42 Comments - Dozer - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 7:06 am: Kelly has been named in two indictments. And he wonders why the name is brought up? No wonder he didn’t want more debates. He plays the indignant card and is clueless. Once the indictment of kelly comes down, how will he explain away the: “That’s someone I talk to a lot more frequently” he’s in denail dozer - Huh? - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 7:11 am: It seems that blogo won’t be getting an endorsemesnt from Dick Mell. - Gregor - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 7:21 am: Still waiting to hear that resounding public statement of support from Emil Jones and Mike Madigan… - Bi-Partisan Corruption - Vote Green - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 7:26 am: Cellini is plastered on the front page of the Springfield paper for his connections to Kelly and Rezko and Levine. The Republicans and the Democrats are corrupt - period. Topinka and Blago are tied to Levine, Cellini, and Kjellander (I hope the feds are looking at his $890K “fee”.) This is bi-partisan corruption that we should all hope leads to a real change in “business as usual” in Illinois. The only way to truly clean house is to elect Whitney. Throw the bums out. It is time. - DOWNSTATE - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 7:34 am: Now we find out that other Democrats are tied at the wallet to Rezko the only difference they gave the money back in 2002.The Gov. evidently thought his buddy was going to pull this off and has held on to the money.The main problem here is the Chicago political machine tried to go statewide and we are not going to put up with that crap south of the Cook County line.You people in Chicago need to keep your trash contained in Cook County. - Justice - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 7:52 am: Blogo can’t be indicted for being stupid, and he knows it. So that plays well. As to being stupid and being a crook, well….that will get you time behind bars. The FBI is very, very thorough and will take their time, but be assured that they will connect all the dots. The deeds cannot be undone and ultimately what will bring Blogo and his entire staff of hacks and cronies down will be the seemingly smallest of his wrongful deeds, permitting and/or participating in the circumvention of Rutan and Veterans Preference. That will be the pea under the mattress. His fullness will feel the pain himself that he has caused so many. It’s just a matter of time. As far as Cellini and Kjellander are concerned, their participation pretty much voids any ground gained by JBT as she is closely tied to them. It’s all one game and collusion abounds, regardless of party. Show me the money!!!! And yes, the Green Party is looking better all the time. - Petey - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 8:07 am: The governor is neither an idiot, a crook, or an idiot-crook. He is a product, not the cause of, the Illinois political system. - Marvelous Wonderful - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 8:14 am: My compliments on a fantastic lede Rich! - Bi-Partisan Corruption - Vote Green - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 8:17 am: Petey - HE RAN AS A REFORMER. HELLO!?!?! - Cassandra - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 8:18 am: Just as in Cook County the Republicans must wish they had fielded a more viable candidate than Tony Peraica, Republicans in Illinois must now be wishing they had fielded somebody more viable than JBT. Neither candidate is evil incarnate as the Democrats would have us believe. Peraica’s social conservatism can’t work in liberal Cook County, but he could likely make significant dents in Cook County corruption and mismanagement in what would likely be only one term. JBT is a victim of circumstance, the destruction of the Illinois Republican party by George Ryan and his business supporters. However, Blago is clearly committed to continuing his, shall we say, ethically challenged approach to state government. A Governor Topinka would have a mandate for change plus substantially more scrutiny than Blagojevich, who, along with his rich pals, largely escaped scrutiny during his first couple of years in office. It’s not over until it’s over but if, as expected, Peraica and JBT lose, the Republicans must rebuild their candidate base starting the day after the election. There is no benefit to Illinoisians in a one party state, especially a one-party state run by the likes of an unrepentant Blago plus Daley and Stroger Jr. The Chicago Machine, in other words, energized, or, to borrow from Patrick Fitz., the Chicago Machine “on steroids” across the state. - Sid - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 8:27 am: Did anyone see the suntimes article that stated that Rezko gave Lisa Madigan $45,000? She is, of course, giving it to charity. I was surprised. This guy has spread his