Blagojevich

[Soldier4Christ]

Blagojevich fundraiser held by Jackson allies Saturday

As Gov. Rod Blagojevich was trying to pick Illinois' next U.S. senator, businessmen with ties to both the governor and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. discussed raising at least $1 million for Blagojevich's campaign as a way to encourage him to pick Jackson for the job, the Tribune has learned.

Blagojevich made an appearance at an Oct. 31 luncheon meeting at the India House restaurant in Schaumburg sponsored by Oak Brook businessman Raghuveer Nayak, a major Blagojevich supporter who also has fundraising and business ties to the Jackson family, according to several attendees and public records.

Two businessmen who attended the meeting and spoke to the Tribune on the condition of anonymity said that Nayak and Blagojevich aide Rajinder Bedi privately told many of the more than two dozen attendees the fundraising effort was aimed at supporting Jackson's bid for the Senate.

Among the attendees was a Blagojevich fundraiser already under scrutiny by federal investigators, Joliet pharmacist Harish Bhatt.

That meeting led to a Blagojevich fundraiser Saturday in Elmhurst, co-sponsored by Nayak and attended by Jesse Jackson Jr.'s brother, Jonathan, as well as Blagojevich, according to several people who were there. Nayak and Jonathan Jackson go back years and the two even went into business together years ago as part of a land purchase on the South Side.

Blagojevich and the congressman met to discuss the Senate seat on Monday, one day before federal prosecutors arrested Blagojevich and charged him with trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. As part of the charges, prosecutors alleged that Blagojevich was considering awarding the seat to a politician identified as "Senate Candidate 5" because emissaries for that candidate were promising to raise as much as $1.5 million for Blagojevich's campaign fund.

The Tribune has identified Jesse Jackson Jr. as "Senate Candidate 5." Jackson has denied knowing anything about efforts by emissaries or anybody close to him promising to raise money for Blagojevich in exchange for being appointed to the Senate. He has been contacted by federal prosecutors as part of the probe and has agreed to meet with them.

Jackson's congressional spokesman Rick Bryant said Thursday that Nayak is a "family friend and supporter" of the congressman as well as his well-known father, Rev. Jesse Jackson. The congressman and Nayak have spoken about Jackson's desire to succeed Obama.

"He has talked to [Nayak] about the Senate seat and he has mentioned his interest," Bryant said of his boss. "But he never asked him to do anything."

Jackson's newly retained attorney, James Montgomery, said Wednesday he could not rule out that such possibilities were discussed with Blagojevich by people who did not have his client's blessing.

Despite the parallels, it could not be determined if the actions outlined by the Tribune were the same as those discussed in the FBI affidavit that accompanied the pay-to-play charges against Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris. But the details, gathered from more than a dozen interviews, make clear that some political operatives were connecting support for Blagojevich to his choice for the Senate seat.

Iftekhar Shareef, past president of the influential Federation of Indian Associations, said he attended the Saturday fundraiser for the governor at the invitation of Bedi and Nayak. Shareef said the congressman's brother Jonathan also attended.

"Raghu [Nayak] is always talking about how we need to appoint Jesse to the Senate," Shareef said. "They are very close. Raghu is close with all the Jacksons. He even asked me to write a letter to the governor supporting Jesse Jackson for the Senate." Shareef said he wrote the letter.

A half-dozen other attendees at the two events said they never heard talk about trying to get Jackson placed into the Senate. Bedi's brother, Jatinder, who is an editor at the Indian Reporter newspaper, acknowledged being at the India House event but said "there was no discussion of the Senate seat."

Rajinder Bedi couldn't be reached for comment.

Reached by telephone at his home, Nayak declined to comment.

Nayak, 54, is a political and community leader in Chicago's Indian community who has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Blagojevich, including more than $200,000 from Nayak, his wife and his various corporations. Nayak and his wife have donated more than $22,000 to Jackson, federal records show, and raised more for the congressman.

Nayak owns a series of surgery centers on Chicago's North Side. He also founded and until recently retained an ownership stake in a drug testing laboratory with millions of dollars in Illinois public aid contracts.

Satish "Sonny" Gabhawala, owner of the Chicago Park Hotel in Harvey, said he was at the Oct. 31 meeting and saw Nayak and Rajinder Bedi approach another Blagojevich fundraiser, Babu Patel.

"They were trying to convince Babu to use his influence to get the governor to appoint Jesse Jackson to the Senate," Gabhawala said.

Patel, contacted Thursday evening, acknowledged the conversation but said he never spoke with Blagojevich about the Senate appointment.

