For other persons named Blagojevich, see Blagojevi“. Milorad "Rod" R. Blagojevich (pronounced /bl„-gv-t“/  listen (help·info), born December 10, 1956) is an American politician from the state of Illinois. A Democrat, Blagojevich currently serves as Governor of Illinois and previously represented parts of Chicago in the U.S. Congress. He is the second Serbian American to be elected governor of any state of the United States, after George Voinovich of Ohio.[2]
Blagojevich was the first Democrat to be elected governor of Illinois in 30 years (since Daniel Walker in 1972). Blagojevich has struggled annually to pass legislation and budgets, often opposed by many members of his own party (which controls the Illinois General Assembly) who perennially disagree with him over budget and other issues.[3] He has been the target of multiple federal investigations[4][5] and has historically low approval ratings within Illinois; Rasmussen called him "America's Least Popular Governor."[6]
On December 9, 2008, Blagojevich was arrested by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and with solicitation of bribery.[7][8] The Justice Department complaint alleges that the governor conspired to commit several "pay-to-play" schemes, including attempting to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacated United States Senate seat to the highest bidder.[9] As a result of the arrest, Blagojevich has faced calls for his resignation or impeachment and removal from office.[10]
Personal information
Born Milorad Blagojevi- (Serbian Cyrillic: - -), "Rod" (as he became known locally) was raised in Chicago's northwest side, and he was the second of two children. His father, Radisav, was an immigrant steel plant laborer from a village near Kragujevac, Serbia (then Yugoslavia).[11] His mother, Mila Govedarica, is a Serb originally from Gacko, Bosnia and Herzegovina (then a part of Yugoslavia).[12] His parents moved to Chicago in 1947. Blagojevich has a brother, Rob.[1] Blagojevich spent much of his childhood working odd jobs to help the family pay its bills. He was a shoeshiner and pizza delivery boy before working at a meat packing plant.[11] In order to afford university, Blagojevich worked for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System as a dishwasher.[11]
Blagojevich is married to the former Patricia Mell, daughter of Chicago Alderman Richard Mell. The couple has two daughters, Amy and Anne. Anne was born just months after her father was sworn in as governor. His sister-in-law is Deb Mell, a gay rights activist who ran unopposed for the state house in 2008. Blagojevich does not have a middle name, but uses the initial "R." in honor of his deceased father.[13]
Early life and education
Blagojevich, although a mediocre student,[14] graduated from Chicago's Foreman High School after transferring from Lane Technical High School. He played basketball in high school and participated in two fights after training as a Golden Gloves boxer.[14] After graduation, he enrolled at the University of Tampa.[15] After two years, he transferred to Northwestern University in suburban Evanston where he obtained his bachelor's degree in 1979. He obtained his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1983. He later said of the experience: "I went to law school at a place called Pepperdine in Malibu, Calif., overlooking the Pacific Ocean--a lot of surfing and movie stars and all the rest. I barely knew where that law library was."[1] Through his father-in-law's connections, Blagojevich clerked for Chicago Alderman Edward Vrdolyak.[16] Blagojevich then took a job as Cook County Assistant State's Attorney (assistant prosecutor) under State's Attorney Richard M. Daley,[16] specializing in domestic abuse crimes and felony weapons cases.[17] [18]
Legislator
With the backing of his influential father-in-law, alderman Richard Mell, who used his connections to get 200 soldiers to campaign for him, Blagojevich won a seat in the Illinois House of Representatives in 1992, against an entrenched incumbent.[16][19] Most of his legislative accomplishments centered on crime and justice issues.[citation needed] He drew on his experiences as a prosecutor to draft bills that he argued would strengthen the state's judicial system and cut crime.
In 1996, Blagojevich gave up his seat in the state house to run in Illinois's 5th congressional district. The district had long been represented by the powerful Democrat, Daniel Rostenkowski, who served as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Rostenkowski was defeated for reelection in 1994 after pleading guilty to mail fraud, being succeeded by Republican Mike Flanagan. Blagojevich soundly defeated Flanagan with support from his father-in-law. He was elected two more times, taking 74 percent against a nominal Republican challenger in 1998 and facing only a Libertarian in 2000. In Congress, he continued to advocate "anti-crime measures", especially gun control legislation.[citation needed] He was not known as a particularly active congressman,[16] but Blagojevich gained some prominence[citation needed] in the late 1990s when he traveled with Jesse Jackson to Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia to negotiate with President Slobodan Milo„evi“ for the release of American prisoners of war.[16]
On October 10, 2002, Rod Blagojevich was among the 81 House Democrats who voted in favor of authorizing the invasion of Iraq.[20] He was the only Democrat from Illinois to vote in favor of the Iraq War.
