By Sylvia Gurinsky
Well, suddenly, that sit-in isn't Chicago's biggest story. Neither is the bankruptcy of Tribune, whom I worked for until last January. And neither is President-Elect Barack Obama's Cabinet selections.
That's thanks to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat who has apparently claimed President Richard Nixon as his role model.
This morning, Blagojevich and his chief of staff were arrested on various corruption charges related to the selection of Obama's replacement in the U.S. Senate. Basically, the Feds say the governor was ready to sell the Senate seat to the highest bidder:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-rod-blagojevich-illinois-governor-6,0,5047903.story
Judging by what U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and others have said about the transcripts, Blagojevich sounds like Nixon during Watergate, with profanity, loose statements and insults of various people, including Obama. The irony is that Blagojevich was elected in 2003 with a promise to clean up Illinois politics in the wake of his predecessor, Gov. George Ryan, now serving a prison sentence for racketeering and fraud.
In the twists and turns of Illinois politics, Blagojevich could still appoint Obama's successor from jail, if he's still governor. The state legislature is moving quickly to impeach him, but Blagojevich should beat them all - and resign.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment