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*** UPDATE *** You can hear the governor questioned by the Daily Herald’s editorial board about Tony Rezko and other issues by clicking here. Judy Baar Topinka is also interviewed.
The fact that one of Rezko’s guys put up his home for Tony Rezko’s bond is not a big deal. The fact that he and his wife are state employees and she apparently got a state job through Rezko is a bigger deal. The fact that the Sun-Times story keeps the Rezko story alive another day or two is more significant for our purposes.
Gov. Blagojevich on Tuesday continued to distance himself from Antoin “Tony” Rezko, but one of the governor’s managers is betting the house that Rezko will fight federal corruption charges and won’t skip town.Mustafa Abdalla, a $75,000-a-year contracting supervisor for Central Management Services, put up his Libertyville home to help Rezko meet a $2 million bail, records show. Abdalla’s is one of nine properties that friends and family of Rezko offered so Rezko wouldn’t have to sit in jail as he awaits trial.
Blagojevich administration officials said they did not know details about Rezko’s ties to Abdalla and Abdalla’s ex-wife Shawna Young, who also is a state employee. Both are well-qualified to work for taxpayers, they said.
Rezko appears to have played a role in Young being hired as an intern in Blagojevich’s Employment Security Department in 2003. Her name is on a list of 292 clout-heavy job applicants that the Chicago Sun-Times disclosed in May. The initials “TR,” code for Rezko, were on the same line as her name. Young and 273 others on the list were hired.
Meanwhile, the local news reported last night that the governor turned and walked away without saying a word when asked by a reporter in Springfield if he was under criminal investigation.
And this little tidbit from Sneed:
Republican gubernatorial hopeful Judy Baar Topinka’s supporters claim Team Blagojevich’s anti-Topinka ads have run nearly 19,000 times.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 8:38 am
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“The governor turned and walked away without saying a word.”
Keep walking, and don’t come back!!!
Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 8:46 am
But we still endorse him whole heartedly. What great bird cage liner the CST makes.
Comment by Wumpus Diva Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 8:50 am
off subject, but important to read. It’s possible the apparent endorsement of Blagojevich yesterday by 100 African American ministers was manipulated by one minister, whose wife is a State employee under the Governor. they may have thought it was a strategy meeting for Todd Stroger and not an endorsement of the Two Stooges “Rod & Todd”
Comment by big al Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 9:06 am
Sounds like POA is finally taking the Fifth.
Comment by Individual Z Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 9:14 am
Hey, big al, most of those ministers might still think they were at a strategy meeting for Toddler unless they read this website, since apparently the Governor didn’t bother to show up. Perhaps they should have told Gov. Sleazy that they were bringing him some early $1,500 birthday gift checks… then he would might have been prompt and present.
Comment by fedup dem Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 9:26 am
19,000? I bet the last two weeks will be even more intense. I heard he bought ad time on the back of your eyelids. You’re going to be seeing Blagojevich commercials in your sleep.
Comment by Snark Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 9:26 am
As far as all these investigations and indictments go, our laws don’t apply to Governor Blagojevich, he is above the LAW.
Comment by Guy Fawkes Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 10:14 am
Since Blagojevich all but admitted to the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board that he has retained criminal defense counsel (shocking if he hadn’t done so since well before the FIRST FBI interview), this information and the latest indictments raise a number of issues as to the Governor’s status in the ongoing and numerous criminal investigations. Instead of playing the 20 questions game, here are 20 paragraphs of questions Blagojevich should be required to answer before November 7th:
How much did Resko actually personally give the Governor and his family? (should also disclose exactly how much was “gifted†to him and his family by Kelly and all the other individuals belatedly added to Blago’s state disclosure form as the L-A-W required him to disclose years ago, but he continued to conceal this information until the FBI interviewed him and conveniently jogged his memory as to the requirements of the L-A-W).
When is the Governor going to return the funds and gifts he and his family personally received from Resko, particularly since Resko has “betrayed†Blogo’s trust? Why divest only campaign funds and not the undisclosed personal gifts “exceeding $500†given to the Blagojevich family? Suppose we should expect a Nixonian and tearful “Checkers†type speech on this one from Blago. Sorry, but if “baby clothes†supposedly exceeded $500 for each of the several years of “gifts†by Resko to Blagojevich, I doubt the public will continue to buy that whopper by his campaign mouthpieces or have much sympathy. At that rate, we do know Blogo’s kids were certainly not swaddled in simple cloth blankets and jackets like Pat Nixon.