money around well. Dems and Repubs. - Loop Lady - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 8:31 am: I think Rod and Tony were aware of the impending indictment and Rod told Tony to leave town…I also think it is interesting that Blago has not released his income tax statement from 2005…do you think Patty made some bucks w/Antoin? My prediction is Rod wins next month and is indicted after the first of the year… - Wumpus DBA Charity - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 8:41 am: how about they give the Rezko money back to those they stole/strong armed it from? Re Blago, I read here that Rezko would be indicted and I didn’t even know who the heck Rezko was. This was months ago! Rezko even gave money to St. Pat Quinn. - Animous - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 8:43 am: Sid, Nice point about Lisa Madigan. At some point very soon she better distance herself from Blago before he brings down any future plans she (or her father) might have. While she has remained officially “neutral” on the Blago situation, you know she has seen enough in her halted investigation to know what the next chapters of Blago’s History Book will look like. As “Blago’s Attorney General” there is no way she can plead ignorance in the future. NO WAY. Better get off the middle of the fence on this one SWISS MISS… - Juice - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 9:11 am: I believe that the feds will connect the dots — they have been pretty good at it. However, for those who are trying to send the governor to jail before rezko has even appeared in court, relax. remember that everything you have read is the testimony of a convicted felon who could be dishing all sorts of misinformation on others to get himself a good deal. this all has to be proved out and there needs to be a lot of hard (not circumstantial) evidence to make it happen. Judy’s hands aren’t clean in all of this. As Rich shows in the other thread, she cast a vote on the pension board that directly benefitted Cellini. He was her biggest proponent in Springfield since the primary. If this “boardgame” has been going on as the feds allege, it was Cellini, Levin and KJ who have been perfecting it for years. These are the bad apples and they are all squarely in her corner. While you can make accuastions about rod, he is clean. it is jbt who has the direct connection to cellini with her vote on the pension board. rich, you made a point in yestrerdays fax to rail on the chicago media for going easy on blago at his presser the other noght. will you be equally tough on them for letting topinka walk through this election with little scrutiny on her involvement with cellini, her pension board votes, the hotel deal, and the no bid contracts which she serves up with a smile, yet continues to deny with a sneer? please dont help to perpetuate the hypocricy. - Little Egypt - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 9:15 am: Blago is not stupid. He thinks WE are stupid. I can’t believe his audacity in sticking up for Chris Kelly. Surely he has seen at least a briefing of the indictment with many areas highlighted. Surely his campaign people are reprogramming his robotic responses. Or all they all nuts? BLAGO WILL BE INDICTED, HE WILL GO TO TRIAL, AND HE WILL BE FOUND GUILTY. And I look forward to that day when he sits in a courtroom, can’t control the proceedings, and has to listen to a litany of charges and escapades he has participated in - without being able to cut and paste from a video tape and use it in a commercial against an opponent. I have absolutely no doubt about his guilt. I just hope he’s not a sitting governor when it happens. And don’t come back with this crap about innocent until proven guilty, which is the way a legal court of law works. Right now we are mostly dealing with the Court of Public Opinion, and in that court this guy is toast. - grand old partisan - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 9:17 am: Rich – great column today. Petey – the same could (and was) said of George Ryan, is that really a comparison you want? Just because people did it before him doesn’t make it any less illegal, or him any less a crook. Sid – great catch. It will be interesting to see how Lisa plays this. If you remember, most Republicans in 2001-02 tried to pretend that George Ryan was an isolated problem, but the Dems were (perhaps with good reason) able to draw heavy connections between George and Jim Ryan that went well beyond their shared name. Madigan will face the same attacks in 2010 (ie, ‘her father chaired his campaign, look how many shared donors they have,’ etc). Thankfully for her sake, there isn’t any footage of her dancing with Rod. - Sick "n" Tired - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 9:21 am: JACK HARTMAN doubled and in some cases tripled the Illinois Tollway rates. Patrons swallowed it, bitter pill and all. This made this agency flush with incredible