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orruption convictions that include trying to sell or trade an appointment to President Barack Obama’s former Senate seat.

Blagojevich’s sentencing hearing began Tuesday, with attorneys discussing the sentencing guidelines with a federal judge. U.S. District Judge James Zagel is expected to hear arguments from prosecutors, Blagojevich’s attorney and Blagojevich himself.

The impeached state executive-turned-reality TV star has good reason to feel anxious at the two-day hearing. He faces the prospect of 10 or more years behind bars. If Zagel settles on a sentence of more than a decade, that would make it one of the stiffest penalties imposed for corruption in a state with a long history of crooked politics.

Prosecutors will ask Zagel to imprison the twice-elected governor for 15 to 20 years, arguing that he has not only shirked all responsibility for his crimes but repeatedly thumbed his nose at the U.S. justice system.

Blagojevich has already paid a price in public ridicule and financial ruin, the defense argues in proposing a term of just a few years. They also seem bent on an approach judges often frown upon at the sentencing stage: Continuing to insist their client is innocent.

Both sides could finish their pitches to Zagel during Tuesday’s hearing, which was moved to a large ceremonial courtroom to accommodate expected crowds. But Zagel says he’ll wait until Wednesday to pronounce a sentence — possibly so he can sleep on it.

The 70-year-old judge, who played a judge in the 1989 movie “Music Box,” must answer nuanced questions according to complex sentencing considerations, including whether any good Blagojevich accomplished as governor counterbalances the bad.

In describing the humiliation his family has faced, the defense cited Blagojevich’s appearances on NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice,” where he struggled to use a cell phone, and his wife, Patti, eating a tarantula on the reality show, “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!”

After sentencing, Zagel will likely give Blagojevich weeks before he must report to prison. Once there, the man heard scoffing on FBI wiretaps about earning a low six-figure salary would have to take a prison job — possibly scrubbing toilets — at just 12 cents an hour.

Blagojevich’s sentencing comes just days before his 55th birthday and three years to the week of his Dec. 9, 2008, arrest.

The jury deadlocked in his first trial, agreeing on just one of 24 counts — that Blagojevich lied to the FBI. Jurors at his recent retrial convicted him on 17 of 20 counts, including bribery.

Legal experts have said Blagojevich needs to display some remorse when he addresses Zagel. But the big unknown is whether the often cocksure ex-governor will beg for mercy or yet again protest his innocence.

A flat-out apology isn’t always considered a must. If it isn’t sincere, it could only anger a judge.

The defense could call others to speak in court. But as Blagojevich became politically radioactive, longtime friends scattered, so it’s not clear who would be willing to speak for him now.

Wives often plea for leniency, but Zagel likely wouldn’t view Patti Blagojevich sympathetically. On FBI wiretaps, she was heard encouraging her husband’s bid to garner campaign cash or a top job in exchange for an appointment to Obama’s vacated seat.

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Jesse Jackson recently released a statement that addressed the rumors of him having an affair with another woman. The same businessman who has accused him of being part of plan to donate money to Rod Blagojevich has said that he also paid for a female social acquaintance, Giovana Huidobro, to fly to Chicago. Of the incident, Jackson said:

The reference to a social acquaintance is a private and personal matter between me and my wife that was handled some time ago. I ask that you respect our privacy, know I have disappointed some supporters, and for that I am deeply sorry. But I remain committed to serving my constituents and fighting on their behalf.

Jackson’s wife, Sandi Jackson, said that the situation was:

A very private, painful and unfortunate situation that my family and I have been privately addressing for several months

Source

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CHICAGO – Mulling over a possible run for mayor of Chicago, a defiant Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., spoke out publicly for the first time on Friday about potentially damning details that emerged in former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s recent corruption trial.

Prosecutors dropped a bombshell when they said in court a former state official told them Jackson attended a meeting where a businessman offered to raise $1 million for Blagojevich’s campaign if the governor appointed Jackson to President Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat.

Speaking on WLS Radio’s “The Don Wade and Roma Show,” Jackson said he was at the Oct. 28, 2008, meeting in a Chicago restaurant with several prominent members of the city’s Indian-American community but never heard talk about a donations-for-Senate-seat exchange.

One reason he couldn’t participate in the discussion was because other attendees at one point started speaking in a foreign language — possibly Hindi, he said — which he could not understand.

“I did not participate in any part of that conversation nor do I even remember hearing it,” Jackson said.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the possible development of a third regional airport in the southern Chicago suburb of Peotone, he said.

In the Friday interview, Jackson, the son of civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson, also broached the possibility of charges.

“I assume that (prosecutors) have no evidence or they should have brought a charge,” he said. “If I’m a conspirator — bring it on. But I can’t possibly be a conspiracy to that which I am not a part of or have no knowledge of.”

Blagojevich’s trial ended last month with jurors deadlocked on 23 counts, including allegations he attempted to sell or trade an appointment to Obama’s old Senate seat for a top job or campaign cash. They convicted him on just one charge — lying to the FBI.

Blagojevich, who has denied wrongdoing, is slated to be retried on the deadlocked counts in January. Rep. Jackson’s name is likely to come up at least as often as it did in the first trial. If he does decide to run for Chicago mayor, the retrial could coincide with the campaign.

Mayor Richard M. Daley recently said he would not seek a seventh term, setting off speculation about candidates. The mayoral election is in February, but would-be candidates only have until Nov. 22 to file petitions to run.

Asked if he’d be at ease about his name emerging at the retrial while campaigning, Jackson responded, “No, I’m not at ease with it. Who could possibly be at ease with issues that could divert the attention of a very serious debate about the city’s economic future?”

The prospect of such diversions, he said, would be a consideration as he decided about entering the mayoral race.

Jackson, a Democratic congressman from Chicago’s South Side and adjacent suburbs, has said since Blagojevich’s arrest in December 2008 that he knew nothing about any alleged scheme to use campaign fundraising to buy his way into the Senate.

In reiterating that Friday, Jackson complained that the scrutiny of him has been unfair.

“Whatever happened to the idea that someone is innocent in America until proven guilty?” he said. “I have gone through 20 months of unprecedented accusations — unprecedented besmirching of my character.”

A phone message left Friday with Jackson’s Chicago office by The Associated Press was not immediately returned.

While his congressional seat appears safe in the November election — he has won it since 1995 with more than 80 percent of the vote each time — his association with the Blagojevich case has dimmed what once seemed a radiant political future.