Why hasn’t the Governor or his campaign fund returned or donated the campaign contributions generated from Rezko, Cari and/or Levine sponsored fund raising events and out of state money grabs? All that money is the product of corruption and is tainted. As alleged in the indictments, campaign funds were requested/extorted by these indicted individuals (Resko, Cari, Levine). There is no way to tell what improper promises and inducements were made to people attending these events and making contributions to Blago’s campaign by his chief fundraisers, close advisors and now-indicted associates. To truly start clearing up this mess and to avoid the appearance of any impropriety, Blago and JBT should both also be divesting their campaigns of any funds received or derived from the individuals alphabetically listed in the indictments as participating or playing a role in these charged criminal conspiracies. Obviously, it will be a banner year for charities around the state when the Governor finally gets around to doing the right thing and donating ALL of this corrupt and tainted money from his campaign and personal bank accounts. Perhaps Blago might want to use the money to restore some of the funds he raided from the state’s pension systems.
Has the FBI interviewed or requested to interview the Governor again? If so, has the Governor complied? To avoid the Governor’s usual slick and carefully crafted answers, I suppose the question should be modified to ask has ANY federal or state law enforcement agency requested another interview, since we all now know there are a multitude of federal and state agencies investigating this administration. We wouldn’t want the Governor to weasel his answer because it was actually Assistant U.S. Attorneys, IRS Agents or Postal Inspectors making the requests and asking follow up questions of him or his wife.
Has the Governor been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury in connection with the multiple ongoing criminal investigations? If so, did he agree to appear and what did he tell them? Did he at any time assert the Fifth Amendment?
There is little doubt that the Governor and his wife have been personally subpoenaed for records in these criminal investigations. (It is actually inconceivable that in indicting Resko the federal government would not have tried to determine how much money in gifts and purported salary Resko personally provided the Blagojevich family.) How many subpoenas have they personally received and what has been requested?
Has the Governor received notice that any of his conversations were recorded as part of court authorized wiretaps?
Why did his General Counsel and much of his legal staff resign over two years ago? What were the circumstances surrounding these decisions, as well as the decision of his executive inspector general to also resign? Did the Governor’s General Counsel provide the Governor with notice about corruption and warn of a “cancer on the administration and Blago’s fundraising apparatus†on her way out the door? What exactly was the Governor told as all these folks were resigning and running from his administration? What specifically did the Governor do about it?
Who signed off IN THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE on ALL the decisions for each of the state employees hired pursuant to his executive order imposing a hiring freeze and requiring such approval? Why have these public records not been released? When will the Governor release them? What role did the Governor personally play in ANY of these approval decisions and board appointments?
Has his wife been interviewed by the FBI (or any other state or federal law enforcement agency)?
When will Blago and his wife disclose exactly and specifically what “work†was allegedly done to receive this income from Rezko for her “employment†with his businesses? Will the Blagojevich family donate this money to charity as well?
Has the Governor or his wife asserted, at any time, the Fifth Amendment privilege to any of the requests or questions by federal or state agencies and their representatives and agents?
Has the Governor been informed by the federal government that he is no longer just a subject of the grand jury investigation, but now is also a target of the ongoing criminal investigations? US Attorney Fitzgerald avoided and would not answer that question last week. The Governor certainly can. Curious minds would love to know and voters certainly are entitled to know before they cast their ballots with the expectation that the winner will serve ALL four years of the Governorship.
If indicted, will the Governor commit to immediately resigning from office?
How many subpoenas has his campaign received in connection with the ongoing state and federal criminal investigations? What did these subpoenas request and have they been fully complied with in a timely way?
Who is the criminal defense attorney representing the campaign? Who is the defense attorney representing Blagojevich? How about for his wife? Is the campaign paying for the criminal defense representation of Blagojevich and his wife? Have they declared such a conversion of campaign funds and these benefits on their personal tax return? It is important to know who these attorneys are so it can be determined whether any of these attorneys have also benefited from state contracts or business under Blagojevich’s Administration in a one-hand-washes-the-other fashion. It is also important to know who these attorneys are so it can be fairly determined if there are conflicts of interest in any of these various representations undertaken by counsel.
Over the years, Blago received huge sums as “referral fees†as an attorney although he really did not practice law. Which firms and attorneys provided these fees? How much were they? Isn’t it prohibited by L-A-W for attorneys to receive referral/finder’s fees without actually working on the specific cases? How did Blago do that from Congress and Washington, D.C.? What did he exactly and specifically do in EACH of the cases where he has received such fees? Will Blago provide his billing records to prove these were not sham transactions or are they currently missing (like another page taken from the Clintons’ playbook so often used by Team GRod)? Did Blago actually find and refer these cases to other attorneys or was that simply another sham to illegally transfer funds to Blagojevich? Will he produce the names of the clients so that it can be established whether they first went to Blagojevich for representation and/or whether he ever even met with them? Client names are generally not privileged information and if fees were actually earned, the names should be of public court records anyhow.