Bedi is the managing director for the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity's Office of Trade and Investment, overseeing nine foreign trade offices around the world from China to Israel. He has also been a key fundraiser for Blagojevich.

Blagojevich has referred to Bedi, who wears a turban, as "My Sikh warrior."

The two businessmen who spoke to the Tribune on the condition of anonymity said they did so because they were afraid of repercussions in the close-knit and politically active Indian business community.

One said Nayak and Bedi told him and others of their plan to help Jackson.

The second said he overheard Nayak and Bedi discussing plans with Bhatt, the Joliet pharmacist..

"Raghu said he needed to raise a million for Rod to make sure Jesse got the seat," the second businessman said. "He said, 'I can raise half of it, $500,000.' The idea was that the other two would help raise the rest."

Bhatt, whose two Basinger's Pharmacy outlets were searched by the FBI last week, has been the focus of a state and federal investigations into whether campaign donations were made in exchange for regulatory favors.

Bhatt is a prominent Indian businessman who helped the state's top pharmacy regulator win his job. The Tribune reported last year that state pharmacy auditors probing allegations of Medicaid fraud at Basinger's complained that their bosses thwarted the investigation, allegations Bhatt has adamantly denied in interviews with the Tribune.

[Soldier4Christ]

AG asks court to declare governor unfit
Files motion with state justices to strip Blagojevich of powers

The Illinois attorney general filed a motion with the state's highest court Friday asking justices to strip scandal-plagued Gov. Rod Blagojevich of his powers.

Lisa Madigan took the action as pressure on the governor intensified to step down. Madigan scheduled a news conference in Chicago Friday morning to discuss the motion.

The move came as the governor prayed with several ministers in his home before heading to his office, telling them he is innocent and will be vindicated "when you hear each chapter completely written," according to one of the pastors.
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The attorney general asked the court for a temporary restraining order or an injunction that prevents Blagojevich from serving as governor. The filing says he is "unable to serve as governor due to disability and should not rightfully continue to hold that office."

"The pervasive nature and severity of these pending charges disable Mr. Blagojevich from making effective decisions on critical, time-sensitive issues," the filing said.

The filing asks that the lieutenant governor assume Blagojevich's powers.

It is the first time in Illinois history that such an action was taken. The attorney general is applying a rule that was intended to cover cases where a governor is incapacitated for health reasons. Her motion indicates that his inability to serve because of the scandal is akin to a debilitating health issue.

In addition, a Blagojevich spokesman said Friday that John Harris, the governor's chief of staff had resigned. He provided no other details.

Blagojevich and Harris were arrested Tuesday morning at their homes. Federal authorities accused them of scheming so Blagojevich could enrich himself through his power to appoint President-elect Barack Obama's replacement in the U.S. Senate and shaking down the owners of the Chicago Tribune.

Both Blagojevich and Harris were released on bond.

The governor has been alternately holed up in his home or his downtown office since his arrest on federal corruption charges. He met with clergymen Friday morning.

The Rev. Ira Acree of the Greater St. John Bible Church said Blagojevich would not discuss details of the allegations against him.

He said the governor discussed trying to get a legal and political consultation team in place, but feels as if everything is closing in on him and that he's not getting "any space or chance to sort anything out."

Acree and two other pastors — The Rev. Steve Jones, president of the Baptist Pastor's Conference, and the Rev. Marshall Hatch of the New Mt. Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church — arrived at the governor's home shortly after 8 a.m. and met with him for about 20 minutes.

Jones said they prayed with Blagojevich and his family.

"I look at it like this: Everybody that's hurting needs hope and the family needs hope and that's what our jobs are as pastors," Jones said. "Nobody should be left hopeless. Nobody, no matter what the circumstances."

Shortly after they left, a fourth minister, the Rev. Leonard Barr of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, arrived at the governor's house with his wife, Rita.

He said they were invited by the governor and that the two "prayed that he would continue to be a great governor for the state of Illinois."

Meanwhile, calls for the governor to step down are intensifying. The lieutenant governor has joined a bevy of lawmakers in demanding that Blagojevich be impeached, saying he has become an embarrassment to the state and can no longer lead. His approval rating plummeted to a shockingly low 8 percent.

"When you have no confidence from the people, in a democracy there's nowhere else to go but to resign," Lt. Pat Quinn said Thursday.

[Soldier4Christ]

Blagojevich's Chief Of Staff Resigns

Gov. Rod Blagojevich's chief of staff has resigned, a spokesman for the governor confirmed.

Governor's office spokesman Lucio Guerrero confirmed to CBS 2 Political Producer Ed Marshall Friday that John Harris had resigned.

