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CHICAGO (AP) - Rod Blagojevich hid in the bathroom, ducked into the back room and left the office early to avoid discussing complex issues with his top aides, his former deputy said Thursday at the ousted governor's corruption trial. Former Deputy Governor Robert Greenlee portrayed Blagojevich as disengaged from daily affairs of state, saying Blagojevich spent on average about two to eight hours a week in his office when he was governor. He said that during working hours, the governor generally was at home or attending high-profile events. Greenlee said he would confer with Blagojevich by telephone when they discussed...

CHICAGO (AP) - A federal judge in Chicago has refused to issue a subpoena for President Barack Obama to testify at former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's political corruption trial.

Court's hi-tech misstep reveals blacked-out portions of ex-Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich's subpoena of Obama — suggesting the newly elected commander-in-chief may have played role in finding his Senate replacement. See the un-redactated copy of this explosive document. There is also a video link if you follow this link; http://www.foxnews.com/

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich — famously caught on tape calling a U.S. Senate seat appointment (bleepin’) golden — said today he wants to make sure that the jury that will hear the corruption case against him gets to hear that recording. And Blagojevich, rather than back away from the tapes that attracted national attention, said he is “laying down the gauntlet” and also wants his future jury to hear everything else he was caught saying on secret FBI wiretaps. “I’ve instructed my lawyers to petition the court, petition so that every second, every minute, every hour that the government...

Two sources with knowledge of the situation told the Tribune today they have been notified that Christopher Kelly, a key figure in the federal corruption probe into former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, is dead. The Cook County medical examiner’s office today confirmed that a body identified as Christopher Kelly was brought to the morgue from Stroger Hospital. The office would not provide any details, including his age, address and manner of death, because the family had not yet arrived at the office. Kelly’s attorney, Michael Monico, declined to comment today when reached by a Tribune reporter. Kelly is a former confidant...

Politics: The career of Roland Burris, a political cipher from Illinois who became a U.S. senator and the lamest of ducks, is over. He can now retire into the obscurity he so richly deserves.Having obtained the seat under a cloud of typical Illinois corruption, Burris announced Friday he won't run for a full term in 2010. He was appointed by the former and recently impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich who, among his other accomplishments, tried to auction off the seat formerly held by Barack Obama. Blagojevich was forced out of office and may soon join other Illinois governors who went on...

(Select Local Story #4 - video only) All the media is carrying Roland Burris' prepared remarks, denying any "pay to play" allegations. But what this story shows is a frustrated and angry Burris yelling at WLS-TV reporter Jason Knowles when ambushed early in the day outside his home. That segment begins about 1 minute into the video.

If Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) had been appointed by any governor other than Rod R. Blagojevich, his dissembling on whether he tried to raise funds for his benefactor might not be fatal. But when the governor is recorded saying of the open seat that "I'm just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing," any appointee of his had better be beyond criticism and totally forthcoming. Burris is neither, and he should step down. Burris' explanations of his contacts with Blagojevich's aides and fundraisers have shifted as often as changes in the weather. [snip] It doesn't matter whether there was a...

(AP) — The president of the Illinois Senate says Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants to make a statement at his impeachment trial. President John Cullerton told Senators Wednesday that the governor has asked to offer a closing statement at the trial on Thursday. Cullerton says Blagojevich is not asking to testify, which would involve answering questions from senators. Cullerton recommended that the Senate allow Blagojevich to speak. That view was supported by the Senate's top Republican, Christine Radogno. Blagojevich has refused to take part in the trial so far. He has said its rules are unfair and he's done nothing wrong.

CHICAGO — A day after Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois appointed Roland W. Burris to fill President-elect Barack Obama’s former Senate seat, new details emerged about how the governor worked behind closed doors to make the appointment, and the United States attorney prosecuting Mr. Blagojevich on corruption charges sought a 90-day extension to bring an indictment against him. At a Tuesday news conference here, Mr. Blagojevich breezily introduced Mr. Burris, a former Illinois attorney general, as the “next United States senator from Illinois.” But United States Representative Danny Davis, who like Mr. Burris is a longtime fixture of the...

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) said in a statement this afternoon that the Senate will not seat anyone Gov. Rod Blagojevich chooses to fill Illinois' vacant Senate post, amid word that the governor is set to name former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris. The statement also is signed by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, who has repeatedly urged Blagojevich not to name a replacement for the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. The statement specifically names Burris, but applies to any choice the governor might make. "This is not about Mr. Burris; it is about the integrity...

In the midst of two wars and an intensifying economic meltdown, Barack Obama had to take time off last week to answer questions from federal prosecutors investigating charges that the governor of Illinois had put the president-elect's former Senate seat up for sale. With his own lawyer by his side, Obama sat down Thursday with U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's staff to tell what, if anything, he knew about Gov. Rod Blagojevich's efforts to cash in on appointing Obama's Senate successor

<p>Gov. Rod Blagojevich scheduled a news conference today to make a statement to the media, his first public appearance since he was arrested last week on federal corruption charges.</p> <p>Blagojevich has avoided the public eye for the most part since his arrest, but in recent days has told reporters camped outside his house that he is eager to talk to the people of Illinois.</p>

If I had a bigger ego, I could easily imagine that liberals say and do the things they say and do simply to perplex or annoy me. But I know I shouldn’t take it personally. All sane and sensible people are equally dismayed. Continues...============================================================== Obama, restoring America's image, one scandal at a time Apparently, the biggest requirement to work in the Obama administration is establishing that you're actively under criminal investigation. Obama is desperately angling to outdo Clinton even before he's inaugurated. It helps that he's brought onboard The Clinton Administration to pick up where it left off. In fairness,...

WASHINGTON -- Over the past four years, the Democrats blamed the Republicans for ushering in "a culture of corruption" that they charged had infected every nook and cranny of the government. The lobbying payoffs and influence-peddling scandals did indeed bring down a number of Republicans, though it turned out that many Democratic lawmakers also had received tainted contributions from the same lobbyists or their clients. But that got less attention from the national news media. Now the tide has turned against the Democrats on two fronts, and it is they who are being investigated on corruption charges just as they...

Fox news, other news channel, presser coming up.

President-elect Barack Obama's decision to keep a distance from his state's governor, who was arrested on corruption charges on Tuesday, should enable him to escape becoming tainted by the scandal, analysts said. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich stands accused of trying to sell the president-elect's vacant U.S. Senate seat for financial and other personal benefits for himself and his wife, among other charges. "Obama is not related to the corruption pattern in Chicago," said political scientist Dick Simpson of the University of Illinois in Chicago. "He has not been pressing for any person to replace him in his Senate seat." U.S....

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich sold his administration. You could buy practically anything - including Obama's vacant seat. FBI Agent Robert Grant: "Illinois might not be the most corrupt state in the union, but it's a helluva competitor." Blagojevich's corruption defies belief - an alleged attempt to extort personal favors from Obama's folks in exchange for choosing their replacement. Trying to force the Tribune Co. to fire editorial writers by threatening to withhold millions in state aid in a deal to sell Wrigley Field. Soliciting a $50,000 campaign contribution in exchange for $8 million in state funds for a children's hospital....

PRESS RELEASE from the Office of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 10, 2007 Statement from Governor Rod R. Blagojevich “On this historic day, I am pleased to join many Illinoisans who are excited and proud to support Senator Obama in his bid for the Presidency. I know that Senator Obama will fight to make sure that working families have access to health care, good paying jobs, and opportunities to provide for their children. Senator Obama supports the very best of these Democratic values; they are values that he and I share, values I know he will fight...