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Tuesday, May 1, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller

* There were a lot of lowlights from yesterday’s arraignment of Rep. Derrick Smith. Here’s a quote from Smith…

“God gives us all a cross to bear and this lawsuit is mine.”

Um, excuse me, Representative, but this is no mere lawsuit you’re facing. You’ve been indicted on federal bribery charges. Perhaps you need to look up the difference between civil and criminal matters.

* Mark Brown talked to some Chicago politicians who backed Smith in the Democratic primary against a white Republican who appeared to be campaigning as a black Democrat…

“I’m a bit disappointed quite frankly,” Congressman Danny K. Davis told me Monday after learning of Smith’s comments. “I would have hoped that Rep. Smith would have resigned his position as a member of the General Assembly.” To be clear, Davis would like him to resign his spot on the ballot as well.

Davis, who headlined the group that urged a vote for Smith after his arrest, said he did so because he “thought it was for the greater good of the district.”

At this time, “the greatest good would be served if Rep. Smith would put people out of their agony [by resigning]. Only he can do that,” Davis added.

Davis said he appreciates that Smith is in a difficult position and he’s entitled to the presumption of innocence, but added: “Sometimes you have to put the good of the group before your individual self.”

Ald. Emma Mitts (37th), chairman of the West Side Black Elected Officials who convened the pre-election press conference backing Smith, also said he should resign.

“The sooner the better,” Mitts told me. “He’s got enough to deal with without holding the district hostage.”

Mitts said Democratic committeemen whose wards encompass Smith’s 10th legislative district are preparing to run an independent candidate against him if he doesn’t step aside. That effort is being organized by Secretary of State Jesse White, Smith’s political mentor, who engineered his appointment.

* And WBEZ had a doozy of a quote from Smith’s attorney…

Henderson said the case reminds him of a poem.

“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist,” Henderson said, reading a printout from the website of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I am not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak to, for me.”

That poem is about Germans who ignored Nazi actions.

Asked if he was really comparing Derrick Smith’s case to the Holocaust, Henderson replied that when the government does something wrong, everyone has “an obligation to stand up.”

“Today it’s Derrick Smith,” he said. “Who is it tomorrow? That’s the point of [my reading] the poem.”

Oy.

* The Question: Derrick Smith is to _____ as Rod Blagojevich is to _____?

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Answering Patti’s question

Tuesday, Apr 10, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Of all the letters written on behalf of John Harris for his sentencing hearing, this one stood out for me the most…

Blagojevich’s longtime executive assistant, Mary Stewart, said he was “very difficult to work with and for” and “basically would wear a person down” — for instance, by peppering Harris with calls early in the morning, late at night and on weekends and holidays.

“Had the former governor just listened to John more, I just know in my heart that the outcome for the administration would have been better,” wrote Stewart, who also worked for Blagojevich when he was a state representative and congressman.

This statement could be said about a lot of people, including myself. Many of us tried to publicly and privately steer Rod Blagojevich toward a more sane, honest governance. He never listened to anyone but the voices in his own head, and the FBI surveillance tapes made that pretty clear.

And that’s really the answer to Patti Blagojevich’s question that she posted on her Facebook page after Harris was sentenced to 10 days in prison…

“I can’t help but wonder what planet we are on. 10 days vs. 5110 days, a sentence that is 51,100% higher than Rod. How do you explain that to your children?”

Harris was culpable, but he fully admitted wrongdoing, never pocketed any cash and he helped the government prosecute his former boss. Rod still won’t admit anything.

* Lon Monk was sentenced to two years in prison last week while I was on break. Some background…

Monk, who was a groomsman at Blagojevich’s wedding, admitted he helped shake down a racetrack owner for a hefty campaign contribution to Blagojevich. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud and testified against Blagojevich in exchange for a recommendation from prosecutors of a two-year sentence rather than the maximum five years.

Monk was a key prosecution witness at Blagojevich’s two trials, telling jurors how he and Blagojevich tried to squeeze the racetrack owner for a $100,000 campaign contribution by threatening state action that would hurt the racing industry. Blagojevich withheld approval of legislation that the industry wanted pending the contribution.

Jurors even heard a conversation in which Rod Blagojevich is heard coaching Monk on how to ask track owner — and Monk lobbying client — John Johnston for the cash.

“Give us the money. One has nothing to do with the other,” Monk told Blagojevich he would tell Johnston, referring to the contribution and the legislation. “Give us the f—ing money.”

Eventually, Blagojevich signed the bill — after his arrest in December 2008. The contribution was never made. […]

While prosecutors never accused Harris of profiting personally, they have said that Monk did, accepting illicit $10,000 payments from former Blagojevich campaign fund-raiser Tony Rezko, slipped to him in envelopes stuffed with $100 bills.

Taking the money is what really made the difference here. Also, Monk initially refused to cooperate with the feds. Big mistake. The US Attorney is just too powerful a force to successfully resist in cases like these. Plus, Monk knew Blagojevich from way back. He should’ve known what he was in for. Harris was plucked from the Daley administration. I’m not sure he had a good idea what he was getting into when he took the job.

That being said, Harris was a Class A jerk as chief of staff. He made life miserable for a whole lot of people, both on his own accord and at Blagojevich’s command. But, I suppose, that’s not an imprisonable offense. If it was, I could think of a lot of folks who would still be behind bars.