Gubernatorial campaigns
2002 election
- See also: Illinois gubernatorial election, 2002
In 2002, Blagojevich ran for his party's nomination to become governor. Blagojevich won a close primary campaign against former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris, whose base was largely African-American voters,[citation needed] and Chicago Public Schools Superintendent Paul Vallas, who ran well in the suburban "collar" counties of Chicago.[21] Blagojevich finished strongly in downstate Illinois, winning 55% of the primary vote downstate, enough to win a primary victory by a thin margin.[16]
During the primary, state Senator Barack Obama backed former Attorney General Burris, but supported Blagojevich after he won the primary at Burris' suggestion,[22] serving as a "top adviser" for the general election.[23] Future Obama senior adviser David Axelrod had previously worked with Blagojevich on Congressional campaigns, but did not consider Blagojevich ready to be governor and declined to work for him on this campaign.[23] According to Rahm Emanuel, he, Barack Obama, Blagojevich's campaign co-chair David Wilhelm, and another Blagojevich staffer "were the top strategists of Blagojevich's 2002 gubernatorial victory," meeting weekly to outline campaign strategies.[23] However, Wilhelm has said that Emanuel overstated Obama's role in the sessions, and Emanuel said in December 2008 that Wilhelm was correct and he had been wrong in his earlier 2008 recollection to The New Yorker.[23]
In the general election, Blagojevich defeated Republican Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan.[16] Blagojevich's campaign was helped by his connected father-in-law, Chicago alderman Richard Mell.[16] Ethics scandals had plagued the previous administration of Republican George Ryan (no relation to Jim), and Blagojevich's campaign focused on the theme of "ending business as usual" in state government.[24] Polls prior to the election found that many Illinois voters were confused about the names of George Ryan and Jim Ryan, a fact Blagojevich capitalized on.[25] He asked, "How can you replace one Ryan with another Ryan and call that change- You want change- Elect a guy named Blagojevich."[25] Blagojevich won with 52% of the vote over Jim Ryan.[25] On election night, he said: -Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, Illinois has voted for change.- [24]
2006 re-election
- See also: Illinois gubernatorial election, 2006
During 2005 to 2006, Blagojevich served as Federal Liaison for the Democratic Governors Association. Numerous scandals brought the Governor's approval rating as low as 36%, with 56% "disapproving" near the end of 2005.[26]
By early 2006, five Republicans ran in the primary for the right to challenge him in the general election, with state treasurer Judy Baar Topinka eventually winning the nomination. Blagojevich formally launched his 2006 re-election campaign for Governor of Illinois on February 19, 2006. He won the Democratic primary on March 21 with 72% of the vote against challenger Edwin Eisendrath, whom Blagojevich would not debate.[27] He convinced Democratic state senator James Meeks not to launch a third party run by saying that he would attempt to lease out the state lottery to provide education funding.[28] Blagojevich was endorsed by many Democratic leaders (with the notable exception of Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who claimed it was a conflict of interest since her office was investigating Blagojevich),[29] including then-Illinois Senator Barack Obama, who endorsed the governor in early 2005 and spoke on his behalf at the August 2006 Illinois State Fair.[23] Blagojevich was also endorsed by the state's Sierra Club, the only Illinois governor ever endorsed by the organization.[30] The union American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees declined to endorse Blagojevich for re-election, citing the 500 jobs he cut from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which left some state parks unsupervised.[31]
In the general election, Blagojevich defeated Topinka and the Green Party's Rich Whitney, outspending Topinka $27 million to $6 million.[32][33] He attempted to tie Topinka to former Republican governor George Ryan's corruption.[34] Topinka ran ads detailing Blagojevich's federal investigations and non-endorsements by major state Democrats such as Lisa Madigan.[29] A three-term state treasurer, Topinka said that she had attempted to block Blagojevich from using money from special funds for general expenditures without approval of the legislature; she said Blagojevich used the funds for projects meant to distract voters from his associates' corruption trials: -This constant giving away of money - a million here, a million there, it raids our already hamstrung government and deadbeat state.- [35] Topinka's spokesman claimed that Blagojevich was the "most investigated" governor in Illinois history.[36] Topinka lost to Blagojevich by 11%.[29]
Gubernatorial administration
After the 2002 elections, Democrats had control of the Illinois House, Senate, and all but one statewide office. Since taking office, Blagojevich has signed numerous pieces of progressive legislation such as ethics reform, death penalty reform, a state Earned Income Tax Credit, a statewide comprehensive smoking ban and expansions of health programs like KidCare and FamilyCare (the latter ruled unconstitutional); critics claimed that Blagojevich was benefiting from the publicity more than the programs were helping the public.[1] Blagojevich signed a bill in 2005 that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, public accommodations, and credit. Blagojevich originally ran on a platform against pork barrel spending, but eventually used it himself to get more votes for bills.[1]
During a suspected shortage of the flu vaccine in 2004, Blagojevich ordered 260,000 doses from overseas distributors, which the FDA had warned would be barred from entering the United States.[37] Although the vaccine doses had cost the state $2.6 million, the FDA refused to allow them into the country, and a buyer could not be found; they were donated to earthquake survivors in Pakistan a year later.[37] However, the lots had expired, and Pakistan destroyed the vaccines.[38] After Blagojevich pushed for a law banning sales of certain video games to minors, a federal judge declared the law violated the First Amendment, with the state ordered to pay $520,000 in legal fees.[39]