Isaac Hayes, Jackson’s GOP challenger, criticized his opponent’s claim of being in the 2008 meeting but not being able to follow the conversation because it was in another language.

“He should resign now and save himself further embarrassment,” Hayes said in a statement.

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CHICAGO (AP) – Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich called Oprah Winfrey a kingmaker who could influence voters as he mulled naming the talk show host to President Barack Obama’s former Senate seat, according to anFBI tape played Monday at his corruption trial.

“She made Obama, she’s up there so high nobody could assail this pick,” Blagojevich is heard telling his chief of staff, John Harris, who is now a prosecution witness.

Blagojevich had mentioned in TV interviews last year that Winfrey’s name had come up in discussions about the seat. Winfrey said last year that she was “amused” by the revelation and that she was unaware at the time that she was under consideration.

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On the tape played Monday, Harris says picking Winfrey would be a mistake and he is “not sure what she stands for.” Blagojevich brushes such concerns aside, saying she was obviously a Democrat and her support in the 2008 election had “made Obama.”

But a few minutes later, Blagojevich is heard complaining that he needs more potential candidates. At one point, the governor considers trying to appoint Obama family friend Valerie Jarrett, even though she has withdrawn her name from consideration and taken a post as a White House adviser. And he erupts when Harris brings up former press secretary Cheryle Jackson.

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“There’s no (expletive) way,” he screams. He calls her an “(expletive) incompetent.”

The secretly made FBI tapes show that as time passed, Blagojevich warms to the idea of picking DemocraticU.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., someone he had been heard on tape earlier in the trial as saying was “a bad guy, a really bad guy.”

But Harris testified that Blagojevich told him that a “third party” with ties to Jackson had visited the governor and dangled the possibility of a $1.5 million campaign contribution. Harris did not address that person’s identity in testimony Monday.

Blagojevich 53, has pleaded not guilty to scheming to get a high-paying job or a massive campaign contribution in return for appointing someone to the Obama Senate seat. He also has pleaded not guilty to plotting to use the powers of the governor’s office to launch a racketeering scheme.

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His brother, Robert Blagojevich, 54, has pleaded not guilty to taking part in the alleged scheme to sell or trade the Senate seat and illegally pressuring a campaign contributor.

Judge James Zagel on Monday denied a defense motion to see documents containing Obama’s statements to investigators. Blagojevich’s attorneys had filed a motion last week asking to see the FBI’s summaries of the interviews, saying they needed them to conduct a meaningful cross-examination of Harris.

Zagel said Monday that there was nothing “even remotely relevant” to Harris’ testimony.

As the trial began its fourth full week, Harris finished his testimony for prosecutors and Blagojevich’s defense began cross-examination.

But before prosecutors finished with him, Harris told jurors that the day before Blagojevich was arrested the governor met with Jackson Jr. in the governor’s office. Jackson had come to plead his case for appointment to the Senate.

Harris, who was on hand for the meeting, testified that the two men “buried the hatchet” and exchanged reminiscences about when they served on Capitol Hill together.

“I’m glad somebody is thinking about me and how they can help me,” Harris quoted Blagojevich as saying as the meeting broke up. He did not explain further.

The following morning, on Dec. 9, 2008, FBI agents arrested both Blagojevich and Harris. The next month Blagojevich was impeached and thrown out of office. Before he left, he appointed former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to the Senate seat.

From Politico.com:

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) has been subpoenaed by the defense in former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s corruption trial, adding the onetime Senate hopeful to a long list of federal officials Blagojevich’s team wants to put on the witness stand.

The former governor faces charges of a broad range of corruption-related offenses, including conspiring to sell the Senate seat left open when Barack Obama won the presidency. Jackson, one of several candidates for the Senate appointment, has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

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“Of course, I will comply with this compulsory order of the court and testify at trial, if necessary,” Jackson said in a statement released to POLITICO. “If and when I am called, I will tell the truth and say under oath what I’ve said again and again since this shocking scandal first broke. I did nothing wrong and never authorized or engaged in any scheme related to the then-vacant Senate seat.”

Click here to read more.

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CHICAGO – Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich says he’s “blacker than Barack Obama” and tells Esquire magazine that he was a real person in a political arena dominated by phonies.

Blagojevich, referring to the president as “this guy,” says Obama was elected based simply on hope.

“What the (expletive)? Everything he’s saying’s on the teleprompter,” Blagojevich told the magazine for a story in its February issue, which hits newsstands Jan. 19.

“I’m blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived,” Blagojevich said. “I saw it all growing up.”

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The White House refused to comment.

The twice-elected Democrat was impeached and removed from office last year after federal prosecutors arrested him on corruption charges that included trying to sell Obama’s old U.S. Senate seat. He has pleaded not guilty.

Blagojevich continues to accuse prosecutors of persecuting him for routine political deals.

One of those deals, he said, was the possibility of naming Attorney General Lisa Madigan to Obama’s Senate seat in exchange for cooperation on important programs from her powerful father, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

He used an infamously coarse word to refer to the attorney general.

“If I can get this, how much do I love the people of Illinois to make that (expletive) senator?’” Blagojevich said.

Blagojevich is appearing on NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice” this spring and his trial is expected to start later this year.

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A car crash is responsible for the death of a key player in the controversy surrounding U.S. Senator Roland Burris and former governor Rod Blagojevich.

Political consultant John Ruff died on Monday afternoon when his BMW convertible smashed into a tree in Kendall County in northeast Illinois.

Police say they don’t know why Ruff drove off the road, but alcohol isn’t to blame.

Ruff was connected to both Senator Burris and Blagojevich through his work on health care issues.

He told the Sun-Times in March that there may have been some pay-to-play between Burris and Blagojevich over the Senate seat.

Before he died, Ruff said that the only way to uncover the truth was to continue investigations into how Burris got his job.

Prosecutors in Sangamon County and a Senate ethics panel are still looking into the Burris Senate appointment.

An independent panel that reviews possible ethical lapses by members of the House of Representatives has launched a preliminary review of U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s efforts to be appointed to the U.S. Senate by ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, according to a published report.

The Office of Congressional Ethics voted in late March for the review, the Chicago Sun-Times reported in a story posted Tuesday on its Web site, citing documents released to parties involved in the inquiry.

