Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich Arrested

According to Patrick Fitzgerald, today has become "a sad day for government." The cause? The arrest of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich in what Fitzgerald, the Attorney General for Illinois' Northern District, termed "a political corruption crime spree."

Governor Blagojevich was arrested on Tuesday with charges of corruption and attempted bribery. According to the 76-page indictment of Blagojevich, and his chief of staff John Harris, their arrests include charges of corruption that reaches from President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat to the Chicago Cubs. Blagojevich is accused of attempting to sell Obama's Senate seat, according to federal prosecutors. The charges against Blagojevich also tie him to the Tribune Co., which recently declared bankruptcy. The Illinois governor allegedly threatened to withhold funding from the Tribune Co. unless certain editorial board members were fired. These board members had been critical of Blagojevich in the past.

Blagojevich and Harris were taken into custody at their homes in Chicago. The pair has been charged with crimes running from conspiracy to bribery.

Governor Blagojevich became Illinois' governor in 2003. His appointment made him the first Democratic governor to Illinois in nearly thirty years. Though his popularity rating was high at the start of his term, it has fallen significantly in recent years. Blagojevich has even lost the support of his fellow Democrats in the state legislature after several disputes. Many of those Democrats are counted in the number of members of the state legislature who have at one time or another called for Blagojevich's impeachment.

A statement from Attorney General Fitzgerald indicates several acts of conspiracy and other political corruption on the parts of Governor Blagojevich and his chief of staff. One charge involves the Children's Memorial Hospital, to which the governor awarded reimbursement funding in an amount close to $8 million. However, according to Fitzgerald, Blagojevich also indicated privately "that what he wanted to get was a $50,000 personal contribution from the chief executive officer of that hospital." When Blagojevich did not receive the $50,000, he was intercepted on the phone checking to see if the $8 million reimbursement could be taken back from the hospital.

Fitzgerald also stated that the allegations against Governor Blagojevich and his chief of staff would "make Lincoln roll over in his grave." He also stated that President-elect Obama was unaware of Blagojevich's attempts to sell his Senate seat. Obama had already distanced himself from the controversial governor of their shared state during the election process.

With all the charges facing the governor, the media has focused primarily on his attempts to sell or trade the President-elect's Senate seat for a profit for himself. Some have already speculated that, if found guilty, Blagojevich's crimes could be an early embarrassment for the newly elected President. However, most news media has strayed from this opinion, particularly with clear statements from key figures in the investigation that President-elect Obama neither associated with Blagojevich nor knew of Blagojevich's plans concerning his vacant Senate seat.