Shortly after taking office in 2003, Blagojevich continued support of a "moratorium" on executions of death row inmates, even though no such executions are likely to occur for years (his predecessor, George Ryan, commuted all of the death sentences in the state shortly before leaving office in 2003).[40] This support has continued through his administration.[41]
Another notable action of his term was a strict new ethics law. When campaigning for re-election in 2006, Blagojevich said that if his ethics law had been in place when former governor George Ryan had been in office, Ryan's corruption might not have occurred.[36] Blagojevich also signed a comprehensive death penalty reform bill that was written by now-President-elect Barack Obama (when he was serving as an Illinois State Senator) and the late U.S. Senator Paul M. Simon. Organized labor and African-Americans have become Blagojevich's staunchest political supporters.[28] In 2008, he told a group of African-Americans that he sometimes considered himself the first African-American governor of Illinois.[42]
Education
Despite an annual budget crunch, Blagojevich has overseen record increases in funding for education every year without raising general sales or income taxes. He has been criticized by Republicans and many moderate Democrats for using funds from the state pension system in order to fund other spending.[16]
Another early 2006 proposal included "PreSchool for All" for all three- and four-year-old children in Illinois. Legislation authorizing the program was adopted as part of the fiscal year 2007 budget.[43]
Proposed capital programs
On 10 January 2006, Blagojevich announced a proposal for a new $3 billion (US) spending plan for Illinois roads, mass transit, and schools, to be paid for by increased tax revenue and new gambling proposals (such as Keno and lottery games).[44] The proposal met with immediate opposition by members of the Republican Party in Illinois and many Democrats, who viewed it as "an election year ploy." The suggestion to legalize Keno within Illinois was later withdrawn.[45] As of 2008, Blagojevich had been unable to come to an agreement for five years in a row on a capital plan that would shore up Illinois infrastructure.[16]
In March 2008, Blagojevich announced a bipartisan coalition, chaired by former U.S. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and Former U.S. Congressman Glenn Poshard, to put together a capital construction package that could pass the Illinois General Assembly. The Illinois Works Coalition toured the state and put together a compromise $34 billion package that relied on a lease of the Illinois Lottery, road funds, and expanded gambling for funding.[46] The plan passed the Senate but stalled in the Illinois House, with opposition from Democrats.[28]
Special sessions
Blagojevich has called the Illinois General Assembly into special session 36 times since assuming office, which is half of the total number of special sessions called since 1970.[16] The sessions have been blamed for disrupting lawmakers' time off, while Blagojevich did not attend the sessions.[33]
Relationships with fellow lawmakers
Blagojevich has not gotten along with many state Democrats while in office, with House and Senate Republican leaders Frank Watson and Tom Cross often refereeing among the Democrats.[16] In 2008, Blagojevich even expressed fear that House Democrats would gain more seats and he would face more opposition.[47]
Blagojevich's lieutenant governor is Pat Quinn, with whom he has had a sour relationship since taking office. Quinn and Blagojevich have publicly argued, among many other subjects,[16] the latter's proposed "Gross Receipts Tax" to increase revenue for schools and other projects within Illinois.[48] Quinn said in December 2008 that he had last spoken to Blagojevich in the summer of 2007.[49] Blagojevich has also feuded with Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Comptroller Dan Hynes, Secretary of State Jesse White, and state treasurer Alexi Giannoulias-- who are all Democrats.[16]
Blagojevich has been at odds with members of both parties in the state legislature who see him as "disengaged" and "dictatorial."[50] Democratic legislator Jack Franks has said that the reason Blagojevich has problems passing laws with the cooperation of the Legislature is that he does not spend enough time with the Legislature. "That-s a real reason he has such poor relations with the Legislature and can-t get any of his agenda passed, because he doesn-t talk to anybody."[51] When lawmakers working on a budget during a special session met at 10 a.m. rather than 2 p.m., and Blagojevich's attorney threatened that the Governor was considering legal action against the involved representatives, Democratic Rep. Joe Lyons told reporters, "We have a madman. The man is insane."[50]
Blagojevich has had an ongoing feud "worthy of the Hatfields and McCoys" with Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, a fiscal conservative who resists Blagojevich's proposed increases in state spending.[50][16] Madigan has become Blagojevich's chief nemesis, blocking numerous Blagojevich proposals.[28] Illinois senior Senator Dick Durbin said in 2008 that he receives many constituent complaints about the dispute between Blagojevich and Madigan, with letter writers wanting him to step in to negotiate.[52] Durbin said the subject is also often talked about in the United States Congress in Washington, D.C. among the Illinois congressional delegation.[52] However, Durbin joked that he'd rather go to Baghdad to mediate than Springfield.[52] At one point in 2007, Blagojevich filed a lawsuit against Madigan after Madigan instructed lawmakers to not attend one of Blagojevich's scheduled special sessions on the budget.[16]