The committee has asked for documents, e-mails and other correspondence from Blagojevich’s gubernatorial and campaign staff regarding Jackson, Jackson’s brother Jonathan and his campaign staff, the Sun-Times reported, citing lawyers close to the probe. It requested information from June through December 2008.

The panel reportedly began its work last Thursday, the same day a federal grand jury indicted Blagojevich on corruption charges that, among other things, accuse him of scheming to sell the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama to the highest bidder. Blagojevich denies wrongdoing.

Jackson, the son of civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, has acknowledged he was “Senate Candidate A” in the Blagojevich criminal complaint, one of several candidates that authorities say the former governor considered for the seat now held by Roland Burris. Jackson’s supporters were willing to raise $1.5 million for Blagojevich if he picked the congressman, the complaint said.

Jackson is not charged with wrongdoing. His office did not return messages left Tuesday after business hours from The Associated Press.

Leo Wise, who heads the Office of Congressional Ethics, told the AP he could “not confirm or deny that we are reviewing the materials” the Sun-Times referred to.

Reached at his home in suburban Maryland, Wise said the office has not released any documents concerning an investigation of Jackson.

The Office of Congressional Ethics reviews cases and refers them to the House ethics committee. It takes two members of the office, one from each party, to initiate a preliminary investigation of a member. Three board members must vote to move to a second phase review.

There is no public disclosure if the panel dismisses a case. Authority to make recommendations of censure or punishment still rests with the ethics committee, which is made up of House members.

From Sam Stein at The Huffington Post:

By admitting that he tried, without success, to raise money for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich prior to Blagojevich appointing him to the U.S. Senate, Sen. Roland Burris has exposed himself to whole new set of complex and potentially damaging legal hurdles, ethics lawyers say.

To read more, click here.

As if Blago-gate needed another strange twist in the road, ousted Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich gave a bizarre press conference insisting that he had not let down the people of Illinois. He also proclaimed his “love” for them and even offered an oddly-accented message to the Hispanic community in Spanish.

Then he was invited to a SuperBowl party. I guess he’s going to have a lot of free time on his hands…

Click here for the video.

The new Illinois senator is expected to be sworn into office later this week.

“I really never doubted that I would be seated,” Burris said in a nationally broadcast television interview Tuesday. “It was just a matter of going through the process and making sure that the Senate rules were abided by,” he said.

Asked on NBC’s “Today” show about any role that Obama might have played in softening the opposition to his seating by Senate Democratic leaders Harry Reid and Dick Durbin, Burris said, “I have no knowledge of what the president-elect did.”

Reid and Durbin made the announcement of acceptance in a joint statement Monday, saying Burris “is now the senator-designate from Illinois and, as such, will be accorded all the rights and privileges of a senator-elect.”

Burris, in turn, called himself honored and humbled to be the state’s newest senator. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to serve,” he said at a news conference in Chicago. “I recognize that my appointment triggered a challenging time for many.”

The development prevented the impasse that has plagued Democrats from dragging on into Obama’s inauguration festivities, and it capped a gradual retreat by the Senate’s top Democrats.

They had initially tried to dissuade Blagojevich, who faces criminal charges, from making an appointment and suggested that his pick would not be seated. Last week, Burris’ credentials were rejected in a circus-like atmosphere that tarnished the opening day festivities of the new Congress.

But Reid and Durbin said they now anticipate that Burris, a former Illinois attorney general, will be seated this week, barring objections from Republicans.

They made the announcement after Burris lawyers delivered to the Capitol documents certifying his appointment to Obama’s seat, and the secretary of the Senate determined that the paperwork met Senate requirements.

In an interview on MSNBC, Burris reiterated that he had made no deal with Reid not to run for a full Senate term in 2010 in exchange for being allowed to take his seat in the chamber now.

He said he would work in the Senate to win approval of Obama’s economic stimulus package in the hope that the measure would help the economy and create jobs. “I would like to see thousands of jobs created in Illinois and millions of jobs created in the country,” Burris said.

Reid, D-Nev., and Durbin, D-Ill., said they were satisfied both with the documents and with Burris’ testimony before the Illinois House impeachment panel that he did nothing wrong.

Even though Burris does not stand accused of wrongdoing, Senate Democrats rejected Burris last week, only to quickly backpedal after Obama himself privately weighed in and senators fretted that the situation was diverting their focus at a critical time.

Asked Tuesday if his service in the Senate could still carry a taint because of Blagojevich’s legal problems, Burris said he didn’t think so.

“They need to look at my record … what I have done over the years as a citizen of our state,” Burris said.

He also declined to join in calls for Blagojevich to resign, saying “my position is that you’re innocent in this legal system until you’re proven guilty.”

He said any demand that he would make for Blagojevich to step down “would have no effect.”

WASHINGTON — The Senate’s second-in-command, Sen. Dick Durbin, said Sunday that he is moving away from resisting former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris as President-elect Barack Obama’s successor and hopes a resolution to the disagreement will be reached soon.

For his part, Burris said he and his lawyers will be in Washington on Monday to begin paving the way for him to join the Senate. But Durbin said lawyers still need to sign off on Burris’ paperwork and review his testimony before the Illinois House, which later impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges.

“I started off obviously skeptical, as all of the Democratic members did,” Durbin, D-Ill., said on “Face the Nation” on CBS. “But as time has gone on and we’ve looked closely, we want to be fair to Roland Burris. If he has the proper certification and papers, then we’re going to take one look at the process and move forward from there.”

Senate Democrats have opposed Burris’ appointment because of federal charges that Blagojevich tried to sell the seat to the highest bidder. Although they have argued that any Blagojevich appointee is tainted because of the scandal, no one has accused Burris of wrongdoing.

Burris, also appearing on CBS, said his appointment by Blagojevich is legal. On Friday, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that under state law, Burris’ appointment paperwork is valid and that it’s up to the Senate to decide whether to seat him. But Durbin, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other Democrats have said that unless the appointment is signed by both the governor and the Illinois secretary of state, it violates Senate rules.

Durbin said Senate lawyers are reviewing a document received Friday night to see whether it complies. Democrats also want to review Burris’ testimony before the impeachment panel, where the appointee said he promised Blagojevich nothing in exchange for the seat. Then, Reid said, the Senate would vote on whether to seat him.

The National Coalition for Fairness and Justice in the U.S. Senate, a Chicago group led by Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., said Sunday that it had sent letters to Durbin and Reid requesting Burris be seated immediately. The group accused Durbin of “playing political pingpong” and said it was planning a “massive mobilization effort” this week if Burris was not seated.

