex :)
- Six Degrees of Separation - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 2:37 pm:
Now there’s the real story of the day!
Blagojevich declared today Equal Pay Day in Illinois…..
Hmmm…Ata’s job cost him $50,000, and Beverly “every fiber of my being” Ascaridis’ job only cost her $1,500. Sounds like Ata has a good reverse discrimination case, should he wish to pursue it.
- Loop Lady - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 2:46 pm:
actions-not words that reform state government will be the only way an iota of trust will ever be restored between voters and State of IL elected officials, especially the Gov’s office…Pat Quinn has been reputable in most of his endeavors for 30 years and is worth a try after the poor excuses for “leaders” we’ve had in the Gov’s office in the recent past…Quinn will be a refreshing change even if he’ a bit sanctimonious and a total policy
wonk…He will make the legislative process as efficient as possible in Springfield…
- True Observer - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 2:48 pm:
The Ryan trial showed that half the jury was made up of people with criminal records.
Blagoavich will not resign and the matter will not even come up for trial until 2010 and at the jury trial all he needs is one holdout.
He’ll easily get that.
What is more, if the other offspring (Madigan, Hynes, etc.) run against him in the primary, he’ll win if there is no black to monopolize that vote.
In the general, the ward bosses will bring him in because they want in on all those commissions and boards.
- I'll take Anon for 500 please - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 2:53 pm:
As someone also in a business where PR intersects public service, I have found two types of people.
One cares about that service and the greater good, and PR happens to be the way that individual can apply his/her talents to advance it.
The other doesn’t give a furry fig about such high-falutin’ concepts and just likes selling stuff (or spinning it). It could be widgets or vacuum cleaners, it just happens to be government, as long as it pays the bills. And in that case, integrity schmintegrity.
I strive to be and hope I am the former type of person. Gentlemen like Mike Lawrence and David Axelrod are beacons in this regard.
I believe anyone employed in this capacity by this governor must be the latter type of person, and I wouldn’t shake their hand if it was offered to me.
The citizens of Illinois deserve better. Much better.
- Garp - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 2:54 pm:
Can you believe this guy is talking about ethical reform at the same time he is doling out jobs with checks on the table? The audacity is astounding. And people ate up the act for a long time too. Fitzgerald is a true blessing for IL.
- Auditioning for a new job - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 4:42 pm:
Come to think of it, last weekend a guy came to the house, very nice, very polite, well spoken, asking if me and the spouse wanted him to shampoo our carpet with a new dry shampoo method. Told him, nope, don’t want to buy your Kirby. He said not selling a Kirby, just selling the shampoo equipment after the demonstration to see if we like it. We said, no, you are trying to sell a Kirby. Told him to take a look in the garage and see that central vac cannister hanging there and then ask your question again. He was slim/medium build, medium height, 40 something, very well groomed with every hair in place. Could it have perhaps been?????
Pingback Ill Reviewers earn their dunce caps « Illinois Reason - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 5:12 pm:
[…] John “Poopy Head” Ruskin compares a journalist — Rich Miller — who covers Springfield and other Illinois political matters to Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. Why? Because Miller posted a few facts that put the lie to the spin being promoted by a comrade of Ruskin’s. In his role as a reporter, Miller has gone after Dems, GOPs and even Greens with equal aplomb when they fib, flop or go flakey, as Sen. Steve Rauschenberger has been doing of late in his anti-Obama zeal. This isn’t the first time the pseudonymous Ruskin has flailed around spewing crap instead of keeping his bizarre inanities to himself… (What’s that? There’s a financial stake for the denizens of Illinois Review to prop up the head of the United Republican Fund, an organization that so many of them also help operate? Go figure…) […]
- Sweet Polly Purebred - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 5:55 pm:
I just received my annual Blago THREAT - take the ethics test his no bid political hack in California creates every year or LOSE my job! Accept a ball cap or Cubs tickets or a stick of gum from someone doing business with the state and I LOSE my job. Disclose ANY part of the ethics test to ANYONE and LOSE my job. If it weren’t so sad, I would find the irony in this absolutely hysterically funny. With the gov’s “testicular virility” in the proverbial vise, I am seriously contemplating NOT taking this test just to see what happens. The idea of refusing to take the test is growing in my agency, although I doubt seriously if very many employees are actually brave enough to test the waters. Most will take it to keep their bosses from being put in the stocks with thumbscrews in place for not being able to “CONTROL” their employees.
- some former legislative intern - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 6:15 pm:
The Ziegler analogy is a good one. He was completely discredited after Nixon’s resignation. He never did P.R. for elected officials after that, although he did head trade associations.
I hope this does not happen to Abby. She is a good person, but continuing to work for Blago and issuing these obviously false statements begins to hurt her own credibility.
A quick google search of Ron Ziegler offers some great backdrop and history. There are quite a few parallels.
- anon - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 6:30 pm:
I wouldn’t put all the blame on thre Governor for that foul piece of garbage, the ethics test, or the entire state employees ethics act. It took a majority of the House and of the Senate to pass it. But of course, legislators hardly ever have to pay the personal consequence of the laws they pass. For example, during the debate on the statewide smoking ban, BF Currie pointedly asks about legislative intent when she poses the question whether smoking will still be allowed in “private offices” of state buildings. Since when is there a “private office” in a taxpayer-funded facility?? The Governor is just the top buzzard on a whole heaping pile of government crap. Okay, I have taken a breath . . .
- DuPage Dave - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 7:26 pm:
to anon 6:30- The “ethics test” is not something passed by the legislature. It was the invention of Blago’s team. We have had various forms of ethics legislation for many years, e.g., the disclosure form one is required to send to the Secretary of State every year. But only Blago raised it the level of preposterousness to the max with his “test”. You have to laugh to read the papers (or Cap Fax) and then be told to take the “ethics test”.
- scoot - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 7:56 pm:
Rezko looks more and more like Frank Pentangeli….more people then a ballgame in here!
- Emily Booth - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 10:17 pm:
The Ethics test itself keeps changing year to year. I was told this year it’s only 1 question. Can’t wait to see!
- A Citizen - Wednesday, Apr 23, 08 @ 11:05 pm:
Even though it is only one question you are still required to take twenty minutes taking the test.
- Rage Against the Machine - Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 12:45 am:
That looks like Ata to me! Well, off to bed so I can get up and do the people’s work tomorrow, honestly and with regard only to the public good. That’s why I would not make a good Governor of IL.