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Illinois governor arrested for trying to sell Senate seat

The governor of Illinois was arrested on Tuesday on charges of conspiring to sell an appointment to US president-elect Barack Obama’s recently vacated US Senate seat in what prosecutors called “a political corruption crime spree.”

Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich was also accused of demanding kickbacks for government contracts, lucrative jobs and appointments and trying to get editors fired from the Chicago Tribune newspaper because of their critical coverage of his administration.

“The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering,” US attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said.

“They allege that Blagojevich put a ‘for sale’ sign on the naming of a United States senator; involved himself personally in pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of a salesman meeting his annual sales target, and corruptly used his office in an effort to trample editorial voices of criticism,” he said.

“Governor Blagojevich has taken us to a truly new low,” Fitzgerald said at a press conference, adding that the state’s top leader “has been arrested in the middle of what we can only describe as a political corruption crime spree.”

Obama said he was not aware of allegations that Blagojevich — who as governor is charged with appointing a US senator when a seat becomes vacant — was shopping around to find the highest bidder.

“I had no contact with the governor or his office and so I was not aware of what was happening,” Obama told reporters.

“Like the rest of the people of Illinois, I am saddened and sobered by the news that came out of the US attorney’s office today,” the president-elect said, adding that it would not be “appropriate” for him to comment further on the ongoing investigation.

Fitzgerald emphasized that the criminal complaint made “no allegations” that Obama was aware of or involved in any scheming by the governor and that some of the schemes “did not go very far at all.”

The complaint included descriptions of recorded conversations in which Blagojevich complained bitterly that while Obama’s team had a preferred candidate in mind, “they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation. [Expletive] them!”

The charges prompted speculation about who else might be implicated, as the governor allegedly sought out the highest bid for the senate seat.

Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, were charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery. If convicted they face a maximum of 30 years in jail.
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