At one time, Senate Democrats were hoping that Blagojevich would be removed from office before the Senate resolved the Burris matter. In the last few days it’s become clear that an Illinois Senate trial on whether to remove Blagojevich from office could take weeks. Democrats, from Obama on down, want the matter resolved before it overshadows more of the 111th Congress and the beginning of the new president’s term.

“I want to do this in a fair and quick way so that Roland knows his fate,” Durbin said.

Burris said he and his legal team aren’t easing up the pressure.

“It is our position that those documents are now in compliance with the Senate rules,” Burris said. “And therefore, after the lawyers have reviewed this, my attorneys will be Washington on Monday to confirm with the parliamentarian and the attorneys to confirm that all of this is in order.”

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Governor Rod Blogojevich’s choice of Roland Burris to replace Barack Obama in the US Senate has been blocked by the Secretary of the Illinois Senate.

Read The Full Report Here

Roland Burris came from this incognito tradition, sealing his name at Howard University, in the Illinois political structure as Attorney General, and eventually accepting the Senate seat previously occupied by Barack Obama. So pardon his momentary indignance at being told that members of his own party will be leading a fight against his selection because of Rod Blagojevich’s misdeeds. It’s the equivalent of becoming the best mid-level executive at your esteemed company, learning the company has crooks and frauds at the top, and still doing your best to maintain a scratch-free reputation. Where Burris has not been a standout in his microphone grabbing, he has been true to the rules and feels he deserves his day in the sun. The Obama Senate Seat may become known as The Black Seat in the house, and it will come with privilege and prestige that Burris has long sought in his dutiful public service. He wants that feather in his cap. 

How he has gone about keeping his good name, however, is another story. Essentially, Roland Burris has had his first dance with the politics of theater, the race card and national exposure, and squeezed what little dignity he had left through the pens of a thousand columnists. Burris has every right to feel as if he has been the fair player in the situation, and that the Illinois governor has the smear so he should account for it. But the incorrect pretense is that anyone cares about the “Good Man” in the dirty shop, not to mention the fact that Burris has been the runner-up enough times to convince us that voters tend to choose the best for the job…and some get left behind. Burris lost to Blagojevich, once upon an election, and his career has been marked by strong-but-second-place results. 

And that’s no discredit to Burris as a man. He has won his accolades, and his attention to civic engagement makes him peerless as a worker in that field. But politics, as we know, involves the gambit of our nation’s best thinkers and entertainers. Never one for the show, it seems misplaced that Burris has taken to the sermon on the mount apparatus. Burris arrived to the courthouse steps to defend his name with Bobby Rush in tow, and a chorus of Black supporters to further his case that the seat should be reserved for someone black — from suggestive to assertive in a beat. Now, as a lifetime member of the NAACP, and a proven leader for the Black community, Burris has his just desserts, but every time he has brought race into the fold as a certifier of his skills, he falls hopelessly short. Bobby Rush is the master of identity-baiting, just as his precursor Al Sharpton is. But Roland Burris has never won with theatrics, and this is not the time to start trotting out tricks that never worked for him in the first place. The Wire’s Clay Davis had a defining moment in the character’s final run in which every old political ally walked out on him because his morality didn’t stand up against his service for the community. And although he knew he had short-changed the community who stood with him cheering for a defiant press appearance, he went on anyway with the show. 

Burris will kill his political career in this hurried moment if he chooses opportunism and celebrity over playing his position. He has become a journeyman through obeying the fastidious rules of the land, and letting the chips fall where they may. If the rules keep him out of his desired Senate seat, he will have to do what so many have done before him: bow out gracefully. Otherwise, he will be another in the long line of Black Celebrity Politicians whose promises and bluster eventually swept the curtain away with puny men left in the shadows.

CHICAGO – A defiant Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday named a black political trailblazer to Barack Obama’s Senate seat, a surprise move that put the governor’s opponents in the uncomfortable position of trying to block his choice from becoming the Senate’s only black member.

Blagojevich’s appointment of former state Attorney General Roland Burris injected race into the drama surrounding the embattled governor, who repeatedly sought to distance his selection from charges that he tried to sell the seat to the highest bidder.

“Please don’t allow the allegations against me to taint a good and honest man,” the governor said, turning to the smiling 71-year-old standing by his side.

“This is about Roland Burris as a U.S. senator, not about the governor who made the appointment.”

Burris was the first African-American elected to major statewide office in Illinois, serving as comptroller and running for governor three times — the last time losing to Blagojevich.

He said he has no connection to the charges against Blagojevich, who was arrested earlier this month.

Even before the announcement, which was leaked several hours before, the governor’s move ran into opposition.

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, who must certify the appointment, said Tuesday he will not do so. And Senate leaders reiterated that they would not accept anyone appointed by Blagojevich.

In a statement Tuesday, Senate Democrats maintained that Blagojevich should not make the appointment because doing so would be unfair to Burris and to the people of Illinois.

“It is truly regrettable that despite requests from all 50 Democratic senators and public officials throughout Illinois, Gov. Blagojevich would take the imprudent step of appointing someone to the United States Senate who would serve under a shadow and be plagued by questions of impropriety,” the statement said.

“Under these circumstances, anyone appointed by Gov. Blagojevich cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinois and, as we have said, will not be seated by the Democratic caucus.”

Obama struck the same tone.

“Roland Burris is a good man and a fine public servant, but the Senate Democrats made it clear weeks ago that they cannot accept an appointment made by a governor who is accused of selling this very Senate seat. I agree with their decision,” the president-elect said in a statement.

Senate leaders, who were scattered for the holidays, immediately convened a conference call. Some involved in the call were wary of being seen as denying a black man a seat in a chamber where, with Obama’s departure, there are no blacks, according to two officials knowledgeable about the talks who requested anonymity in order to speak freely.

“We say this without prejudice toward Roland Burris’ ability, and we respect his years of public service,” the leaders wrote. But the issue is not about Burris, they said. “It is about the integrity of a governor accused of attempting to sell this United States Senate seat.”

Rep. Bobby Rush, an Illinois Democrat who was invited to speak at Blagojevich’s news conference, urged Senate leaders not to block Burris. In fact, he almost dared them to try to stop Burris’ appointment.

“There is no rhyme or reason why he should not be seated in the U.S. Senate,” Rush said. “I don’t think any U.S. senator … wants to go on record to deny one African-American from being seated in the U.S. Senate.”

