Lucia

de Vernai

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December 10, 2008

Plan B for Blagojevich: The Illinois Way to Pay for Christmas

Holidays are always a strain on the family checkbook, and most of us have to get creative to make sure the slow economy doesn’t keep Santa down. Going to the extremes to make ends meet seems to be a national trend as banks neatly line up for government handouts. If you’re thinking you can get the feds to cover the hole in your pocket left by Guitar Hero and Twilight memorabilia, keep in mind that the guys ahead of you, namely General Motors, need $14 billion to make it to the end of the month. So it’s time to find a plan B.

That’s probably what Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was thinking as he prepared to sell President-elect Barack Obama's now-empty seat in the U.S. Senate to the highest bidder. Holiday surprises came early for Blagojevich, however, when federal agents arrested him and his chief of staff on Tuesday morning. Next to a lump of coal, daddy getting dragged off by federal agents at 6:15 in the morning is a very close second. Apparently Blagojevich missed the memo.  

The 76-page affidavit that lists these allegations has been called “breathtaking” by U.S. Attorney General Patrick Fitzgerald, despite the fact that it did not come with a bow on top. What it certainly did contain were details of how the governor planned to turn Obama’s seat into an ambassadorship or a high-paying job with the unions as well as secure his wife a corporate board position bound to fetch $150,000 a year. Why is it always the family men that turn out to be the sleazes?

The governor was willing to take the position himself if the right buyer didn’t come along. Thankfully the five-year-long investigation culminated with a high-quality audio wiretap that, along with other crimes the governor stands accused of (campaign fund, appointment-related shadiness and such) is bound to make his predecessor, currently serving a six-year prison term for similar activities, look like an amateur.

According to the indictment, Blagojevich’s motivation was his concern with his family’s financial situation. It’s going to be a tough one for sure if Blagojevich, celebrating his 52nd birthday this week, leaves his young family for the decked halls of a federal penitentiary. As a response to the arrest, the other famous Chicago family man, President-elect Obama, covered his own ass-ets stating that he was "saddened and sobered" by the events but also that he "had no contact with the governor or his office and so I was not aware of what was happening."

At the request of the U.S. attorney’s office, newspapers agreed to not publish certain details of the case to speed up the investigation (which may explain the suspicious absence of a 20-year-old hooker in this scandal.) The extent of corruption runs far and wide, affecting everything from Chicago’s “green” highway lanes to Wrigley Park ownership, and is bound to keep the Land of Lincoln incessantly occupied for months to come.

For the rest of the nation awaiting a new administration to take office, it reminds us that we need to be on guard against abuses of power – most wonderful time of the year or not.

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