amounts of cash and no bid contracts a hiring and salary frenzy of epic proportions. Then comes Tony Rezko, Chris Kelly, Bill Celini bellying up at the trough in unimaginable ways. Then these hacks placed their so-called professionals in key spots. They, in turn signed off on anything and everything that benefitted their benefactors. I’ve been here for almost 30 years and never seen anything like this. I used to defend the Illinois Tollway, I don’t anymore, I just shrug my shoulders when someone asks what the hell is going on. - He Makes Ryan look like a saint - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 9:28 am: Please correct me if I am wrong, but wasn’t one of the counts Ryan was found guilty of was modifying his tax return AFTER talking to the FBI? Is this the same as Blago modifying his Ethics statement? Also, When are we going to see his tax return? - Guy Fawkes - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 9:38 am: Wonder if Rod and Patty have any offshore bank accounts? Maybe a huge nest egg in a bank in Syria. - Tired of the BS - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 9:44 am: Looks like Ald. Dick Mell was right. He was the first to go public with the cash-for-commission-appointments charge. He shouldn’t have backed off when Chris Kelly threatened to sue for libel. Little doubt who’d win that case now. As for Lisa Madigan getting 45 K from Rezko–when are people going to wake up? Her father extracts cash for her campaigns from EVERYONE, including, of course, everyone who wants to do business through the legislature or with virtually any other govenment in Illinois where Madigan holds influence. - Animous - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 9:46 am: Just a thought, but: Could the P Fitz “Task Force” composition indicate future investigation angles against Blago and the Administration? FBI, IRS, Post Office Inspectors, Dept. of Labor investigators, etc. I may be wrong, but I don’t remember as many federal agencies involved in the G Ryan case. Seems like a lot of heavy hitters. This should make a lot of Blago friends and hires very nervous. REM: Better to be on the train than on the tracks… - Rezko - Syrian Terrorist? - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 9:59 am: How much do we know about Rezko? What if Blago let Rezco rob Illinois blind and take that dough back to Syria where it funds the terrorists killing our men and women in Iraq? FBI folks reading here - please check it out. - DeepFriedOnAStick - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 9:59 am: Great, great questions from the Southtown. I’m surprised Blago stayed put through the whole interview. - Guy Fawkes - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 11:23 am: To: DeepFriedOnAStick - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 9:59 am Agree, great questions by Southtown, but same old slick song “n” dance by Blago. Blago must have PhD. in BS! - Hard Working Taxpayer - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 11:36 am: Rezko - that is a frightening thought. But with this bunch, anything is possible. - scoot - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 12:03 pm: I seem to agree w/ Loop Lady. But, another splash could be the indictment of Kelly before the election, which is a good possibility. TGIF or Thank God Its Fitzgerald - Steve Schnorf - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 12:46 pm: Those of you who assert there is some sort of closeness between Cellini and Topinka are either fools or liars. Everyone who knows them knows that isn’t true. - Garp - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 1:10 pm: My vote is for idiotic crook. - Jechislo - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 2:20 pm: Steve Schnorf - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 12:46 pm Well said Steve. - Jechislo - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 2:24 pm: Tony Rezko was a no-show in court today but is not yet considered a fugitive. Boy, the longer this guy stays out of the country the better it is for Topinka. This could turn into the ‘gift that keeps on giving’. - grand old partisan - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 2:41 pm: Seeing as how the Gov’s already been burned (”betrayed,” if you will) by one close, trusted friend, doesn’t it seem pretty irresponsible to brush off allegations and rumors against other friends, like Kelly? Is the nobility of his personal trust in friends really more important than his responsibility to the public? - One Man Can Make A Difference - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 3:30 pm: Well, once nieve, always nieve until the silver bullet hits straight to the eye, then, “I can’t believe that just happened” or again, “I pray this isn’t true”. Well if the Governor is now praying (not to say that he wasn’t before) when all of the corruption in his administration hits the fan (however it comes