He told reporters that Senate Democrats should not “hang and lynch the appointee as you try to castigate the appointer.”

Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 after federal prosecutors allegedly recorded conversations in which he discussed appointing someone Obama favored in exchange for a position in the new president’s Cabinet or naming someone favored by a union if he got a high-level union job.

The governor has faced a flood of calls for his resignation, and the Illinois House has begun impeachment proceedings. He maintains his innocence, and has vowed to stay in office.

Blagojevich’s own lawyer said recently that there would be no point in the governor naming someone to the Senate because leaders there would reject his appointment.

Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn said Blagojevich’s decision to appoint Burris is an “insult to the people of Illinois.”

“We believe in clean government, and Rod Blagojevich has unclean hands,” Quinn said.

Republican House Minority Leader Tom Cross compared Blagojevich to “a rabid dog in a corner who’s just going to lash out.”

Democratic state Rep. Monique Davis of Chicago, a member of the impeachment committee, said Burris’ appointment will have no bearing on its decision.

“Anybody that wants to put the race card in there, they’re playing with the wrong group of people. We’re not going to operate that way, we’re not going to deliberate that way, we’re not going to say, ‘Oh, look what a good thing he’s done.’ We’re not going to do it,” Davis said.

Illinois law gives the governor sole power to fill a Senate vacancy. Lawmakers considered stripping Blagojevich of that power after his arrest but could not agree on legislation — a fact the governor, who had said he would support a bill calling for a special election, pointed out Tuesday.

Blagojevich might have thought he could gain some legal advantage by making the appointment.

“He could think he’s gaining leverage — that’s not implausible,” said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond in Virginia. “He’s weaving these legal problems for Illinois, the Senate and the new administration. This is a mess.”

White, the secretary of state who handles official paperwork, said he would not formally certify any appointment made by Blagojevich “because of the current cloud of controversy surround the governor.”

It’s not clear whether White’s refusal would be enough to prevent a Blagojevich appointment from taking effect.

Burris is a native of Centralia in southern Illinois who graduated from Southern Illinois University before earning his law degree from Howard University.

He served as Illinois’ comptroller from 1979 to 1991 and as the state’s attorney general from 1991 to 1995. He also served as vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1985 to 1989.

More recently, however, Burris has had a string of political disappointments.

He lost campaigns for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1994, 1998 and 2002 — the last time losing to Blagojevich. In 1995, he was badly beaten when challenging Chicago Mayor Richard Daley as an independent.

Burris has been a consistent donor to Blagojevich in recent years.

He donated $1,000 to the Friends of Blagojevich fund in both 2004 and 2005, $1,500 in 2007 and $1,000 in June 2008, according to Illinois campaign finance data.

“The General Assembly must move to impeach Rod Blagojevich immediately,” said DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett, a potential Republican candidate for governor in 2010.

“We should have started yesterday,” agreed Rep. Jack Franks, a Democrat.

Legislators were to meet Monday afternoon for the first time since Blagojevich was arrested last week on charges he shook down businesses seeking state deals and tried to profit from his power to choose a replacement for President-elect Barack Obama‘s vacant Senate seat.

The session’s focus was supposed to be about considering a special election, but impeachment is likely to be the chief topic of conversation.

Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero said the governor “has no plans on resigning Monday.”

Guerrero didn’t respond directly to whether the governor could or would do anything to slow down the Legislature‘s move toward impeachment.

“The governor has indicated in the past there is more to this story that he’s wanting to tell at an appropriate time,” he said.

The calls for impeachment put the spotlight on House Speaker Michael Madigan, who ultimately will decide the timing of any impeachment effort.

Madigan, a Democrat representing Chicago, hasn’t taken any public position beyond saying Sunday that he will talk to the House Republican leader about the issue Monday.

David Dring, spokesman for House Minority Leader Tom Cross, said Republicans will step up the pressure on Democrats to remove Blagojevich, perhaps raising the issue on the House floor.

“If they won’t work with us, you’ll probably see some good theater,” Dring said.

The GOP also plans to run television ads pressuring Democrats to approve a special election to replace Obama. Blagojevich still holds the power to appoint a new senator, and if he resigned, that power would go to Democratic Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn.

Illinois Republican Party chairman Andy McKenna told reporters the ads will “make the point that this is the people’s seat, and the people deserve a special election.”

Madigan often has clashed with the Democratic governor, and his office produced a memo this year outlining all the arguments legislative candidates could make in favor of impeachment.

But spokesman Steve Brown wouldn’t say Sunday whether Madigan was even considering impeachment proceedings. Brown said Madigan wants to “maintain some neutrality” in case he winds up presiding over an impeachment.

Madigan’s daughter, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, has asked the state Supreme Court to remove Blagojevich from office, claiming he is unfit to serve. Madigan said Sunday she expects word on whether the court will hear her request “probably just in a few days.”

Lisa Madigan is considered one of the top Democratic candidates for governor in 2010.

The state constitution gives lawmakers broad authority to impeach a governor for any reason they consider sufficient. The House would decide whether to file charges against the governor, and the Senate would ultimately rule on them.

Democrats first made the call for a special election, but some are now having second thoughts.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, for instance, was an early supporter, but is now calling for Blagojevich to resign so that the lieutenant governor could appoint a senator.

Opponents of a special election cite the time and expense. It would cost tens of millions of dollars and not produce a new senator until April.

Republicans claim Democrats are wavering because they don’t want to risk a GOP candidate winning the special election.

At the Greater St. John Bible Church in Chicago, the Rev. Ira Acree, who met with Blagojevich at his home Friday morning, made only a passing reference to the governor in his sermon Sunday but told his congregation that he had prayed with the governor and that everyone deserves pastoral counsel.

“Pray for our state,” Acree said. “No matter what your political position is, pray for our state.”

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. flatly denies that he and his brother were involved in a scheme to get him a Senate seat in a deal with scandal-tainted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevic.

The remarks in an interview with The Associated Press Friday came on the heels of a Chicago Tribune report that cited unidentified sources. The newspaper said businessmen with ties to the governor and congressmen discussed raising $1 million for Blagojevich to get him to appoint Jackson to the Senate. The report depicts Jackson’s brother as an active participant.

The congressman said “to an absolute certainty” that his brother was not involved in any scheming or wrongdoing.

