Governor Rod Blagojevich (an easier name to pronounce than to spell), a Democrat, was arrested by federal authorities Tuesday with a laundry list of allegations. Among them:
- Allegedly trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Obama when he was elected President.
- Wanted to be paid in exchange for that Senate seat, or whatever the Obama administration could come up with. Also, the Governor wanted his wife on corporate boards.
- Directing an aide to tell the Chicago Tribune (whose parent company filed for bankruptcy Monday) that state financial assistance to sell the Chicago Cubs baseball team would be withheld unless the newspaper fired members of its editorial board, allegedly for publishing articles unfavorable to the Governor.
Blagojevich returned to his job after posting bail, and has so far refused to listen to Democrats' pleas to step aside. Legally, he has the power to appoint a new Senator. But Illinois' state legislature and other officials are considering ways to get around that.
President-elect Obama's been getting the "what did he know and when did he know it" questions, but insists he had nothing to do with Governor Blagojevich's alleged misdeeds. That might change if the feds come up with any new information.
Chicago and the state of Illinois have had a long history of political corruption, dating back to the Roaring 20s. So why is this national news? It couldn't just be the fact that a future President is involved, or that the charges are so over-the-top. Maybe someone decided we needed a break from bad economic news and terror in India.
Whatever the case, the people of Illinois--just like people everywhere else--have been made to look like fools for voting in the likes of Blagojevich. They shouldn't be. As long as less-than-honest politicians are sold to the public with a pretty bow while his opponent doesn't stand a chance, it shouldn't be all that surprising why some people choose to stay home on Election Day.
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