Although Barack Obama served as an adviser to Blagojevich's 2002 gubernatorial campaign, by all accounts, Blagojevich and Obama have been estranged for years.[53][49][22] Blagojevich did not endorse Obama in his 2004 United States Senate race, and Obama did not extend an invitation to Blagojevich to speak at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, as he did Lisa Madigan, Hynes, and Giannoulias.[22] Blagojevich has had a "friendly rapport" with the man who took over his congressional seat, Rahm Emanuel.[54]
Blagojevich has also publicly disagreed with Democratic Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley; after their dispute over Chicago Transit Authority funding, Daley called Blagojevich "cuckoo" and said he didn't want to argue with the Governor since "He's arguing with everybody in America."[55] Blagojevich replied, "I don't think I'm cuckoo."[55]
Following a 2007 meeting with Democratic State Senator Mike Jacobs, meant to convince Jacobs to vote for Blagojevich's health insurance proposals, Jacobs emerged telling reporters that the Governor "blew up at him like a 10-year-old child,"[16] acted as if he might hit Jacobs, screamed obscenities at him and threatened to ruin his political career if Jacobs didn't vote for the bill.[16] Jacobs said if Blagojevich had talked to him like that at a tavern in East Moline, "I would have kicked his tail end."[50] Blagojevich would not comment on the alleged incident.[50] Jacobs said in 2008: "This is a governor who I don't think has a single ally, except for Senate president Emil Jones- and that's tenuous at best." Jones and Blagojevich have sometimes collaborated, while at other times disagreeing on funding for education.[16]
In a 2008 Congressional race pitting Democratic state senator Debbie Halvorson against Republican Marty Ozinga, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ran television ads attempting to help Halvorson by linking Republican Ozinga to Blagojevich, asserting that Ozinga had given campaign donations to the Democratic governor.[56]
The Daily Show appearance
In early February 2006, Blagojevich appeared on The Daily Show to discuss his executive order that pharmacists must dispense any drugs for which a customer had a valid prescription, including birth control pills and Plan B. This controversial measure was being challenged on the show by state legislator Ron Stephens from Greenville. Blagojevich was interviewed by Jason Jones who repeatedly pretended to be unable to pronounce Blagojevich and simply called him "Governor Smith". This prompted Blagojevich to turn to the camera and ask "Is he teasing me or is that legit-" Two weeks after the interview, Blagojevich said that he was unaware of the nature of the show.[57] [58] Stephens said he knew beforehand that the show was a comedy show: "I thought the governor was hip enough that he would have known that, too."[57]
Stephens later said, "With all due respect to the governor, he knew it was a comedy show. It's general knowledge for people under 90 years of age. It was when he came off looking so silly that he said he thought it was a regular news program. Even assuming he didn't know about it beforehand, we had to sign a release before the interview."[59]
Approval ratings
As of October 13, 2008 (well before Blagojevich's arrest), an unprecedented 0% of Illinois voters rated him "excellent" in a Rasmussen poll, with 4% rating him "good", 29% "fair", and 64% "poor".[60] Blagojevich ranks as "Least Popular Governor" in the nation according to Rasmussen Reports By the Numbers.[6]
On October 23, 2008, the Chicago Tribune reported that Blagojevich suffered the lowest ratings ever recorded for an elected politician in nearly three decades of Chicago Tribune polls. The survey of 500 registered likely voters conducted showed that 10% wanted Blagojevich re-elected in 2010, while three-fourths said they didn't want him back for a third term. The survey also showed only 13% approved of Blagojevich's performance, while 71% disapproved. Only eight percent of the state's voters believe Blagojevich has lived up to his promise to end corruption in government. 60% of Democrats did not want him to serve another term in office, and 54% disapproved of the job he had done. Among independent voters, 83% disapproved of his performance and 85% of them rejected a Blagojevich third term.[61] Blagojevich said in October 2008 that if he were running for re-election this year, he would win, and the economy, not his federal investigations, had caused his unpopularity.[5]
In February 2008, Blagojevich's approval ratings had been, by various accounts, 16% to the low 20s, which is lower than those of President George W. Bush in Illinois.[16]
Recently, due to the corruption scandal, his approval ratings have sunk to 7%.[62]
Bank of America/Republic Windows & Doors
- See also: Bank of America controversies#Plant Closing
Blagojevich threatened to halt the state-s dealings with Bank of America Corp. over a shut-down factory in Chicago. On December 8, 2008, all state agencies were ordered to stop doing business with Bank of America to pressure the company to make the loans. Blagojevich said the biggest U.S. retail bank won-t get any more state business unless it restores credit to Republic Windows and Doors, whose workers were staging a sit-in. Workers called Blagojevich's leadership heroic. Critics called Blagojevich's worker support dangerous.[63] [64]
Political positions
State spending
Blagojevich has been criticized for using what his opponents call "gimmicks" to balance the state budget. Republicans have also claimed that he is simply passing the state's fiscal problems on to future generations by borrowing his way to balanced budgets. Indeed, the 2005 state budget called for paying the bills by underfunding a state employees' pension fund by $1.2 billion.[65][16] In 2008, Blagojevich proposed taking out $16 billion in new bonds for the state to meet pension fund requirements.[3] Blagojevich once told a gathering of black ministers on Chicago's South Side that he was "on the side of our Lord" with his budget proposals.[48]
Blagojevich proposed a 2008 budget with a 5% increase from the year before.[3] Budget cuts in some areas led Blagojevich to attempt to close 11 state parks and 13 state historic sites, with his spokesman saying he had never visited any of them.[5][66] To plug state budget holes in the past, Blagojevich has proposed selling the James R. Thompson Center or mortgaging it.