Jackson has been identified as “Senate Candidate 5″ in a federal complaint. The governor is overheard saying the candidate would raise $500,000 for Blagojevich, and an emissary would raise an additional $1 million.

Watch Jackson Address The Scandal

A rap group going by the name Blago Del Fuego has created a rap song based on the Rod Blagojevich Senate Seat controversy. The songs is based on Shawty Low’s “Dey Know” song and features the same beat. The rappers take the song from Blagojevich’s perspective and dis both Lil Wayne and Kanye West.

Watch The Video After The Jump

From Terence Samuel at TheRoot.com:

There is a lot of head shaking over Jesse Jackson Jr.’s murky involvement in the swirl of muck engulfing Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. While Jackson is clearly not a target of the federal investigation that has ensnared Blagojevich, he may be the one taking the biggest political hit so far.

Jackson’s chances for the Senate seat, and therefore any higher political office, may have been irreparably damaged by the Blago scandal. The governor, after all, has been under investigations for years; his public approval ratings were in the low teens, which means not even his distant cousins were sticking by him. He had no good name left to preserve and no political future to worry about. If he manages to stay out of jail, it will be a legal and personal triumph.

But Jesse Jackson Jr., who had managed to ably establish himself as a legitimate and respected political force, separate from his famous father, suddenly finds himself explaining away problems not of his own making.

Click here for the full story.

For the record, Jesse Jackson, Jr. did not offer a million dollars for Obama’s Senate seat. If the Blagojevich phone calls are indicative of Jackson’s position, he (or an emissary) offered to help raise a million dollars for Blagojevich’s campaign. How is this worse than any of the rich donors who give and raise money for a Presidential candidate and are rewarded with cabinet or ambassador positions?

Do we really think Hillary Clinton was Barack Obama’s first choice for Secretary of State? There was obviously a deal between them in which she would campaign for him and urge her donors to give money to him in return for the position. Did she do so out of the kindness of her own heart? I doubt it. My guess would be that Hillary and Barack had a meeting after the primaries, either directly or through surrogates

The practice of rewarding people who raise cash for campaigns with high-level positions is as American as apple pie. Of the 661 people who raised more than $100,000 for George Bush in 2004, two became cabinet secretaries, 27 became ambassadors and 48 became transition team members. That means 23 percent of all big donors were given government positions. 104 companies that employed 127 elite donors for Bush ($100K or more) in 2000 were given $88 billion in funds in 2002.

Campaign donations in return for political favors are a part of the American political system. Bill Clinton pardoned Mark Rich after his wife donated large amounts to his campaign. The whole way campaigns are run in the U.S. is based on people being rewarded for fundraising in one way or another.

If politicians can trade pardons, cabinet positions, government contracts, and political access for campaign fundraising, why not temporary Senate seats? What happened between Jackson and Blagojevich is indicative of backroom dealings that go on between politicians all the time. Blagojevich just happened to get caught on tape. How many politicians are rewarded with lobbyist positions after their political careers are over?  Aren’t they in fact getting paid retroactively for their services?

The Blagojevich scandal is representative of the American political system in which money is more important than qualifications or merit. If we are going to crucify Jesse Jackson, Jr., we should also crucify the outdated campaign finance system and the way business is done in politics.

The exchange contributed to charges against Blagojevich in which he is accused of putting his office up for sale, while raising questions about the identity of the candidate.

On Wednesday, it was revealed that U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. was the candidate, prompting him to hold an emotional news conference proclaiming his innocence. Jackson, the son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, said prosecutors have told him he is not the target of the bombshell investigation, nor is he accused of any wrongdoing.

“I did not initiate nor authorize anyone, at any time, to promise anything to Gov. Blagojevich on my behalf,” he said, without taking questions. “I never sent a message or an emissary to the governor to make an offer or to propose a deal about the U.S. Senate seat.”

Jackson said he openly sought appointment to Obama’s seat but denied offering favors in return to Blagojevich. His lawyer, James D. Montgomery Sr., acknowledged the Illinois Democrat is “Senate Candidate 5″ in the 76-page federal complaint filed against the governor, who was arrested Tuesday.

U.S. attorney’s spokesman Randall Samborn would not confirm or deny Jackson’s assertions.

Blagojevich, a second-term Democrat, is accused of scheming to enrich himself by selling Obama’s open seat for cash or a lucrative job for himself or his wife.

In an interview with The Associated Press, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said it’s “common in politics for people to try to leverage relationships,” but his son didn’t do such a thing.

“The good is news is … that it did not say he had done anything illegal,” Jackson said, referring to the criminal complaint. “Somebody in his name was trying to negotiate.”

Jackson said he didn’t know who tried to negotiate on his son’s behalf and that he had not spoken with the FBI. He said he hadn’t spoken with Blagojevich in months and that he didn’t promote his son for the Senate seat. Jackson said his son was always critical of “clandestine, backroom” deals.

He said the scandal had saddened many people, especially after Obama’s historic victory.

“Our hearts dropped,” he said. “We were astonished. All of us were. We went from the height of joy and exuberance to oceanic depths and a sense of bewilderment. There’s a great sense of pain in the state.”

Jackson Jr. said he met with Blagojevich on Monday in Chicago for 90 minutes to discuss the Senate vacancy. It was their first meeting in about four years, he said.

“I presented my record, my qualifications and my vision,” Jackson said. “Despite what he may have been looking for, that’s all I had to offer.”

The federal complaint cites an intercepted Blagojevich conversation on Dec. 4. In it, the complaint alleges, the governor told an unidentified adviser “that he was giving Senate Candidate 5 greater consideration for the Senate seat because, among other reasons, if Rod Blagojevich ran for re-election, Senate Candidate 5 would `raise money’ for him.”

The complaint alleges that Blagojevich said he might get some money “up front, maybe” from the Senate hopeful “to insure Senate Candidate 5 kept his promise about raising money” for the governor.

On Wednesday, the seven-term congressman called on Blagojevich to resign and said he was appalled “by the pay-to-play schemes hatched at the highest levels of Illinois state government.”

“Politicians and fundraisers do some very strange things from time to time,” said Montgomery, the lawyer. “I wouldn’t put it past someone to be purporting to represent Jesse without authority.”

If we have learned anything this year, it is that corrupt politicians come from all around the country, from both political parties and can be black, white, male or female. That said, here is our top 5 corrupt politicians of 2008

1. Rod Blagojevich: At a time when America was given a new faith in politics and politicians, Blagojevich did a lot to reverse that trend. Blagojevich reinforced the stereotype that all politicians were self interested  hypocrites. By publicly trying to trade Obama’s vacated Senate seat, for his own personal interest, Blagojevich reminded us of the old politicians of old who would jerk the public and lose their integrity for money and power.