Were such fees or any funds provided to Blagojevich by Myron Cherry, currently a subject of the ongoing investigation and purportedly one of the “individuals†named in the Rezko indictment? Where Blago received referral fees, profit sharing or whatever you want to call it, have ANY of those law firms or attorneys received state business, contracts, etc? Let’s start connecting some of the dots here. Is there a quid pro quo relationship among Blogo, these referral-fee-paying attorneys, campaign contributions and state business?
Has Blago continued to receive such fees from attorneys since he allowed his license to practice law lapse? If so, is that allowed? What legal work has he done while Governor on such cases? Why is he no longer licensed to practice law anywhere in the United States? Is he licensed to practice law overseas? Syria, perhaps?
How does the Governor ethically distinguish his rampant and unrestrained use of state resources to advertise his name in print, on tollways, on posters, on film, etc, from the ethics ban prohibiting all constitutional officers from appearing in public service announcements/advertisements that he specifically asked for and had passed into L-A-W?
The list goes on and on and on, but these are among the many serious unanswered questions that should be answered before Nov 7th.
The voting public has a right to know if their Governor is under investiation.
Comment by A Few Questions--Still Unanswered Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 10:23 am
Recently, I spoke with an acquaintance who had just finished (early) voting. She knows I am not a fan of Blago and would never vote for him because of the corruption, illegal patronage and fiscal mismanagement in his administration. Although I didn’t ask how she voted, she told me anyway, perhaps feeling a bit defensive.
The friend’s child has received long-time services from a well-known Chicago social services organization which has received millions from the state under Blago. My friend said she knows about the allegations that Blago is corrupt and believes they are likely true. But in her mind, her daughter comes first. And, more importantly, she doesn’t think JBT is much better in the corruption department. My friend believes that there is not much evidence that either candidate is personally corrupt, but she does believe both have likely permitted and/or ignored corruption around them in order to further their careers.
And the social service organization is, of course, reminding its clients of the largesse from Blago as the election nears.
I saw again why Blago is going to win and why the Rezko scandal doesn’t resonate, even as more sleazy details come out like the state employees who are helping with his bond. In typical Democratic populist tradition, Blago is spreading our money around for votes. And JBT, although not perceived as personally corrupt, can’t take the ethical high ground because of the Republican party’s identical history of corruption in this state. So she is not a viable alternative in the corruption arena, where Blago is weakest.
Comment by Cassandra Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 10:45 am
I’ve heard it mentioned that the reason Blago lobbed so many attack ads at JBT is precisely because she’s a threatening candidate, as there are thoughtful Dems who would vote for her. In other words, he needed all of that ammo to try to make a dent, as she had been polling well within striking distance.
She, however, has not gotten enough support in terms of money to wage a decent counter-attack. Of course, she also didn’t have Tony Rezko doing her shaked–oops! naughty naughty–fundraising for her, either.
Comment by Angie Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 10:56 am
All Kids Health Care, Veterans Care Program, Governor’s Gas Price Initiative among other numerous Blagojevich programs are all shams. Governor Blagojevich so-called public programs are not as they seem. They are all propagandist lies.
Truth be known, all the children, all the veterans and all Illinois residents are no better off than they were 4 years ago. If don’t believe me, check your debt vs. savings.
Comment by Guy Fawkes Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 10:58 am
Questions—-Gov. Rod will answer your questions after the election if he has time….Thankyour for your concern. Abby.
Comment by He Makes Ryan look like a saint Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 11:07 am
If your last governor broke your heart, there’s something that can be done…
(you can’t run, you can’t hide, you can’t RUN).
Don’t put your faith in Rod, ’cause he’s just another bum.
(you can’t run, you can’t hide, you can’t run)
If he don’t get indicted today, you gotta know it will happen by May,
He oughtta walk, and don’t look back….
(don’t look back)
If you just put your hand in mine,
we’re gonna leave the subpoenas behind,
we’re gonna walk, and don’t look back…
Feds are behind you, there to remind you…
Comment by reggae mon Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 11:53 am
Who is the nitwit giggling in the background while Rod is talking.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 1:04 pm
While “A Few Questions . . . ” was the longest post I’ve ever seen here, the questions were good.
How sad that the Chicago press corps didn’t get up the guts to ask any of them at Blago’s recent press conference on Rezko indictment.
Maybe they will some day. (sigh)
Comment by Bubs Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 2:16 pm
To: Anonymous - Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 1:04 pm
Regarding nitwit giggling, is this a sound bite? video?