Additionally, Blagojevich has been criticized for his handling of the 2007 state budget. In particular, critics cited his unprecedented use of line-item and reduction vetoes to remove his political opponents' "member initiatives" from the budget bill.[67][68][69]
In 2003, more than 1,000 Illinois judges began a class action lawsuit against Blagojevich, because Blagojevich had blocked legally required cost of living pay increases for the judges due to budget cuts.[70] The case was settled in the judges' favor in 2005, with Blagojevich's veto ruled as violating the state's constitution.[70]
Health care
Blagojevich with former Congressman Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) advocating for changes in Medicare legislation.
In October 2005, Blagojevich announced All Kids, his plan to provide access to state-subsidized healthcare for every child in Illinois.[71] All Kids made Illinois the first state in the U.S. to attempt to provide universal healthcare for children, regardless of income and immigration status.[72] In November 2005, Blagojevich signed the All Kids health insurance bill into law. The bill obligates Illinois to provide affordable, comprehensive health insurance to every child in the state.
In March 2007, Blagojevich unveiled and campaigned for his universal healthcare plan, Illinois Covered.[73] The plan was debated in the Illinois State Senate, but came up one vote short of passing.[74] He proposed to pay for the plan with the largest tax increase in Illinois history.[50][16] He proposed a gross receipts tax on businesses, a $7.6 billion dollar tax increase, with proceeds earmarked to provide universal healthcare in Illinois, increase education spending by $1.5 billion, fund a $25 billion capital construction plan, and reduce the State's $40 billion pension debt. Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan called for a vote on a non-binding resolution on whether the state should impose a gross receipts tax. When it became apparent that the resolution would be defeated, Blagojevich announced at the last minute that supporters should vote against it, although the vote was intended to be a test vote to gauge whether the measure had any support.[75] The request was seen by many lawmakers from both parties as an attempt to spin the loss positively.[75] It was defeated by a vote of 107-0,[75][76] which the Associated Press termed "jaw-dropping."[50] When asked about the vote of the day, Blagojevich said, "Today, I think, was basically an up. ... I feel good about it."[27]
Blagojevich has also unsuccessfully attempted to impose a new employer tax on businesses that don't provide health insurance to their employees.[3]
Lawmakers have not approved another initiative of Blagojevich's, FamilyCare (which would provide healthcare for families of four making up to $82,000), but Blagojevich attempted to implement the plan by executive order unilaterally.[77] In rejecting Blagojevich's executive order, a legislative committee questioned how the state would pay for the program.[78] Blagojevich's decision has been called unconstitutional by two courts, which nullified the plan. However, in October 2008, pharmacies which had followed Blagojevich's directive to dispense drugs under the plan were informed they would not be reimbursed and would have payments given under the system deducted from future Medicaid payments.[79] One state lawmaker, Republican Ron Stephens, suggested that Blagojevich should pay the difference out of his own personal account.[79] The Bloomington Pantagraph agreed with Stephens in an editorial.[80]
Associated Press Freedom of Information Act attempts to find out how the state planned to pay for the Blagojevich-ordered program, how many people were enrolled, or how much the care had cost the state were refused the information by state departments.[81]
Blagojevich issued an executive order in 2004 requiring pharmacists in the state to dispense "morning after" birth control medication, even if they object on moral or religious grounds. This order was not well received by some pharmacists.[82] Later in 2007, opponents of the Governor's executive order reached a settlement with the state, causing partial removal of the order. The settlement, which followed the Illinois Supreme Court's decision in September 2007 to hear an appeal of a lawsuit challenging the executive order, allowed pharmacists to decline to dispense birth control, so long as they provided information to customers about pharmacists who did.[83]
Gun control
In his February 2006 "State of the State" address, Blagojevich said the state should ban semi-automatic firearms, prompting threats from several gunmakers in the state that they will take their business elsewhere. Among these were ArmaLite Inc., Rock River Arms, Les Baer Custom and the Springfield Armory.[84]
As a state legislator, Blagojevich tried to raise the price of an Illinois Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card from $5 to $500,[85] saying that such a large increase was necessary so people would think twice about wanting to own a gun. Blagojevich vetoed three gun bills in 2005, which would have:
- Deleted records in gun database after 90 days-- gun proponents argued that this was a privacy concern for law-abiding citizens[71]
- Eliminated the waiting period for someone wanting to buy a rifle or shotgun, when trading in a previously owned weapon
- Overridden local laws regulating transport of firearms.[86]
Blagojevich's position in regard to guns has been criticized by the Illinois State Rifle Association: "Rod should spend more time catching criminals and less time controlling guns." His support for tightening the gun laws of Illinois has earned him the ire of gun owners' groups.
