Blagojevich indictment details alleged corruption spree
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| Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich (AP file photo) |
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A federal grand jury Thursday indicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, his brother, and four others in what federal prosecutors are calling an alleged corruption spree that predates his 2002 election.
Blagojevich is named in 16 of the 19 counts. The former Democratic governor faces 11 counts of wire fraud, two counts of attempted extortion, and one count each of racketeering conspiracy, extortion conspiracy, and making false statements to federal agents.
Indicted along with Blagojevich, 52, were his older brother, Robert, who headed his campaign fund Friends of Blagojevich, fellow fundraiser Christopher Kelly, and longtime Springfield insider William Cellini. Former Blagojevich chiefs of staff Lon Monk and John Harris each face one count of wire fraud. The U.S. Attorney’s Office disclosed that Harris has agreed to cooperate with investigators.
Blagojevich is the fifth Illinois governor since 1964 to be indicted, although former Gov. Dan Walker was indicted for crimes committed after leaving office. Only the first, Ingleside native William Stratton, was acquitted.
Local legislators in session when the indictment was handed down said they were pleased that Blagojevich and those who allegedly aided him would face trial.
“The housecleaning in Illinois has begun, and we need to continue to disinfect the cesspool of Illinois politics,” said state Rep. Jack Franks, D-Marengo, one of Blagojevich’s earliest and harshest critics.
Blagojevich, vacationing with his family at Walt Disney World, said in a statement that he was “saddened and hurt” but “not surprised” by the indictment, and he again professed his innocence.
The 75-page indictment includes the allegations surrounding Blagojevich’s arrest Dec. 9 that he conspired to sell the vacant U.S. Senate seat of President Obama to the highest bidder and threatened to withhold state assistance from Tribune Co. to sell Wrigley Field unless it fired Chicago Tribune writers critical of Blagojevich.
Among the new allegations is that Blagojevich, before his 2002 election, conspired with Monk, Kelly and convicted fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko to use the office for financial gain, distributing the spoils after Blagojevich left office. The indictment also alleges that Blagojevich tried to extort a member of Congress for a campaign contribution by withholding a $2 million state grant to a school in the member’s district.
David Lundy, acting executive director of the Chicago-based Better Government Association, said he was disgusted by the allegations.
“It’s pretty clear from this indictment that Gov. Blagojevich didn’t see just the Senate seat as ‘bleeping golden,’ but saw his entire governorship that way,” Lundy said, paraphrasing the way U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald described one Blagojevich remark caught on court-authorized wiretaps.
Elected in 2002 on a pledge to clean up state government after Republican predecessor George Ryan, who himself later was indicted and convicted, Blagojevich found himself accused instead of taking Illinois corruption to a new low. Ryan is serving a 6 1/2-year prison sentence for racketeering and fraud.
Blagojevich’s arrest Dec. 9 was the last straw for state lawmakers frustrated over years of sparring with him and frustrated with his yearslong feud with House Speaker Michael Madigan that had all but paralyzed state government. The House convened a 21-member investigative committee to investigate impeachment, and the House voted to impeach Jan. 9, the day after the committee unanimously recommended it.
Blagojevich added fuel to his own political funeral pyre in the months after his arrest, from a bizarre whirlwind news media tour and poetry-laden news conferences to his unpopular decision to appoint Roland Burris, former comptroller and attorney general, to the vacant U.S. Senate seat.
The Illinois Senate unanimously voted Jan. 29 to remove Blagojevich from power and bar him from ever again holding any Illinois elected office. The trial lasted four days, abbreviated by Blagojevich’s refusal to participate outside of a last-minute appearance.
State Sen. Pamela Althoff, R-McHenry, said the indictment was further justification for the Senate’s vote.
“It’s certainly validation, but I don’t think this was necessarily required for us to have taken that action,” Althoff said.
State Rep. Mike Tryon, R-Crystal Lake, said some good had come from Blagojevich’s ouster and indictment. As the grand jury convened, the House acted to remove Blagojevich’s appointments to state pension boards and approved Tryon’s bill to create an online portal of all state salaries and expenditures.
“I don’t know a member of the General Assembly who wasn’t appalled at some of the activities we were hearing about,” Tryon said. “I just hope we can put this chapter behind us.”
Josh Earnest, deputy press secretary for Obama, said the White House did not plan to comment on the indictment. But Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin, D-Ill., urged Blagojevich in a prepared statement not to “ ... view this indictment as a green light for another publicity tour.”
“Rod Blagojevich deserves his day in court, but the people of Illinois deserve a break,” Durbin said.
The government is seeking $188,370 forfeiture from Blagojevich as proceeds of the alleged fraud and racketeering activity and lists his Washington, D.C., apartment and Ravenswood Manor home in Chicago as substitute assets.