Harris and the governor were both named in a federal complaint alleging that they attempted to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat.

Harris was arrested with the governor on Tuesday.

Harris' resignation comes as Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan appealed to state Supreme Court to force the governor out of office — at least temporarily — and as efforts have stepped up in Springfield to impeach the governor.

[HisDaughter]

Faith and Freedom Network

Obama and Gov. Blagojevich: Here We Go Again

The controversy over Gov. Blagojevich wanting to sell Obama's Senate seat is not going away as the other controversies did during the election campaign. As lately as last night Obama is telling the press that he was, "Appalled and disappointed as anybody." (Article). Yeah, I'm sure he is. Although Obama has not been accused of any wrong doing in this case and I am not suggesting he has done anything wrong in regard to the selling of his Senate seat, he has been working overtime, possibly above pay grade, to distance himself from Governor Blagojevich.

President-elect has said, although he had regularly attended Rev. Wright's church for 20 years, he was not aware of his "damning" of America and his racist sermons, had no real connection to terrorist Bill Ayers other than launching his political career in Bill's living room, had no idea that Tony Rezko was "that" kind of person, had no ties to ACORN, etc., etc., etc., and the press supported him and a majority of the voting public believed him or simply didn't care.

Now President-elect has told the press that he has had no contact with the governor or his office on the matter of his (Obama's) Senate seat.

But David Axlerod, who ran the Obama campaign and will now be Obama's top White House advisor, told FOX News a very different story and ABC News is looking into the story. (Article).

David Axelrod told FOX News Chicago, on November 23, 2008, that although Obama had not expressed a favorite to replace him, and his inclination was to avoid being a "King Maker," "I know," Axelrod said, "he's talked to the governor and there are a whole range of names, many of which have surfaced, and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them."

Now Axelrod has issued a statement which says, "I was mistaken when I told an interviewer last month that the President-elect has spoken directly to Governor Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy. They did not then or at any time discusses the subject."

Oh...Okay. But why did Blagojevich say that Mr. Obama and his team offered only "gratitude" if the governor appointed his friend Valerie Jarrett to take the Obama seat?

How did Blagojevich know that Obama was unwilling to give him anything? Who was he talking to?

[Soldier4Christ]

Report: Emanuel gave Blago names 'acceptable' to Obama
Candidates were suggestions to fill Senate seat, not negotiations

Rahm Emanuel, President-elect Barack Obama's pick to be White House chief of staff, had conversations with Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration about who would replace Obama in the U.S. Senate, the Tribune has learned.

The revelation does not suggest Obama's new gatekeeper was involved in any talk of dealmaking involving the seat. But it does help fill in the gaps surrounding a question that Obama was unable or unwilling to answer this week: Did anyone on his staff have contact with Blagojevich about his choice for the Senate seat?

Blagojevich and John Harris, his former chief of staff, face federal charges in an alleged shakedown involving the vacant Senate seat, which Illinois law grants the governor sole authority to fill.

Obama said Thursday he had never spoken to Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy and was "confident that no representatives" of his had engaged in any dealmaking over the seat with the governor or his team. He also pledged Thursday that in the "next few days" he would explain what contacts his staff may have had with the governor's office about the Senate vacancy.

Emanuel, who has long been close to both Blagojevich and Obama, has refused to respond to questions about any involvement he may have had with the Blagojevich camp over the Senate pick. A spokeswoman for Emanuel also declined to comment Friday.

One source confirmed that communications between Emanuel and the Blagojevich administration were captured on court-approved wiretaps.

Another source said that contact between the Obama camp and the governor's administration regarding the Senate seat began the Saturday before the Nov. 4 election, when Emanuel made a call to the cell phone of Harris. The conversation took place around the same time press reports surfaced about Emanuel being approached about taking the high-level White House post should Obama win.

Emanuel delivered a list of candidates who would be "acceptable" to Obama, the source said. On the list were Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Illinois Veterans Affairs director Tammy Duckworth, state Comptroller Dan Hynes and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Chicago, the source said. All are Democrats.

Sometime after the election, Emanuel called Harris back to add the name of Democratic Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan to the approved list, the source said.

Blagojevich and Harris, who resigned his state post Friday, are charged with plotting to sell the selection of Obama's replacement in exchange for lucrative jobs or campaign cash for the governor. Among other things, a government affidavit filed with the charges claimed that Blagojevich had kicked around the idea of using his Senate selection to leverage an appointment to an ambassadorship or Cabinet post in the Obama administration.

Federal authorities have not suggested Obama or his team knew about Blagojevich's alleged schemes.

In an interview, Schakowsky said she spoke to Emanuel on Thursday and he seemed unfazed by the controversy.

Schakowsky also spoke of a conversation she had with Emanuel shortly after he was named chief of staff. She said she called Emanuel him "to get some intelligence" on whether Obama might approve of her selection as senator.

"He indicated that the president-elect would be fine with certain people and I was one of them," Schakowsky said.

Schakowsky said it was natural for Obama to take an interest in the selection process for his Senate seat. "It makes perfect sense for the president-elect or his people to have some interaction about filling the seat he was vacating," she said.

Though now working full-time on Obama's transition, Emanuel has yet to resign his congressional seat. Illinois law has a different process for filling vacant House seats than Senate seats. When Emanuel resigns, a special election will be held for his replacement.

One alleged scheme outlined in the charges against Blagojevich involves the special election for Emanuel's seat. The government affidavit said Blagojevich and others were recorded talking about an unnamed "president-elect adviser" concerned about the election for Emanuel's congressional seat who might help the governor land a new job at a non-profit organization.

[Soldier4Christ]

Blago: 'I'll have a lot to say'
Governor says he'll address constituents at 'appropriate time'

Embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Friday he will wait to speak to the Illinois people at the "appropriate time."

Asked whether he had anything to say to Illinoisans, the governor, who was leaving his attorney's office, told CNN, "I will at the appropriate time."

The governor also did not answer a question on whether he is going to resign, saying only, "I'll have a lot to say at the appropriate time."

[HisDaughter]

The ABC7 I-Team has learned that an attorney who went undercover for the FBI in the late 1980's says he told federal authorities years ago about wrongdoing by Blagojevich.

His name is Robert Cooley.

Cooley was a criminal defense lawyer in Chicago in the late 1980's who became one of the most potent witnesses against Chicago corruption, testifying for federal prosecutors in cases that resulted in dozens of convictions.
Cooley says that before Rod Blagojevich got into politics he was a bookmaker on the North Side who regularly paid the Chicago mob to operate.

"When I was working with government wearing wire, I reported, I observed Rod, the present governor, who was running a gambling operation out in the western suburbs. He was paying street tax to the mob out there," said Robert Cooley, federal informant.

On a web-based interview show last week, Cooley said he reported to federal authorities nearly two decades ago that Rod Blagojevich had been operating an illegal sports gambling business.
Robert Cooley is a former Chicago police officer-turned mob lawyer-turned federal informant.
During Operation Gambat in the late 1980's and early 1990's, Cooley's undercover work and testimony put away 24 crooked politicians, judges, lawyers and cops.
Several years ago, when Mr. Blagojevich was running for re-election, Cooley provided the same information to the ABC7 I-Team. Because Cooley did not want to be identified at the time and the governor denied it, ABC7 did not report the story.

On Tuesday, Cooley spoke on the record.

He told ABC7 that Mr. Blagojevich regularly paid a so-called street tax to Robert "Bobby the Boxer" Abbinanti, a convicted outfit gambling collector. In the early 1980's, Abbinanti was working for convicted West Side mob boss Marco D'amico. Bookies pay street taxes to the crime syndicate in exchange for being allowed to operate such a racket.
"I predicted five years ago when he ran the first time that he was a hands on person who would be selling every position in the state of Illinois and that it exactly what happened," said Cooley.

Cooley, who secretly recorded conversations in a Counselor's Row restaurant near City Hall which brought down the first ward leadership, contends Illinois corruption is unstoppable. "The biggest problem you have now and reason for what is happening is that the people in power have money and ability to silence the media so it will never be reported and as long as you have that going on, you will never stop it," Cooley.

A spokesman for Governor Blagojevich said on Tuesday evening that he cannot comment on Cooley, the bookmaking allegation or the mob payoffs.
He referred us to the governor's criminal defense lawyer Ed Genson. Mr. Genson says he is too busy right now to talk.
A spokesman for the United States attorney in Chicago said that his office will have no comment.

Oh no!  Wait!  Wait a minute!  Say it isn't so!  Isn't our new Pres Elect from Ill.?  He couldn't possibly be corrupt or have any knowledge of any wrong doing, right?
Anybody ever heard of the old phrases:  "If you can add 2+2"? or "The writing is on the wall?....
But of course those of us with the Truth in us already know what the writing says.  We also know what time it is!

[Soldier4Christ]

I figured that Ed Genson would get involved with this. He has been a mob lawyer for quite some time.

