* This ought to be a lot of fun…
The focus turns back to Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Wednesday as a House committee weighing his political fate delves into alleged hiring irregularities and prepares for a crucial stretch that may culminate in his impeachment by week’s end. […]
At the heart of the impeachment committee’s look at hiring irregularities is a confidential 2004 report by the governor’s handpicked executive inspector general, said House Majority Leader Barbara Currie (D-Chicago), the panel’s chairwoman.
The report, which the Tribune disclosed as Blagojevich ran for re-election in 2006, concluded that his patronage office was the “real machine driving hiring” in a state agency for jobs that were supposed to be free of political influence.
“This effort reflects not merely an ignorance of the law, but complete and utter contempt for the law,” according to the report written by Zaldwaynaka Scott, who was Blagojevich’s first executive inspector general.
The hearing begins today at 3 o’clock. Don’t miss it.
* Meanwhile…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s official calendar shows he met with a top union official in his Chicago office the day before Barack Obama was elected president — just as federal prosecutors say the governor was scheming to trade Obama’s Senate seat, possibly for a cushy union job.
The meeting with Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, also was attended by Tom Balanoff, president of the Illinois chapter of the union, which has been Blagojevich’s largest campaign contributor. […]
Prosecutors allege one of Blagojevich’s plans was to use his power to appoint a Senate replacement for Obama to get a high-paying job with “Change to Win,” an SEIU-affiliated political action group.
That’s actually only part of the story. The criminal complaint reveals snippets of recordings that show the governor was allegedly trying to cut a “three-way” deal with Obama and SEIU, but only two parts of the three were ever revealed.
The Wall Street Journal had this report several days ago which may explain what that third leg really was…
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was preparing to issue an executive order prior to his arrest last week that would have allowed union organizing of home-care workers that could have benefited a labor union with close ties to the governor. […]
The executive order would have enabled the SEIU or another union to organize about 1,200 workers in the state who care for developmentally disabled people in their homes and would have augmented one signed by the governor in 2003, said Michelle Ringuette, an SEIU spokeswoman. […]
Ms. Ringuette said the SEIU was aware of the executive order but didn’t know what role, if any, the union played in developing it. She said other unions would have been able to organize the workers as well. But a rival union said it was unaware of the order, while SEIU staffers and outside experts say the SEIU had already begun actively seeking the support of workers. […]
Charlotte Cronin, executive director of Family Support Network of Illinois, a Peoria-based advocacy group for the developmentally disabled, confirmed that union organizers knocked on doors this past summer, and that some relatives of the disabled found them “overly persistent.” She said the union, which she believed to be SEIU, was able to get home addresses because they are a matter of public record.
Curious.
Keep in mind, however, that SEIU flatly denies any deals were ever made. This could’ve just been all in the governor’s head, for all we know.