Comment by Guy Fawkes Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 2:30 pm
So okay, Rod’s going to have how many millions in his campaign chest when the election is over? 10 plus? One can only hope that when he’s indicted that the feds do the same to his nest egg like they did to Ryan’s.
Comment by smack-o-cratic Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 3:17 pm
A Few Questions…’s list of questions is incomplete - why not add “When did you stop beating your wife?”
I was under the impression that our legal system is designed to get the information it needs to indict and convict people, including governors, for any illegal acts they take. Seemed to work OK with our last governor, who is due to go to prison in a couple weeks, although admittedly not for Saint Edgar, who managed to skate despite his more unsavory connections and appointments.
This governor has not been indicted however and while the press and some bloggers have already convicted him in the court of public opinion, if he is indicted, he will have the chance to defend himself against those charges in a court of law - the proper venue for answering your 20 questions.
In the meantime, this governor has done nothing, even if all the most dire allegations and innuendos are true - and they aren’t - that is remotely comparable to Ryan selling commercial drivers licenses to unqualified people, at least one of whom killed an entire family of children in a fiery wreck.
Comment by Reality Cheek Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 4:19 pm
Cassandra,
Too bad your friend is so short sided to think she’s putting her child’s welfare first. Who does she think is going to be paying the ENORMOUS debt, which Blagojevich’s administration is running up? Hope her daughter gets a good job in the future to pay for today’s State’s financial mess.
Comment by Walking Wounded Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 4:22 pm
Correction…I meant “Short sighted”. Long day again.
Comment by Walking Wounded Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 4:24 pm
The giggler in the background while Blago is speaking is Pat Fitzgerald.
Comment by Citizen A Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 5:03 pm
Memo to Blago - IF you have not already lawyered up, don’t hire Dan Webb. Dan-O didn’t quite do the job for GRyan, although it is often said you get what you pay for. If I were you Roddy, I’d save some of the campaign war chest for your defense, what little of it the Feds won’t freeze.
Comment by Little Egypt Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 5:05 pm
Reality “Cheek,” you sound like Bill with a bit less Kool-Aid. Setting aside the flame job on Uncle George (I never knew he personally sold DL’s or was convicted of such) how is it that you write with such, pardon the expression, conviction about Blago?
It’s certainly true that all are entitled to the presumption of innocence, including Rezko and Blagojevich. However, when the co-schemers, including Cari, Levine, Loren, etc. have pled guilty and name Individual B and POA, does your support waver at all? This is more than innuendo, don’t you think?
Comment by Arthur Andersen Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 5:08 pm
Re: “The giggler in the background while Blago is speaking is Pat Fitzgerald.”
Thumbs up
Comment by Angie Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 5:33 pm
AA,
The governor has done nothing wrong and will not be indicted, let alone tried,
Comment by Bill Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 6:05 pm
Bill, do you work for the state of Illinois? If you don’t, you don’t have a leg to stand on concerning what the Governor did or did not do. They live with his illegalities daily.
Comment by Martha Mitchell Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 6:27 pm
Bill, I admire you for your positive attitude. However, that won’t keep Elvis out of the slammer. I know you can’t possibly believe what you write on this blog. Elvis does need loyal supporters so for that I give you an (PO)A.
Comment by Little Egypt Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 7:01 pm
So Blagojevich won’t be indicted? Hmmm….I get it now, much like George Ryan, his campaign committe will be indicted under the RICO act.
And, as it was also reported in 2002, “The governor has not been charged with any wrongdoing.”
Thanks for clearing that up for us, Bill.
Comment by Walking Wounded Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 7:14 pm
Bill-good to hear from you. Let’s touch base Friday.
AA
Comment by Arthur Andersen Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 7:35 pm
Rich - which ‘local’ news station did the story on the Springfield reporter? Was the question on tape? More information please!
Comment by Cat Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 9:13 pm
The only sure things in life are death, taxes and Blagojevich’s indictment.
Comment by Truth Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 9:54 pm
“The governor has not been charged with any wrongdoing.â€
Yet (evil grin)
Stay tuned
Comment by Angie Thursday, Oct 26, 06 @ 12:10 am
Reality;
George Ryan selling drivers licenses? Give me a f***ing break. Are you stupid, or just vile?
Comment by steve schnorf Thursday, Oct 26, 06 @ 12:52 am
Dear “Reality Cheek”
Is that a challenge to be more specific? More explanatory? Note, I asked questions and did not proffer conclusions.
Your friend,
Clint
Comment by A Few Questions More... Thursday, Oct 26, 06 @ 1:47 am