It is quite well known in Illinois with anyone that is able to see and hear that very few gets into politics in the northern and central part of the state without getting dirty.

[Soldier4Christ]

Illinois House impeaches Blagojevich
Governor predicts different outcome in upcoming Senate trial

The Illinois House voted overwhelmingly Friday to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich, an unprecedented action that sets up a Senate trial on whether he should be thrown out for abuse of power, including allegations that he tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat.

Impeachment required just 60 votes. The final result was 114-1.

Legislators accused the second-term Democratic governor of letting down the people of Illinois by letting ego and ambition drive his decisions.

"It's our duty to clean up the mess and stop the freak show that's become Illinois government," said Rep. Jack D. Franks, a Democrat.

Blagojevich was out jogging in his Chicago neighborhood when the vote came down.

Blagojevich refused to answer any specific questions about the vote, but upon returning from his jog, he likened his situation to long-distance running.

"Let me simply say I feel like the old Alan Sillitoe short story 'The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner.' ... And that's what this is by the way, a long-distance run," he said.

He then promised to say more at an afternoon news conference.

During the House's 90-minute debate on impeachment, no one spoke up to defend the governor. But Rep. Milton Patterson, a Chicago Democrat, made the sole vote against impeaching Blagojevich.

Patterson said he read the impeachment committee's report and wasn't comfortable voting against the governor. "I have no firsthand knowledge of any of the evidence," he said.

"I went by my own gut feeling, it's as simple as that," he said. "I read the report. If the government is going to indict him, let them go ahead and do that. That's their job and I'm doing my job."

Rep. Elga Jefferies, another Chicago Democrat, voted "present."

Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 on federal charges that include allegations he schemed to profit from his power to name Obama's replacement in the Senate. The criminal complaint included an FBI agent's sworn affidavit describing wiretaps that caught Blagojevich allegedly talking about what he could get for the seat, how to pressure people into making campaign contributions and more.

That arrest triggered impeachment hearings by a special House committee.

The committee on Thursday unanimously recommended impeachment based on the criminal charges but other allegations as well - that Blagojevich expanded a health care program without proper authority, that he circumvented hiring laws to give jobs to political allies, that he spent millions of dollars on foreign flu vaccine that he knew wasn't needed and couldn't be brought into the country.

"The citizens of this state must have confidence that their governor will faithfully serve the people and put their interests before his own," the committee's report said. "It is with profound regret that the committee finds that our current governor has not done so."

Blagojevich has denied the criminal charges. He criticized the House impeachment process as biased and said a Senate trial would produce a different result.

But he didn't testify before the House impeachment committee and hasn't offered an explanation for the federal charges.

"His silence in this great matter is deafening," said House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, a Chicago Democrat.

[Soldier4Christ]

Impeachment charges against Illinois governor


The 13 accusations in the Illinois House's article of impeachment against Rod Blagojevich:

_Plotting to obtain a personal benefit in exchange for his appointment to fill the vacant seat in the United States Senate.

_Plotting to award state financial help to Tribune Co. only if members of the Chicago Tribune editorial board were fired.

_Plotting to sign legislation related to the horse racing industry in exchange for campaign contributions.

_Plotting to award a tollway contract and expand a tollway project in exchange for campaign contributions.

_Plotting to release pediatric care reimbursements to Illinois doctors and hospitals in exchange for campaign contributions.

_Plotting to appoint someone to the Illinois Finance Authority in exchange for campaign contributions.

_Plotting to award state contracts in exchange for campaign contributions.

_Plotting to award permits and authorizations in exchange for campaign contributions.

_Refusing to recognize the authority of a legislative committee, disregarding the doctrine of separation of powers and violating the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act by unilaterally expanding a state program.

_Improperly procuring foreign flu vaccine that could not be brought into the United States.

_Creating the I-SaveRx program, which allowed Illinoisans to buy foreign medicine that may not comply with state pharmacy and drug laws.

_Setting up the Agency Efficiency Initiative, under which one state agency billed other agencies for poorly documented or nonexistent savings, circumventing the appropriations process.

_Violating state and federal law regarding the hiring and firing of government employees.


This doesn't end the corruption that Illinois has and is suffering from. Although these charges are quite legitimate and the action that was taken should have been done, they are basically the same thing that many others have done and are currently doing. This political action of impeachment is just that, political action taken simply because he stepped on too many toes. The actions taken were done by his political opponents who by the way were also Democrats.

Blagojevich called this a "dangerous precedent." Personally I can see where it can be just that but then I can also see where it is an excellent precedent and needs to be used to oust a whole lot more corrupt politicians.