Traffic laws
Blagojevich has striven to improve traffic safety.[citation needed] He proposed and signed into law a bill that was concerned with making seatbelt enforcement a primary offense (no traffic offense required before being stopped for a seatbelt violation).[citation needed] Another bill he signed allows the Illinois State Police to operate photo radar on Illinois Tollways in construction zones.[citation needed] He has vetoed a bill three times that would permit trucks to drive 65 mph instead of the current 55 mph.[citation needed]
Controversies
Although Blagojevich campaigned on a promise to end corruption in Illinois government, his administration has been plagued by controversies similar to those of his predecessor, George Ryan [87] and a reputation for secrecy that has been noted by the Associated Press.[81] To the surprise of many, Blagojevich said he agrees with the idea of commutating Ryan's federal prison sentence.[49]
Feud with father-in-law
A major event of 2005 was Blagojevich's dispute with his father-in-law, Chicago Alderman Richard Mell. Although Blagojevich had been elected largely with Mell's help, the two had a contentious relationship since Blagojevich was elected governor;[16] the feud went public in January 2005 when Blagojevich shut down a landfill owned by a distant cousin of his wife Patti for allegedly accepting waste it wasn't licensed to take,[32] and it was revealed that Mell had served as an advisor to the cousin.[16] A Cook County grand jury, as of 2008, is still investigating whether Blagojevich's administration overstepped authority in closing the landfill.[16] Legislation was eventually passed giving the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency more authority over landfills and preventing relatives of top Illinois officials from owning landfills.[citation needed] Mell said that Blagojevich "used me" and that he "uses everybody and then discards them."[16]
Regarding his decision to shut down the landfill despite the fact the landfill was owned by a relative, Blagojevich said, "This is the kind of thing that I think frankly separates the men from the boys in leadership. Do you have the testicular virility to make a decision like that knowing what's coming your way- I say I do."[88] This remark was both ridiculed as an undignified comment for a governor as well as criticized for being sexist.[89]
Mell said publicly at the time that a Blagojevich had traded state jobs for campaign contributions, but recanted after threat of a lawsuit.[1]
Federal investigations
Since 2005, Blagojevich has been the subject of at least a dozen separate federal investigations, involving accusations against at least 14 other people, including Blagojevich's former fundraiser Tony Rezko.[49][36] In 2006, Blagojevich said that he has been targeted for investigation by "scoundrels" due to the change he brought as governor, such as his ethics reform bill.[36]
On December 30, 2005, it was reported that a leasing deal reached for occupants of the remodeled Illinois Tollway oasis had come under investigation by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. Those who signed the fast food contracts were reported to be connected to Blagojevich campaign fundraising.[4] This is in addition to other investigations in the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Department of Corrections and the Department of Children and Family Services.[4]
On June 30, 2006, it was revealed that state Attorney General Lisa Madigan had received a letter from United States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, stating that Fitzgerald is looking into "very serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud" in the Blagojevich administration, and thanking Madigan for turning over her office's investigation to the federal authorities.[90]
In September 2006, it was revealed that Blagojevich had accepted a $1,500 check from Mike Ascaridis, whom the governor described as one of his closest friends, in 2003.[91] The check was given two weeks after Ascaridis' wife, Beverly, received a state job at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Beverly Ascaridis received this appointment despite having failed a state hiring exam.[91] Blagojevich initially asserted that the check was written as a seventh birthday gift to his older daughter.[1] He later said it was a gift for his younger daughter's christening.[92] U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald[92] and the FBI[93] are investigating the matter. In 2005, Beverly Ascaridis told investigators that she believed she had been hired in exchange for the check.[14]
On October 2, 2006, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that a company that contributed close to $120,000 to Blagojevich's 2002 gubernatorial campaign won a no-bid contract. Even though the contract was awarded by the Illinois' Capital Development Board,[94] the board still reports to the governor.[citation needed]
Tony Rezko indictment and trial
On October 11, 2006, Blagojevich and Barack Obama fundraisers and businessmen Antonin "Tony" Rezko and Stuart Levine were indicted for participation in a scheme to obtain kickbacks from investment firms seeking business from two state boards. Levine pleaded guilty two weeks later and agreed to testify against Rezko.[95][96]