Watch Coverage of The Blagojevich Scandal

2. Dick Cheney. He should really be number one but he managed to stay under the radar. Despite his role in the outing of Valerie Plame Scooter Libby fell on his sword for him. Cheney continued to rake in millions from Halliburton due to the war he started. Dick Cheney was indicted on  corruption charges this November for his involvement with a prison company, the GEO group. With the Vice President is profiting from incarcerated inmates, its no wonder there are so many black men in jail.

Watch Coverage of Dick Cheney’s Prison Scandal

3. Kwame Kilpatrick. Kwame Kilpatrick spent millions of dollars trying to hide his own affairs and indiscretions while his city went to the pits. Kwame Kilpatrick was stupid enough to have an affair with an aide on city issued cellphones and arrogant enough to lie about it. Kilpatrick also fired several of the police officers who were investigating him and became the target of an $150 million lawsuit for allegedly killing a stripper. Eventually Kwame had to step down from office and serve four months in jail.

Watch Nightline Cover Kwame Kilpatrick’s Numerous Scandals

4. Elliot Spitzer. While Elliot Spitzer may not be the first politician to take in the services of a hooker, he is probably the biggest hypocrite who did. Spitzer spent his career trying to clean up New York in the name of decency and the law. He then broke the law in a very indecent way.

Watch Elliot Spitzer Resign

5. Sarah Palin. From her original Troopergate scandal, to her billing Alaska for her personal needs and taking $150,000 from the RNC for her own wardrobe, Sarah Palin has improperly benefited from her own personal power and tried to cover it up the whole way.

Watch Coverage of Sarah Palin’s Troopergate Scandal

Honorable Mentions

Ted Stevens, Senator from Alaska

Sheila Dixon, Mayor of Baltimore

See more of NewsOne’s BEST OF EVERYTHING 2008!!

Jesse Jackson Jr., currently implicated in the Blagojevich senate scandal, for trying to bribe the Illinoia Governor had a press conference.

Jesse Jackson, Jr. emphatically denied that he was a target in the  federal investigation of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, during a press conference Wednesday afternoon. “I reject and denounce pay to play  politics and have no involvement whatsoever in any wrong doing,”  Jackson said. “I did not initiate or authorize anyone,at anytime, to promise anything to governor Blagojevich on my behalf. I never sent a  message or an emissary to the governor to make an offer, or plea my case, or to propose a deal about a US Senate seat. Period.”

Watch The Video Here

From Daniel Engber at Slate.com:

On Tuesday, Gov. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois was taken into federal custody on corruption charges, one of which entails attempting to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate seat to the highest bidder. In 2006, Daniel Engber explained why politicians in the Land of Lincoln are so corrupt. The article is reprinted below.

Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan received a sentence of six and a half years in prison on Wednesday, after being convicted on charges of racketeering, mail fraud, filing false tax returns, and lying to investigators. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that in the last three decades, at least 79 local elected officials have been convicted of a crime, including three governors, one mayor, and a whopping 27 aldermen from the Windy City. What makes Chicago so corrupt?

Click here to find out.

In a recent press conference after his meeting with former VP, Al Gore, Barack Obama talked about climate change and the controversy over Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich’s alleged auctioning off of Obama’s senate seat.

Watch Obama Discuss Blagojevich After The Jump

In recent documents uncovered by the Smoking Gun. Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich is on record saying a lot of negative things about Obama and incriminating things about himself.

If Obama represented a new kind of politics, Blagojevich reminded America of the old corrupt greedy politics of yesterday. Blagojevich realized his newfound importance when Obama won the election and he was in charge of appointing Obama’s successor as Senator from Illinois.

Blagojevich said the Senate Seat “is a fucking valuable, you just don’t give it away for nothing.” He also threatened to appoint himself to the Senate Seat “I’m going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain. You hear what I’m saying. And if I don’t get what I want and I’m not satisfied with it, then I’ll just take the Senate seat myself.”

According to FBI Agent Daniel Cain, Blagojevich saw himself like a sports agent, trying to give the Senate Seat to the highest bidder. In a wiretapped November 10 call, Blagojevich repeatedly called Obama a ‘motherfucker.’ Blagojevich knew that Obama wanted to have long time friend Valerie Jarrett, succeed him but wanted something in return “but they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation. Fuck Them”

From The AP

The affidavit said Blagojevich also discussed getting a substantial salary for himself at a nonprofit foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions.

It said Blagojevich also talked about getting his wife placed on corporate boards where she might get $150,000 a year in director’s fees.

He also allegedly discussed getting campaign funds for himself or possibly a post in the president’s cabinet or an ambassadorship once he left the governor’s office. He noted becoming a U.S. senator might remake his image for a possible presidential run in 2016, according to the affidavit. And he allegedly said a Senate seat would also provide him with corporate contacts if he needed a job and present an opportunity for his wife to work as a lobbyist.

“I want to make money,” the affidavit quotes him as saying in one conversation.

The affidavit said Blagojevich expressed frustration at being “stuck” as governor and that he would have access to greater resources if he were indicted while in the U.S. Senate than while sitting as governor.

Among those being considered for the Senate post: U.S. Reps. Jesse Jackson Jr., Danny Davis, Jan Schakowsky and Luis Gutierrez; Illinois Senate President Emil Jones and Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth.

The affidavit outlined a Nov. 10 call between Blagojevich, his wife, his chief of staff — John Harris, who also was arrested Tuesday — and a group of advisers in which Harris allegedly suggested working out an agreement with the Service Employees International Union.

Under the plan, Blagojevich would appoint a new senator who would be helpful to the president-elect and in turn get a job as head of Change to Win, a group formed by the union. The union would get an unspecified favor from Obama later.

Nothing in the court papers suggested Obama had any part in the discussion. In fact, Blagojevich allegedly said in the same conversation that Obama most likely would not appoint him as secretary of health and human services or to an ambassadorship because of the negative publicity that has surrounded the governor for three years.

One day later, according to the affidavit, Blagojevich allegedly told an associate he knew Obama wanted a specific Senate candidate but “they’re not going to give me anything except appreciation.” He finished the remark with an expletive.

