31 Oct 2006

Feds Might Be Closing in on Governor

By Rich Miller

Corrupt political insider Stu Levine was hit with so many federal indictments earlier this year that he was literally facing a life sentence behind bars.

Last week, he copped a plea that will let him walk free after five years and seven months in what will probably be a minimum-security prison - in exchange for his cooperation.

We can discern one of two things from this: (1) Much of the federal case was weak, and letting Levine off relatively easy was a face-saving move by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald; or (2) Levine has agreed to help the feds reel in some very big fish and used that prospect to negotiate a much better deal.

24 Oct 2006

Gubernatorial Candidates in Uncharted Waters

By Rich Miller

We had yet another strange polling surprise when Rasmussen, a national pollster, decided to take another poll on the governor's race because its last one had been conducted just before Tony Rezko's indictment.

As expected, Governor Rod Blagojevich's support dropped since his pal, confidante, and mega-fundraiser was indicted by the feds. Blagojevich went from 49 percent in the pre-indictment Rasmussen poll down to 44 percent a week later. But Judy Baar Topinka's backing dropped even more, from 43 down to 36. Rod fell five and Judy fell seven. What the heck?

17 Oct 2006

Governor Appears Willfully Ignorant on Corruption Issue

By Rich Miller

As with George Ryan before him, I'm really finding it difficult to believe that Governor Rod Blagojevich is as clueless as he claims.

Blagojevich says he had absolutely no idea that Tony Rezko was up to no good. Rezko is a very close friend of the governor who raised millions of dollars for his campaign, put lots of people into important positions in Blagojevich's administration, and was a business partner with Mrs. Blagojevich for eight years.

10 Oct 2006

Special-Session Bid Reeks of Democratic Desperation

By Rich Miller

If you were wondering how worried House Speaker Michael Madigan is about election day, last week's special session gambit should have answered your question.

03 Oct 2006

Paper Should Clear Up Check Confusion

By Rich Miller

Governor Rod Blagojevich and his staff have attempted to muddy the waters on the question of that now-infamous $1,500 check from his friend by seizing on the flip-flopping of the friend's wife, Beverly Ascaridis.

Mrs. Ascaridis, you will recall, got a state job about the same time that her husband, Mike Ascaridis, wrote the governor a check for $1,500. The governor has admitted to directing his chief of staff to find Mrs. Ascaridis a job, but claims that the check was for his daughter Amy's college fund. He has so far refused to provide any supporting documentation that the check was ever deposited into a college fund, however.

26 Sep 2006

Lots of Questions but Few Answers on Federal Investigations

By Rich Miller

If you think Governor Rod Blagojevich gets bad press now, imagine how harsh the coverage would be if we knew what he was hiding.

For instance, we know from sources that the governor's own office and his various agencies have been served with dozens of federal subpoenas involving countless criminal allegations, but Governor Blagojevich won't even confirm receiving a subpoena. He won't say how many subpoenas he's received. He won't say what the FBI is looking for.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan is supposed to issue a legal opinion on whether the governor has to comply with reporters' Freedom of Information Act requests on the subpoenas. As of this writing, though, her office has been silent.

19 Sep 2006

"College" Gift Could Spell More Trouble for Governor

By Administrator

Okay, by a show of hands, how many of you out there have ever given $1,500 to the college fund of a friend's seven-year-old and then didn't tell your spouse about it?

Yeah, I didn't think so.

In case you haven't heard yet, I'll give you a brief wrap-up of the latest scandal that has befallen Governor Rod Blagojevich.

You may remember that the governor amended his statement of economic interests after he was interviewed by the FBI. One of those amendments included a previously undisclosed gift from Michael Ascaridis, his campaign treasurer during his congressional bids and his first run for statewide office.

12 Sep 2006

With a Stacked Deck Against Her, Topinka Hangs on

By Rich Miller

After spending millions of dollars on unanswered television ads, Governor Rod Blagojevich has only an eight-point lead over Judy Baar Topinka, according to the latest poll.

The Research 2000 poll of 800 likely voters was conducted August 28 through 31 and had a margin of error of 3.5 percent. The poll found that Blagojevich was leading Topinka 47-39.

05 Sep 2006

Democrats: Prepare to Be Tarred with Blagojevich

By Rich Miller

As President George W. Bush's job-approval ratings continue to slump, Republican incumbents almost everywhere are running away from him as fast as they can. It's gotten so bad that even U.S. Representative Tom Reynolds, the chairperson of the National Republican Congressional Committee, doesn't have the word "Republican" on his campaign Web site's front page.

29 Aug 2006

Challenger's Plan Is Detailed — and Politically Dangerous

By Administrator

So why did Republican gubernatorial nominee Judy Baar Topinka go with a Chicago casino idea to help fund her education, property-tax, and infrastructure proposals?

Well, a general tax increase had all but been ruled out months ago. Polling and focus-grouping showed high levels of opposition to a tax hike. Plus, Topinka already has enough troubles with her Republican base without doing something like that.

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