The governor's wife, Patricia Blagojevich, was a business partner of Rezko's for at least a decade. In 2004, she received over $38,000 in real estate commissions from him.[97]
In October 2006, it was revealed that Patricia Blagojevich, a licensed real estate broker, earned $113,700 in commissions from Anita and Amrish Mahajan. These were the only commissions earned by Patricia Blagojevich that year. Anita Mahajan owns a urinalysis company that holds a no-bid contract with the state Department of Children and Family Services. Amrish Mahajan is president of a bank that has two requests pending before state regulators to acquire two out-of-state banks.[98]
In December 2007, Blagojevich campaign boss Chris Kelly was indicted on federal charges of tax fraud.[99] The charges against Kelly were not related to the governor or any political work. However, Kelly has been listed as a "co-schemer" in court filings related to the Rezko case. According to prosecutors, Kelly was involved in pressuring prospective state contractors for "finder's fees" or political contributions.[100] At the time of Rezko's indictment, Blagojevich described his relationship with Kelly: "They're two different people, by the way, and it's a different relationship. Chris and I are much closer. Chris is the head of my political campaign. That's someone I talk to a lot more frequently."[101]
Blagojevich was widely rumored to be the unnamed "Public Official A" mentioned in the Rezko indictment. The governor repeatedly denied that he was Public Official A, but on February 26, 2008, the judge in the case issued a ruling which confirmed his identity. A pretrial ruling in the case from U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve named the Blagojevich campaign and confirmed that Blagojevich was the intended beneficiary of at least one of Rezko's extortion attempts. Blagojevich was not charged in the indictment, although prosecutors have asserted in other court filings that he told a top Democratic fundraiser that he could steer contracts, legal work and investment banking in order to help with fundraising.[102][103]
During the Rezko trial, Blagojevich's name came up frequently - first during testimony from Levine, who testified of Rezko's influence with the governor. Blagojevich was not charged in the case, but prosecutors sought to prove that his top advisers were involved in widespread kickback schemes. Levine mentioned Blagojevich by name at least 30 times in one day of testimony, and said under oath that the governor told him, "[Y]ou stick with us and you'll do very well for yourself". Levine took the comment to mean that there was money to be made if he did the administration's bidding. A Blagojevich spokesperson denied that the governor was involved in any illegal activity, saying "Stuart Levine's assertions about the governor are wrong. As we've said before, that's not how the governor does business."[104]
On April 3, 2008, Levine testified that Blagojevich was aware of a shakedown involving businessman and movie producer Tom Rosenberg in 2004. Levine said that when Rosenberg threatened to go to the authorities over what he saw as an extortion attempt, Rezko and the governor worked out a "damage control" plan. Rosenberg would get the contract, but would get no further business from the state. Levine told the jury that Blagojevich approved of this plan and told Rezko that the contract was "the last thing that Mr. Rosenberg should get from the state". Blagojevich's office responded by again denying that any such conduct took place. "We don't endorse or allow the awarding of contracts based on campaign contributions. We never have. We never will." a spokesman for the governor said.[105][106]
Joseph Cari, Jr., the former finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee, testified that Blagojevich was at one time attempting to form a national fundraising presence in hopes of a run for President of the United States. Cari said that the governor told him that "contracts, legal work, investment banking work and consulting work" would be awarded to "people who helped". The governor's office again issued a denial after Cari's testimony.[107]
On June 4, 2008, Rezko was convicted on 16 of the 24 counts against him.[108] Facing decades in federal prison, it became clear that Rezko could cut his prison time significantly if he were to cooperate in ongoing investigations of other public figures, potentially including Blagojevich.[109] On October 9, 2008, Rezko's sentencing was delayed indefinitely as he and his lawyers continued to talk with prosecutors in an effort to work out a deal.[110]
The first signs of Rezko's willingness to give information to the authorities came with the October 30, 2008 indictment of longtime Illinois power broker and Blagojevich fund-raiser William Cellini.[111] Cellini was charged with conspiring with Rezko, Levine and others to award contracts with the state's Teachers Retirement System (TRS) to companies which made campaign contributions to the Blagojevich campaign. The alleged extortion of Rosenberg was one of the instances specifically mentioned in Cellini's indictment.[112]
In early October 2008, reports surfaced that another federal investigation was being conducted into whether Rezko had paid for the $90,000 renovation of Blagojevich's Chicago home.[113]
Appointments