out) he’s really going to be a spiritual brother when it’s all said and done. - MIDSTATE - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 5:00 pm: Does the Gov. have a vote on the pension board ? - Norseman - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 7:43 pm: Steve, the truth has never stopped Blago and his sycophants. - Barry Manilow - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 9:13 pm: With Apologies to you Manilow fans Sang to the tune “Copacabana (at the Copa)” His name was Tony, he was a bigshot With a big Bimmer in the drive always talking lots of jive He would go flying, and ring the E-Mir And while he tried to be a star Kelly reached out wide and far For their man Rod the Gov They were young almost in love Who could ask for more? [Chorus:] At the Dirksen The hottest spot north of Sy-ri-a At the Dirksen. Dirksen Fe-de-ral Crookin’ and Cashin’ were always in fashion At the Dirk-sen…. they took a fall His name was Stuie He wore a wire He was escorted to his chair, he saw Tony standing there And when he finished,he called him over But Stuie went a bit to far Tony sailed across the pond And then the charges flew- campaigns were smashed in two There was press and more charges But just who got Rod? [Chorus] At the Dirksen… they took a fall Her name is Roddy, he was a Governor, But that was 20 years ago, when they used to have a show Now he’s in prison, but not with Tony, Still in the suit he used to wear, Nothing left of the pretty hair He sits there so refined - makes licenses for the blind He lost his youth and he lost his Tony Never had a mind [Chorus] At the Dirksen… don’t tell a lie… Don’t tell a lie…. - state worker A - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 9:29 pm: “Once again, Illinoisans are forced to wonder whether their governor is an idiot or a crook or an idiotic crook” My vote - idiotic crook - In the Sticks - Friday, Oct 13, 06 @ 10:32 pm: Tribune said the Gov’s 2005 federal income tax return was released today, showing a significant drop in income to $290,000 - no wonder he needed that check for $1500. One point of interest was the vast, generous, amazing charitable donations made by the Gov: $2900. That is 1% of total income - what a poor example, what a paltry amount for a person of such means to donate. It just shows how much concern he really feels for “the kids”. The concern only exists when he can use taxpayer money for his largesse. - Casey Jones - Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 11:33 am: Rod’s response to the Southtown editorial board’s question “Are you confident that Chris Kelly is not going to be indicted?” was interesting, especially since he felt the need to elaborate in his answer: “Yeah. Yes. They’re two different people, by the way, and it’s a different relationship. Chris and I are much closer. Chris is the head of my political campaign. That’s someone I talk to a lot more frequently. I’m confident, yes.” What was interesting becomes fascinating when combined with yesterday’s SJ-R article on the Rezko indictment: “Another man, identified as “Individual B” in the indictment, also knew of the scheme, according to prosecutors. Sources confirmed Thursday that he is Christopher Kelly, a Blagojevich fundraiser.” Rod has tried to dance away from and minimize his relationship with Rezko, but he has just voluntarily hung Kelly around his own neck like the Flying Dutchman’s albatross. The “Three Weird Sisters” (Ottenhoff, Rausch and Nix) can spin this until they get dizzy, and apologists like “Bill” can bluster all they want, but it cannot and will not change the fact that Blago has just publicly superglued himself to indictee-in-waiting Kelly. - Mike Williams - Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 2:57 pm: Casey-right on the money, my friend. I thought Fraud Rod did a pretty good job at the press conference, but he completely undid it with his comments about Kelly. Anyone with half a brain can see who Kelly is in the indictment, and Blago has just set himself up to look completely idiotic when his homeboy Chris is named. As for a commercial that JBT could air, how about a dark background with Rezko and a scrolling list of all the people Papa Tony was responsible for placing in the administration? Then bring up the indictment charges. Oh, that would be good. - Angie - Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 3:36 pm: No, a good JBT ad would be rolling out the newspaper headlines about his “pal” not showing for court, as well as the rest of the indictment headlines, and then at the top, you see this posed as a question, because either way, the answer isn’t good: “Rod Blagojevich, Asleep at the Switch?” and then “Had Enough?” - Citizen A - Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 7:53 pm: My guess is that Blago just wishes with every fibre of his being that he was where Rezco is. Bon voyage, blago er baby! Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.