Illinois Governor Arrested on Federal Corruption Charges

Along with his chief of staff, two-term Democratic Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested in Chicago today on two counts of federal corruption charges. Prosecutors contend that Blagojevichor, assisted by staff John Harris, attempted to sell President-Elect Barack Obama's vacated seat in the United States Senate. The case brings to light instances of corruption in the political sphere of Obama's home state.

The charges are substantiated by a secretly recorded conversation on October 31, where Blagojevich claimed he was offered a deal by an associate of an unnamed "Senate Candidate 5". He allegedly discussed trading the open Senate seat for potential benefits such as a notable salary at a non-profit foundation or trade union affiliate, a lucrative corporate directorship for his wife, or up front cash payments.

"We were approached 'pay to play'. That, you know, he'd raise 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million, if I made him (Senate Candidate 5) a Senator," the governor allegedly said.

A 76-page FBI affidavit documented Blagojevich expressing a desire to obtain an Obama Cabinet post, or perhaps an ambassadorship in return for the Senate seat - a decision that would lay solely in the hands of the incoming Presidential administration. Additional charges against Blagojevich include attempts to use Illinois state funding to force the owners of the Chicago Tribune to terminate the newspaper's editorial board after editors publicly called for his impeachment.

No stranger to Obama crtics, Illinois convict Antoin "Tony" Rezko plays a role in the scandal as well. A former friend and political donor who assisted the Obama's with facets of the purchase of their Chicago home, Rezko allegedly conspired with Blagojevich in "pay-to-play" schemes, arrangements that would require individuals and companies to dish out kickbacks in return for state contracts.

The President Elect is not implicated in the governor's case. Regardless, the prosecution has vowed to publicize his ties with Rezko, who is scheduled for sentencing on January 6.

Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the renowned federal prosecutor who won the conviction of both Daily Telegraph chairman Conrad Black and the US vice-president's chief of staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby, said in a statement that "the breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering." "They allege that Blagojevich put a for sale sign on the naming of a United States senator."

Prior to the arrest, Blagojevich said in a statement Monday that those leveling charges against him "kind of smell like Nixon and Watergate."