In early 2006, after the appointment of Claudette Marie Muhammad, chief of protocol of the Nation of Islam,[114] to the Illinois Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes, five Jewish members of this commission resigned. Muhammad distanced herself from statements subsequently made by Louis Farrakhan about "false Jews, wicked Jews,"[114] and Blagojevich has promised to "oversee meaningful dialogue with leaders of the Jewish, black and gay communities." Despite this, the Anti-Defamation League and anti-discrimination groups called for her removal from the state panel.[114][115] The resignation or removal of fellow commission member Rick Garcia has also been called for by the Illinois Family Institute, over statements made by Garcia about Francis Cardinal George.[116] Republican candidate for Governor Jim Oberweis echoed the call for Garcia's removal or resignation in an e-mail release as part of his campaign for the Illinois Republican gubernatorial nomination.[117]
Talk of recall or impeachment
In October 2007, Illinois' largest newspaper, The Chicago Tribune, published an editorial encouraging passage of a Constitutional amendment that would allow the power of recalling state officials, specifically Blagojevich.[27] The newspaper wrote that since Blagojevich would probably not resign and lawmakers probably would not impeach him, "So the realistic question becomes this: Given the multiple ineptitudes of Rod Blagojevich -- his reckless financial stewardship, his dictatorial antics, his penchant for creating political enemies -- should citizens create a new way to terminate a chief executive who won't, or can't, do his job-... Having endured the Blagojevich era, we believe voters never should have to endure another one like it. They instead should have the power to recall an inept governor."[27] Recall legislation to put a question on the ballot in November 2008 passed the House, but not the Senate.[56]
On April 22, 2008, the former head of the Illinois Finance Authority (IFA) became the first person to accuse Blagojevich of personally offering a position in his administration in return for campaign contributions. Ali Ata pleaded guilty to one count of tax fraud and one count of making false statements to federal authorities.[118] In exchange for Ata's cooperation with the investigation, prosecutors dropped charges that he had used his IFA position to help Rezko sell his pizza franchises - a scheme for which Rezko was indicted separately from the bribery case.[119] In the plea agreement, Ata admitted to meeting with Rezko several times regarding fundraising efforts for Blagojevich's campaign, and discussing the possibility of a position with a state agency in return for the contributions. He further stated that Blagojevich was present at one such meeting in 2002, in which Ata presented a $25,000 campaign contribution. According to the plea agreement, Blagojevich expressed his "pleasure" with Ata's fundraising and "asked Rezko if he (Rezko) had talked to the Defendant [Ata] about positions in the administration, and Rezko responded that he had". Ata was eventually appointed to the IFA post, and further admitted to giving Rezko about $125,000 in bribes before and after his appointment.[118][120] Ata repeated these allegations on the witness stand at Rezko's trial.[121] The governor's office issued another denial, and continued to deny that Blagojevich was "Public Official A", despite Judge St. Eve's earlier confirmation. Prosectors later said that Ata was also prepared to testify that Rezko sought and received a $25,000 bribe in 2002 which Rezko claimed would be used to pay for repairs to Blagojevich's home.[122]
In the wake of Ata's guilty plea and accusations against Blagojevich, what had previously been only rumors of impeachment gained credibility when two State House Democrats told the Chicago Sun-Times that a decision on an impeachment resolution could be near. State representatives Jack Franks and John Fritchey said that the revelations made impeachment a real possibility. Fritchey, the representative from Blagojevich's home district in Chicago, explained that "We now find ourselves in a very different environment, where an individual has pled guilty to being a co-conspirator in transactions involving the governor." [123][124] Previously, a Republican group had urged impeachment proceedings due to "near-criminal mismanagement of the state's finances".[125][126]
On December 15, 2008, Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan announced that he was taking steps to initiate impeachment proceedings against Blagojevich.[127]
$25,000 Club
In the midst of the Rezko trial, the Chicago Tribune reported on what it called a "$25,000 Club" in which 75% of businesses, unions and individuals that gave a $25,000 donation to Rod Blagojevich's political campaign received benefits from the State of Illinois, including state contracts and appointments to state boards.[128]
Contributions from Elevator Constructors Local 2 PAC
In July 2003, Friends of Blagojevich received a $10,000 campaign contribution from the Elevator Constructors Local 2 PAC fund.[129] In the same month three Union Officers received appointments to the Illinois Elevator Safety Board: (1) The President of Elevator Constructors Local 2 (Chicago) Stephen Hynes was appointed as the labor representative, (2) the Business Manager of Elevator Constructors Local 55 (Peoria) Roderick Gillis was appointed as a representative of a municipality with |