Blagojevich also was charged with using his authority as governor in an attempt to squeeze out campaign contributions.

Corruption in the Blagojevich administration has been the focus of a federal investigation involving an alleged $7 million scheme aimed at squeezing kickbacks out of companies seeking business from the state. Federal prosecutors have acknowledged they’re also investigating “serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud” under Blagojevich, who has a $177,412 salary, though it’s unclear whether he accepts the total.

The governor has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Political fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko who raised money for the campaigns of both Blagojevich and Obama is awaiting sentencing after being convicted of fraud and other charges. Blagojevich’s chief fundraiser, Christopher G. Kelly, is due to stand trial early next year on charges of obstructing the Internal Revenue Service.

According to Tuesday’s complaint, Blagojevich schemed with Rezko, millionaire-fundraiser turned federal witness Stuart Levine and others to get financial benefits for himself and his campaign committee.

Federal prosecutors said Blagojevich and the chairman of his campaign committee have been speeding up corrupt fundraising activities in the last month to get as much money as possible before the end of the year when a new law would curtail his ability to raise contributions from companies with state contracts worth more than $50,000.

According to the affidavit, agents learned Blagojevich was seeking $2.5 million in campaign contributions by the end of the year, with a large part allegedly to come from companies and individuals who have gotten state contracts or appointments.

The affidavit also outlines Blagojevich conversations related to Tribune Co., which has been hoping to sell Wrigley Field, the home of the Chicago Cubs which the publishing giant also owns.

Blagojevich was quoted in court papers as telling Harris in a profanity laced Nov. 4 conversation that his recommendation to Tribune executives was to fire the editorial writers “and get us some editorial support.”

Harris is quoted as telling the governor Nov. 11 that an unnamed Tribune Owner, presumably CEO Sam Zell, “got the message and is very sensitive to the issue.”

The affidavit said Harris quoted a Tribune financial adviser as saying cuts were coming at the newspaper and “reading between the lines he’s going after that section,” apparently meaning editorial writers. Blagojevich is quoted as saying: “Oh, that’s fantastic.”

“Wow,” Blagojevich allegedly replied. “Keep our fingers crossed. You’re the man. Good job, John.”

Harris allegedly told Blagojevich in his conversation with the financial adviser he had singled out deputy editorial page editor John McCormick as “somebody who was the most biased and unfair.”

After hearing that, Blagojevich allegedly stressed to the head of a Chicago sports consulting firm that it was important to provide state aid for a Wrigley Field sale.

Blagojevich took the chief executive’s office in 2003 as a reformer promising to clean up former Gov. George Ryan’s mess.

Ryan, a Republican, is serving a 6-year prison sentence after being convicted on racketeering and fraud charges. A decade-long investigation began with the sale of driver’s licenses for bribes and led to the conviction of dozens of people who worked for Ryan when he was secretary of state and governor.

FBI spokesman Frank Bochte said federal agents arrested the governor and Harris simultaneously at their homes at 6:15 a.m. and took them to the Chicago FBI headquarters.

He did not have any details about Blagojevich’s arrest, only that he was cooperative with federal agents.

“It was a very calm setting,” he said.

The governor was to appear Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan to answer the charges.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday on charges of conspiring to get financial benefits through his authority to appoint a U.S. senator to fill the vacancy left by Barack Obama’s election as president.

According to a federal criminal complaint, Blagojevich also was charged with illegally threatening to withhold state assistance to Tribune Co., the owner of the Chicago Tribune, in the sale of Wrigley Field. In return for state assistance, Blagojevich allegedly wanted members of the paper’s editorial board who had been critical of him fired.

Blagojevich also was charged with using his authority as governor in an attempt to squeeze out campaign contributions, prosecutors said.

Blagojevich’s chief of staff, John Harris, also was arrested.

Federal agents were in Blagojevich’s office in the Thompson Center in downtown Chicago on Tuesday morning.

Corruption in the Blagojevich administration has been the focus of a federal Operation Board Games involving an alleged $7 million scheme aimed at squeezing kickbacks out of companies seeking business from the state. Federal prosecutors have acknowledged they’re also investigating “serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud” under Blagojevich.

The Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday morning that the federal investigation had spread to Blagojevich’s efforts to fill the U.S. Senate vacancy left by the election of Barack Obama as president.

Political fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko who raised money for the campaigns of both Blagojevich and Obama is awaiting sentencing after being convicted of fraud and other charges. Blagojevich’s chief fundraiser, Christopher G. Kelly, is due to stand trial early next year on charges of obstructing the Internal Revenue Service.

Blagojevich, a Democrat, took the chief executive’s office in 2003 as a reformer promising to clean up former Gov. George Ryan’s mess.

Ryan, a Republican, is serving a six-year prison sentence after being convicted on racketeering and fraud charges. The decade-long investigation began with the sale of driver’s licenses for bribes and led to the conviction of dozens of people who worked for Ryan when he was secretary of state and governor.

This is a Statement From The US Attorney General’s Office
A 76-page FBI affidavit alleges that Blagojevich was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps during the last month conspiring to sell or trade Illinois’ U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama for financial and other personal benefits for himself and his wife. At various times, in exchange for the Senate appointment, Blagojevich discussed obtaining:

A substantial salary for himself at a either a non-profit foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions;

Placing his wife on paid corporate boards where he speculated she might garner as much as $150,000 a year;

Promises of campaign funds – including cash up front; and

A cabinet post or ambassadorship for himself.

Just last week, on December 4, Blagojevich allegedly told an advisor that he might “get some (money) up front, maybe” from Senate Candidate 5, if he named Senate Candidate 5 to the Senate seat, to insure that Senate Candidate 5 kept a promise about raising money for Blagojevich if he ran for re-election. In a recorded conversation on October 31, Blagojevich claimed he was approached by an associate of Senate Candidate 5 as follows: “We were approached ‘pay to play.’ That, you know, he’d raise 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million, if I made him (Senate Candidate 5) a Senator.”

On November 7, while talking on the phone about the Senate seat with Harris and an advisor, Blagojevich said he needed to consider his family and that he is “financially” hurting, the affidavit states. Harris allegedly said that they were considering what would help the “financial security” of the Blagojevich family and what will keep Blagojevich “politically viable.” Blagojevich stated, “I want to make money,” adding later that he is interested in making $250,000 to $300,000 a year, the complaint alleges.

Watch News Coverage of the Incident