Just follow your nose. It's not like Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich didn't already exude the stink of corruption.
In April of this year, a Chicago Tribune investigation revealed that at least three of every four $25,000 donors to Boss Blag got something from the administration.... including jobs, contracts or favorable regulatory rulings.
A month later Illinois lawmakers passed an ethics reform bill targeted directly at Blagojevich and his record-setting efforts to collect campaign contributions from state contractors.
The effect of this legislation .... it kicked Boss Blag's arm-twisting into high gear.... "with the urgency of a salesman meeting his annual sales target," according to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. The end of July The Tribune reported that in the month since lawmakers passed the ethics bill, the governor ramped up his efforts by collecting more than a quarter of a million dollars from those with business before the state.
Besides using his office in an effort to trample the Tribune's editorial voices of criticism, Boss Blag thumbed his nose at the state's attempts to reign him in .... toward the end of August he vetoed the ethics bill saying he wants it to be tougher and to include lawmakers as well as himself.
Undoubtedly Boss Blag knew he was being bugged and taped.... but he must have thought he was the windy city's Tony Soprano..... too smart for the Feds, using his "organization" to make crime pay, big time.
His big take would be the selling of the U.S. Senate seat vacated by president-elect Barack Obama. By Illinois law, as governor, Boss Blag is the only person who can name Obama's replacement.
Note to Illinois lawmakers: You couldn't see this situation developing? You were happy to just let this extortionist name your one of two U.S. Senators for Illinois?
Yesterday.... federal prosecutor Fitzgerald of Scooter Libby investigation fame made Boss Blag and his chief of graft, John Harris, do the perp walk, arresting them on corruption charges.
Yet......
Despite Fitzgerald saying that "the breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering," hours after his arrest Boss Blag was out of jail on his own recognizance.... on a $4,500 bond.... chump change to Boss Blag. (ABC)
Today he's back in the governor's office and as of this writing still has the sole power to appoint Obama's replacement.
Even though according to the Tribune timeline, the "federal criminal investigation" of Boss Blag began in June of 2004, an investigation of what has been labeled as a political crime spree, he was, and still is, allowed to continue to abuse the considerable power of his office.
We need to hear much more.....
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If you're trying to understand life in the political cesspool that is the Land of Lincoln, watch this music video:
http://blogs.chicagoreader.com/politics/2009/01/06/pay-play-video/
You'll then know why the Chicago Reader's Ben Joravsky wrote that the song "tells you pretty much everything you need to know about the culture of politics in our fair state."
Matt Farmer
PAY TO PLAY (But Keep Love In Your Heart)
Matt Farmer
VERSE
All my life I've been a workin' man
On Chicago's northwest side
Livin' check to check, never gettin' ahead
No matter how hard I tried
I had an old friend from the neighborhood
He grew up to do just fine
He couldn't read or write to save his life
But I guess his boss didn't mind
Now, I never quite knew what my old friend did
To get that money rollin' in
But life, I guess, can be pretty good
For a state committeeman
So, one night over beer at the local bar
I said, "How'd you make your dough?"
My friend just grinned a wicked grin
And said, "Here's all you need to know"
CHORUS
You've got to pay-to-play in this town
If you wanna make that deal go down
It's who you know inside the Big Machine
Just find the man that's behind the man
And put some money in his hand
That's how we try to keep our city green
VERSE
Well, the liquor flowed and the stories flew
And my old friend bared his soul
About rigging bids and getting neighbor kids
Good jobs on a ghost payroll
He said he'd be happy to help me out
If there was anything he could do
Like try to arrange a zoning change
Or put me on a movie crew
Well we talked and talked until last call
And I told him I was beat
Then he climbed aboard his hired truck
To see a man about a Senate seat
And late that night as I lay in bed
You know I finally figured it out
My friend didn't need to read or write
'Cuz he had himself some clout
CHORUS
You've got to pay-to-play in this town
If you wanna make that deal go down
It's who you know inside the Big Machine
Just find the man that's behind the man
And put some money in his hand
That's how we try to keep our city green
CHORUS
You've got to pay-to-play in this town
If you wanna make that deal go down
It's who you know inside the Big Machine
If you wanna stand out
You gotta know who gets the handout
That's how we try to keep our city green
It's a daily job to keep our city green
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