"We didn't know the intensity of the federal inquiry" – Mike Madigan
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan recently tried to explain his co-chairing of Rod Blagojevich’s re-election campaign in 2006 by saying “we didn’t know the intensity of the federal inquiry.” (Chicago Tribune, House panel unanimously approves report accusing Gov. Rod Blagojevich of wide range of offenses, January 9, 2008).
We don’t know how Speaker Madigan could not have known the “intensity of the federal inquiry”. Below is only a small sampling of press reports of federal investigations of the Governor’s office that appeared before Blagojevich’s re-election in 2006
The 24-count indictment against Antoin "Tony" Rezko -- a top fund-raiser for Blagojevich and a former business associate of the governor's wife -- outlines a "pay-to-play scheme on steroids," U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said. (Chicago Sun Times, It’s ‘pay to play…on Steroids: Gov in spotlight as feds indict top fundraiser in shake-down scheme, October 12, 2006)
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The governor's own inspector general accused Cini's (Blagojevich patronage chief) office of a "concerted effort to subvert"state hiring laws, according to media accounts that cited a previously undisclosed September 2004 report by then-Inspector General Zaldwaynaka Scott. (Chicago Daily Herald, New Hiring Probe, New Central Figure, July 9, 2006)
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The hiring practices of the Illinois governor's office are the focus of a federal investigation into possible misconduct at several state agencies, a federal prosecutor said in a letter made public Friday…U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in the letter he is looking into "very serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud" by Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration. The allegations include violations of restrictions against using politics to award jobs. (Associated Press, Feds Probing Illinois Gov Office Hiring, July 1, 2006)
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While the Chicago FBI just added a third public corruption squad in September to make the unit the largest in the country -- it still isn't enough.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Grant said he and U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald have asked Washington, D.C., for more resources to help root out public fraud.
"We asked headquarters to give us more bodies," Grant told the Chicago Sun-Times. "If [they're] going to give out bodies, we would like to have them and we would like them for public corruption." (Chicago Sun Times, Feds turn up heat on Chicago: FBI wants more agents to investigate public corruption, January 2, 2006)
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Federal prosecutors issued subpoenas looking at how restaurants with connections to a Gov. Blagojevich fund-raiser scored leases at seven Illinois State Toll Highway Authority oases, a tollway spokeswoman confirmed Friday.
The single subpoena delivered earlier this year specifically asks for copies of the leases and any documents, correspondence and memos related to oases general contractor Wilton Partners, and Subway and Panda Express restaurants, which have connections to Blagojevich fund-raiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko, sources said. (Chicago Sun Times, Feds checking oasis leases with ties to Gov fund-raiser, December 31, 2005)
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Federal subpoenas may continue showing up at Gov. Rod Blagojevich's office, but he won't continue talking about it.
After the latest one - seeking personnel records at the Corrections Department - the governor's office said Thursday it will no longer publicly comment when it receives a subpoena. (Associated Press, As subpoenas continue, Blagojevich administration stops talking, November 3, 2005)
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Last week, federal prosecutors subpoenaed personnel records from the governor's office and the Illinois Department of Transportation. And the governor's office said it was similar to a subpoena delivered earlier this month to the Department of Children and Family Services, seeking personnel records going back three years, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Earlier, news outlets including the Chicago Sun-Times and the Associated Press quoted sources as saying that Blagojevich was the "Public Official A" who was said - in a plea agreement from prominent Democratic fundraiser Joseph Cari - to have been the possible beneficiary of a fundraising strategy where businesses getting Teachers' Retirement System investments would pay consultants, who then would contribute to campaigns. (Copley News Service, State, federal probes look at 'reform governor's' agencies, October 28, 2005)
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Federal investigators subpoenaed the state's Transportation Department for personnel records Tuesday in a deepening probe of state hiring practices under Gov. Blagojevich. (Chicago Sun Times, Feds seek hiring records from IDOT: Probe widens into personnel issues under Blagojevich, October 26, 2005)
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Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed Gov. Rod Blagojevich's office for personnel information going back to March 2002, and the administration has hired a former assistant U.S. attorney to handle investigators' requests for documents, a Blagojevich spokeswoman said Tuesday. (Associated Press, Blagojevich's office receives federal subpoena, October 25, 2005)
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Gov. Rod Blagojevich's office has received subpoenas from a grand jury investigating allegations that his chief fundraiser traded jobs for campaign contributions, a source close to the investigation said Monday. (Associated Press, Source: Ill. Governor's Office Subpoenaed, May 17, 2005)
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Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Monday said his "testicular virility" in standing up to his father-in-law, Chicago Alderman Richard Mell, sparked the grand-jury investigation into political fundraising that has generated more bad headlines for his administration. (Copley News Service, Fight with Mell led to grand jury probe, governor says, May 16, 2005)
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An apparently long-simmering disagreement between the two became public earlier this month when Blagojevich shut down a landfill run by a distant relative of his in-laws. Mell responded by telling reporters his son-in-law was destroying the family.
And he added a more serious accusation: that Blagojevich's chief fund-raiser had traded government appointments for $50,000 campaign contributions. (Associated Press, Family Dispute Marks Chicago Politics, January 25, 2005)
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