By the time you read this we may or may not know whether impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich is found guilty of trying to auction off President Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat, to which he wound up appointing Roland Burris for the two years remaining in Obama’s term.

But a local federal appellate court decision, with national implications, may curtail the ability of any governors to make such long-term appointments—depriving them of the perk Blago described as “f—ing golden,” worth a huge campaign contribution or high-paying job.
The decision can affect more …

How do these people get elected?

George Ryan, Rod Blagojevich, Mike Madigan, Richard Daley. And many, many more. We know all about these people. And yet we elect them. And we re-elect them.
How do these people get elected? I have been asked this question many times since my book on Len Small, Illinois’ most corrupt governor, was published last year. Whether it’s Len Small in 1920, Rod Blagojevich in 2006, or Otto Kerner, Orville Hodge, Paul Powell or any one of a thousand others in between, how is it that the …

Maybe voters shouldn’t have listened to Barack Obama, who claimed Rezko as his “political godfather.” Obama assured voters in a re-election endorsement that “We’ve got a governor in Rod Blagojevich who has delivered consistently on behalf of the people of Illinois.”
Party leaders knew that wasn’t true.

* * *
And when the media did begin reporting on the allegations swirling around the governor’s office, even alleged party reformers were there to defend Blagojevich.
“I don’t like government being used as a tool to reward political favors and I never have. I don’t like …

I was coming out of a polling place in East Rogers Park, where I had served as a precinct judge of election, when I found that my Pontiac would not start. I placed a telephone call to a police officer assigned to the 24th District and he helped me get a tow truck. While we were waiting for the truck, we began talking about local politics and he told me that Alderman Dick Mell (33rd) was going to begin pushing hard for a young lawyer by the name of Rod …

Sam Adam Jr. has just accused President Barack Obama and his transition team of negotiating with Blagojevich.
The offer came from Rod to Tom Balanoff, Adam says. Balanoff brought it to Valerie Jarrett and word came back from Rahm Emanuel through John Wyma. It’s a negotiation they were in, he said of Obama and Blagojevich.
“You start high and they come low,” Adam said.

Read more at the Sun-Times

From the Obama-Blagojevich Blog

Here’s what Obama told the Tribune in November 2006:
—He wasn’t sure if he called Rezko to tell him about his interest in the house.
—Said Rezko had raised about $20,000 for him over the years.
—Said Rezko hadn’t been “involved with him in any legislative work whatsoever or any governmental activities of any sort.”
—Said he and Rezko shared lunch “once or twice a year” and as couples the Rezkos and Obamas dined “two to four times.”
By the time Obama finally was forced to answer questions to the Tribune and …

Here’s what President Obama said:
Obama also said “he had no interest in dictating the result of the selection process and he would not do so, either directly or indirectly through staff or others,” the report said, adding that Whitaker relayed that information to Peters.
And here is what actually happened in negotiating the Obama/Blagojevich purchase/sale of the Illinois Senate seat, (via the Backyard Conservative):
The picture could have been taken before, but the questions about a meeting between Obama and Blago remain. Big Journalism. That question is connected to another big one–the …

Newsbusters noticed a section of the tape that was being curiously ignored by the most of the MSM:
From an FBI tape recorded last November and appearing on Fox Chicago News’s Web site, Blagojevich spoke of president-elect Barack Obama:
BLAGOJEVICH I thin-, you know, it’s really, I get that I’m a big boy and I can handle that, but it’s really f***ing galling, this guy is more Tony’d up than I am. And it’s almost like they f***ing conspi-, made a concerted effort and they got the Chicago media to f***ing make me wear …

The Chicago Sun-Times reports:
Union leader Tom Balanoff just testified that right after the Presidential election, he met with both Valerie Jarrett and Alexi Giannoulias about Jarrett’s possible appointment to the Senate by Rod Blagojevich.
There’s more:
Balanoff said he planned to tell Blagojevich that if he didn’t appoint Jarrett then the governor couldn’t expect future help from the union, a major Democratic contributor.
“I was going to use our union’s influence to make a good decision,” Balanoff said.

Blago, Obama,  Giannoulias,and SEIU: nice people to do business with.
More from News Alert

The name of President Obama came into play this afternoon at the political corruption trial of former governor Rod Blagojevich as an associate of political fund-raiser Tony Rezko testified that Rezko asked him to write a $10,000 check to Friends of Obama.

Aramanda gave $10,000 in campaign cash to Obama’s U.S. Senate campaign on March 5, 2004, according to records. The money came from part of a finder’s fee Aramanda received, but did no work for, thanks to Rezko.
Read more at the Chicago Sun-Times
image Tony Rezko home, site of this “fundraiser”.