Blagojevich
Posted at 1:12pm on Jun. 11, 2008 Blue on Blue: And lo, there were rumors of impeachment in the Illinois legislature.
Obama campaign no doubt about to preemptively issue a "____ was not the man that I knew" press release.
By Moe Lane
Breitbart has some details of a very interesting memo:
Memo outlines Illinois gov's potential impeachment
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The speaker of the Illinois House is circulating a memo outlining how legislative candidates can call for impeachment hearings against the governor, calling corruption during his tenure "a tumor."
A spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, who is also chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois, said the memo is intended for candidates who have requested more information if voters ask about Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich and potential impeachment.
The memo sent to some House Democratic candidates, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, offers a rundown of Blagojevich's alleged "misdeeds and malfeasance" and detailed talking points on the merits of impeachment.
Division Street has what purports to be the entire memo: feel free to read it, then come back here for discussion.
Read on.
Posted in 2008 | Barack Obama | Blagojevich | Corrupt Democrat Watch | Illinois Combine | Rezko | Rooting For Injuries — Comments (2)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 5:07pm on Jun. 4, 2008 Now *this* is what a Fitzmas looks like, folks.
Of course, it helps when there's an *actual* crime being committed besides perjury.
By Moe Lane
Sixteen of twenty four? Not too shabby, Pat. Not too shabby. Head's-up via reader merevaudevillian
Jury reaches guilty verdict in Rezko corruption case
The jury deliberating the fate of former state political powerbroker Antoin "Tony" Rezko has found him guilty on 16 of 24 counts in his corruption trial.
On Monday, jurors had sent Judge Amy St. Eve a note saying it was deadlocked on one of 24 corruption counts charged against Rezko, but the judge sent them back into the jury room, urging them to "make every reasonable effort to reach a verdict" on each individual count. She said each individual count must have a unanimous verdict.
Not sure yet which were the charges that got got, but I'm betting that 16 is enough to make Rezko pay attention when Fitzgerald leans over at a meeting and says "Tell me the magic word, Tony."
Ooh! Do you think that we'll see frog-marching?
Posted in Blagojevich | Illinois | Law | The True Meaning of Fitzmas | Tony Rezko — Comments (25)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 9:37am on May 14, 2008 Rekzo trial goes to jury.
The most avidly watched, but hardly mentioned, trial of this year.
By Moe Lane
The baby just woke up, so let me make this quick. Via Instapundit:
Antoin 'Tony' Rezko's fate now lies with the jury
Prosecutors, defense wrap up closing argumentsBy Jeff Coen and Bob Secter | Tribune reporters
The federal corruption trial that has sent ripples through the administration of Gov. Rod Blagojevich has reached its final stage, and the fate of political insider Antoin "Tony" Rezko is now in the hands of the jury.
The panel that spent more than two months listening to testimony deliberated for about half an hour Tuesday afternoon after closing arguments ended.
If they bring back a guilty verdict, I'll be shocked if it goes to sentencing. Rezko will want to make a deal, and he knows the magic word: "Blagojevich." It's considered impolite to say by many, but everybody reading this knows that Illinois State politics is one happy bipartisan mess of corruption, influence-peddling, bribery, and a wide variety of other activities prosecutable under the RICO Act. It may be too much to hope that flipping Rezko will result in the kind of housecleaning that Jindal is trying down in Louisiana, but at least the cockroaches will scurry - with any luck, some of them out of the USA altogether.
Posted in Blagojevich | Illinois Combine | Law | Tony Rezko — Comments (3)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 3:30pm on Feb. 26, 2008 Shocker! Illinois Governor May Be A Crook!
The more things change the more they remain the same
By streiff
The Chicago Tribune reports that a federal judge has lifted the veil of anonymity from a federal indictment and revealed that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is "Public Official A" who is alleged to have accepted a $50,000 campaign contribution in return for placing a donor's brother on the Illinois Banking Board, to have been beneficiary of a scheme to extort a $1.5 million campaign donation from a Chicago business man, and to have offered to steer state bond issues to an investment banker in return for cash. Of course, Governor Blagojevich, like the participants on Cops is innocent until proven guilty but right now he looks like he is one step away from indictment and a long vacation at Club Fed.
Corruption in Illinois politics is not only unremarkable, it is endemic. It was the deep seated corruption of former Governor George Ryan, now known as Inmate 16627-424, that broke the Republican party in that state.Everyone's favorite Chicagoan, Mike Royko, once remarked in his book Boss that if you wanted a quorum of the Chicago City Council to be present you had to hold the meeting at the Cook County Jail. I lived there during the Operation Greylord investigation when a Chicago cop substituting for an alcoholic night court judge made history by sentencing a disrespectful bum to death for treason.
So why is this interesting and gratifying but ultimately local story on the front page? Even as the primary contest between Hillary! and Obama takes on a vague tinge of Armageddon?
Because the indictment returned was on one Antoin "Tony" Rezko. If that name rings no bells I suggest you read this story because before this election is over we will know as much about Mr. Rezko as we know about Paula Jones and John Kerry's three Purple Hearts. Because in the media adoration of Barack Obama they have continued to studiously avert their gaze from his politics, his record, and his financial dealings. If you doubt me, check the number of times the word "Obama" appears in the Trib article despite the number of times the Obama and Rezko have been written (532,000 hits on Google) about and ask yourself if any other politician would receive this kind of treatment.
Posted in 2008 | Blagojevich | Democratic Governors | Illinois | MSM | Obama — Comments (35)/ Email this page » / Read More »