* Related…

* Harris suffered plenty enough while on the job: For instance, Blagojevich wanted Illinois State Police troopers assigned to Chicago to help combat a crime wave in 2008. But he also wanted them clothed in special outfits that would identify them as part of this special unit. In other words, play dress up with real people in a potentially dangerous situation. Harris reportedly intervened and stopped the entire enterprise. Then there was the letter that outlined how Blagojevich wanted to fire his entire legal department because they lacked professionalism. Instead, he wanted to hire an unemployed attorney he met in line at a Starbucks to be the state’s chief legal counsel. What mature leader of a major state would want to install someone he met in line at a coffee shop as his state’s chief legal counsel?

* Sneed: Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is now serving his 14-year prison sentence at a federal penitentiary in Colorado, is expecting his first batch of visitors. The visitor’s list: Sneed is told attorneys Sam Adam and Sam Adam Jr., the father-son duet who represented Blago at his first federal corruption trial, will be Rocky Mountain bound at the end of the month. Familial fodder: “We are like family and my dad talks to him about twice a week,” Sam Adam Jr. tells Sneed. Father & son: “Before he [Blago] went to prison, my dad would literally talk to him four or five times a day,” said Adam Jr. “It had nothing to do with the case most of the time. They read the same books, are both history buffs . . . he’s the intellectual son my dad never had. I love that, it means I don’t have to read that stuff,” said Adam Jr., who plans to bring his 4-year-old son, Parker, on the trip.

* Illinois ranks high for fighting corruption: Illinois ranked tenth in the nation for fighting corruption, according to a recent study by the Center for Public Integrity… The study, part of the State Integrity Investigation, rated Illinois in terms of the systems it has in place to prevent and discourage political corruption. Randy Barrett, the center’s communications director, said although some of this year’s top-scoring states have a reputation of being corrupt in the past, the reforms they’ve created to guard against repeat offenses helped earn them high ranks. “We were not looking at corruption per se,” Barrett said. “We weren’t looking at individuals. We weren’t looking at convictions. We were looking at states’ systems to guard against corruption in the future.”

* Zorn: Fine Line: Unimaginatively venal and irrationally demanding… Frank Kruesi’s description of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich in a letter to U.S. District Judge James Zagel regarding the sentencing of John Harris, Blagojevich’s one-time chief of staff.(CST)

* Bernard Schoenburg: Nix lands job on Biden’s re-election team

* Beavers holding legal defense fund-raiser at a McDonald’s

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Judge: Blagojevich exhibited “mental instability”

Thursday, Mar 29, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Rod Blagojevich’s former chief of staff John Harris was sentenced to just ten days in prison yesterday. Judge James Zagel seemed to almost pity him at times…

The federal judge who handed Rod Blagojevich a 14-year prison term cited the corrupt former governor’s reputation for erratic behavior Wednesday in sentencing a former top Blagojevich aide to only 10 days behind bars.

Former chief of staff John Harris’ role in the bartering over President Obama’s old Senate seat was “so serious and so crucial” that it warranted some prison time, said U.S. District Court Judge James Zagel. But Zagel also noted that Harris’s boss exhibited “elements on some level of mental instability.”

“It was difficult for me to understand, on many occasions, what the governor was doing,” Zagel told Harris. […]

Before announcing the sentence, the judge said he could not honestly claim he would have reacted to a superior’s directives differently than Harris responded to Blagojevich — with one exception.

“I would have left sooner, much sooner,” said Zagel, who was a state official in the 1970s and 1980s and credited Harris with disobeying some of Blagojevich’s orders.

The judge also cited what he described as an “unusual set of character reference letters” for Harris, many from prominent figures in city and state political circles. Zagel said he knew at least 10 of the letter writers personally.

* Judge Zagel also praised Harris for his cooperation with prosecutors…

Harris’ cooperation included testifying for 10 days at two Blagojevich trials. A subdued, matter-of-fact Harris told jurors he and Blagojevich talked about parlaying the power to name someone to Obama’s seat for campaign cash or a lucrative job for Blagojevich.

Much of Harris’ testimony involved him interpreting FBI wiretaps played in court, including a Nov. 3, 2008, recording where an almost giddy-sounding Blagojevich talks about the prospect of benefiting by appointing Obama friend Valerie Jarrett to the Senate seat.

“Now, we should get something for that, couldn’t I?” Blagojevich asks Harris.

“Yes,” responds Harris flatly.

* And the prosecution stepped up for their witness…

During her 15-minute statement at the hearing, prosecutor Carrie Hamilton didn’t have a single critical word for Harris.

She told Zagel Harris was “the most important” witness at Blagojevich’s corruption trials. And unlike Blagojevich, who fought the more numerous charges against him until he recently reported to prison, Hamilton said Harris had “owned up” to his misdeeds within days of his Dec. 9, 2008, arrest.

She also highlighted what she said was Blagojevich’s extreme inconsideration for his staff. She described how on one call captured on FBI wiretaps, Harris tells Blagojevich he was hanging Christmas tree lights with his kids and wanted to get back to it.

“Blagojevich did not care what else was going on” and kept Harris on the phone for more than an hour, Hamilton said.

Discuss.

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