Free Republic

No link yet. I'm just seeing it on CNN. Reuters said Fox called it as well.

Guys like Bill Cellini don't get indicted in Illinois. And the puppet masters don't sit at the defense table in federal court, tapping their fingers, waiting for the jury to pronounce judgment. *snip* They're Democrats, they're Republicans. They're the bosses of the Combine. *snip* All involved should know that their ((prosecutors)) work is appreciated, by every taxpayer in this thoroughly corrupt state who've wondered how the puppet masters of the Combine keep getting away with it. On Tuesday, they didn't get away with it. And Bill Cellini went down.

The Hill is reporting that Democrat Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias is having trouble raising money, which is amusing because as a failed banker he gave away millions to a pair of mobsters that never paid back the "loan" The Hill reports that Giannoulias "struggled to raise money in the aftermath of his family bank’s collapse in April." Giannoulias has raised only some $900,000 since March 31 -- the bulk of it in June. His Republican opponent, Mark Kirk, collected close to $1 million that same month. And Kirk was dealing with his own scandal -- the fallout from inaccuracies in...

Some are beginning to question just how much longer Rahm Emanuel will be occupying the office of Chief of Staff for President Obama. Which, of course, leads to a couple other questions - who gets the seat next, and what would Rahmbo do afterwards? He's already expressed an interest in taking the mayor's office, he's long desired to be Speaker of the House and the head of the Democratic National Convention, and then there are those pesky "placeholder" rumors about his initial appointment to his current position. Couple all this with the growing drumbeats about the unnamed "administration official" who...

Obama learned his lesson well.” — quote attributed to L. David Alinsky, son of Saul Alinsky. From time to time, media reports have referred to a unique brand of systemic corruption and political hardball tactics as being “the Chicago Way.“ The term is taken from the motion picture adaptation of “The Untouchables.” The screenplay was written by David Mamet. Although the exploits of Eliot Ness were exaggerated in the film, much like the original television series which often dispensed fiction for fact, the drama nonetheless struck a responsive chord. On a political level, this brand of thuggish behavior has even...

No matter what Rod Blagojevich wants, a federal judge made it clear today that he — and not the former governor and not the prosecution — will decide how much of the 500 hours of secret recordings in Blagojevich’s corruption case will be played in court. Brushing aside Blagojevich’s repeated comments that all 500 hours should be played and his challenge Tuesday to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald to “show up in court and explain to everybody . . . why you don’t want those tapes that you made played in court,” U.S. District Judge James Zagel told the ousted former...

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s camp was told last year that U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) would raise up to $5 million in campaign cash for the ex-governor if he was appointed to President Obama’s U.S. Senate seat, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned. The overture came from at least two members of the local Indian community who approached the Blagojevich fund-raising team last fall, sources say. Besides the $5 million to be raised by Jackson, the proposal also included another $1 million for Blagojevich’s campaign fund that would come from Indian donors, sources say. This is the first revelation that...

Impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich's former chief fundraiser pleaded guilty Friday to obstructing federal tax collectors by using corporate funds and money from third parties to pay thousands of dollars in gambling debts and personal expenses. Christopher G. Kelly, 50, a south suburban roofer who formerly headed the Friends of Rod Blagojevich campaign fund, also pleaded guilty to structuring financial transactions to hide them from the federal government. In his 27-page plea agreement, Kelly admitted underreporting five years of income received by two businesses by a total of $496,358.

That was Dead Meat talking to the nation on Friday, letting America—and the Beltway media that have willfully ignored political corruption in Illinois—know just how low our politicians will crawl. "I will fight. I will fight. I will fight," said Gov. Rod "Dead Meat" Blagojevich, his hair helmet remarkably relaxed as he proclaimed his innocence. Portraying himself as the victim of a "political lynch mob," he promised to fight impeachment until his last breath, sending a none-too-subtle message to politicians in Illinois and Washington. *snip* With the nation distracted by Dead Meat's manic performance art, President-elect Barack Obama made a...

Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has been dropping dimes on his state's disgraced governor and other corrupt local pols for years, a spokesman said Tuesday. Jackson, a longtime congressman and son of the famed civil rights activist, has been pulled into the controversy surrounding Gov. Rod Blagojevich's alleged attempt to auction Barack Obama's now-vacant U.S. Senate seat. A Jackson spokesman, Kenneth Edmonds, said the congressman had spoken to the feds about Blagojevich and others. He wouldn't provide details, but Chicago's WLS-TV reported the congressman told investigators Blagojevich refused to make Jackson's wife director of the state lottery because Jackson would...

Facing 30 years in prison on corruption charges, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is assembling the best defense team money can buy. The question is, whose money? There has been speculation that Blagojevich will use his expansive campaign war chest, $3.6 million at last count, to pay for his defense. Can he really do that? To paraphrase a fellow Chicagoan: Yes he can! Possibly. State law does not prevent the Democratic governor from tapping his campaign committee's funds to pay legal bills, even though he stands accused of illegally soliciting and obtaining some of the funds in exchange for official actions....

Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) told federal investigators that Gov. Rod Blagojevich asked for a $25,000 campaign contribution during Blagojevich's 2002 run for governor and may have exacted retribution when the money did not arrive, a political source close to Jackson said Tuesday. After Blagojevich (D) won, he considered and rejected Jackson's wife, Sandi, for the job of state lottery director, the source said. Later, the governor saw Rep. Jackson at an event in Washington and, according to the source, told him he bet Jackson regretted not paying up. *snip* Impeachment committee members remain uncertain what evidence U.S. Attorney...

Contact: Press Office 202-646-5188 Washington, DC -- December 9, 2008 Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton issued the following statement today in response to the arrest of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich: ### "There has been an air of lawlessness around Governor Blagojevich for some time and Judicial Watch applauds U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald for his actions. "Blagojevich's corruption is no surprise, but its breadth and depravity is shocking. The alleged efforts to sell the Senate seat of Barack Obama are outrageous, but also seem to implicate many other powerful politicians and political players. Especially disturbing are the questions the scandal raises...

<p>A source said today that Gov. Rod Blagojevich was taken into federal custody at his North Side home this morning. The U.S. attorney's office would not confirm the information, and a spokesman for the governor did not immediately return a phone call for comment.</p>

Gov. Rod Blagojevich became the state's first Democratic chief executive in more than a quarter of a century after vowing to reform what he labeled the culture of corruption surrounding his predecessor that had fed deep cynicism among Illinoisans. But little more than a year after replacing George Ryan in office in 2003, Blagojevich found his administration at the early stages of what became a host of state and federal investigations into allegations of wrongdoing involving state hiring, board appointments, contracting and fundraising that battered his tenure. *snip* As part of the investigation, in which 13 people have been indicted...