I can't believe that anybody could be so careless. If you're anybody in America, you have to assume your calls are being monitored more or less all the time. It's like he didn't even know we were a surveillance state now. Obviously the guy's a total ass, but he could've at least been a smarter ass...

...for Dick Durbin to turn out to be somebody that was offering Gov. Rod a half-mil.

Please. It's not too much to ask, is it?

They don't kiss their children with those mouths, do they? Do they have any @#$%ing children?

what a couple of potty-mouths Gov. Rod and his wife are.

As if Spitzer's little escapade wasn't enough. Sheesh.

I shouldn't be surprised about this. I wrote for the Peoria Journal-Star from 1997-2001 and hosted a radio talk show in Bloomington, IL from 2000-03.

Remember that Blago was elected to clean up the corruption of former Gov. George Ryan who is in prison now. Blago will apparently join him soon enough.

Blago's arrogance is born of the fact that this is what happens in Illinois politics. Anyone who knows anything about it understands that what Blago was alleged to be doing happens all the time on every level of state government. Everything is for sale and the state motto is "what's in it for me?"

What amazes me is Blago's blinding stupidity in conducting all of this so openly that the FBI got on his phones. I think perhaps, that one of his political enemies fed the FBI just enough to get a wiretap warrant.

Blago's style just made him too many enemies. Everyone expects wheeling and dealing. But the graft has to be spread around - the Governor can't simply act as a giant vaccuum sucking up all of the patronage and campaign cash. He has to take care of other people as well as himself. Blago forget this and now his arrogance will be his undoing.

This leaves the central question that I have posed for so many years: call Illinois ever get itself an honest Governor and an reasonably incorruptible legislature?

So far it seems the state, which has always been a racketeer's paradise (even more so than NJ) will continue to be one.

Last thought: don't mess with Patrick Fitzgerald.

I visited Illinois recently and couldn't believe the terrible things my in-laws were saying about this guy but then I looked into him and was astounded at how horrible he is. So I doubt that this will come as a surprise to anyone in Illinois. What I want to know is, with the former governor also in jail, when is someone decent going to get elected governor of Illinois? There's a lot of great people in that state. They deserve better.

What an incredibly arrogant asshole. Illinois (my home) is beyond question the most corrupt state in the Union. Even when their predecessors wind up as guests of the federal government, the pols here barely even pretend not to be on the take.

I'm disgusted with myself, too, because I voted for this guy twice. Boy, would I like to have those back.

One person it most likely won't affect is Obama himself, who appears to have been inadvertently cleared by Blagojevich.

Of course, with some folks, that's insufficient clearance. Hell, some people will be making not-so-veiled references to Obama's supposed nefarious connection to Rezko until the devil buys ice skates.

Last thought: don't mess with Patrick Fitzgerald.

And a Merry Fitzmas to you too!

(I remember a time when justice seemed possible. Oh, for the good ol' days of 2005.)

"..."I’ve got this thing and it’s fucking golden, and, uh, uh, I’m just not giving it up for fuckin’ nothing. I’m not gonna do it. And, and I can always use it. I can parachute me there...”

That is UNPOSSIBLE!!!

Well at least in Hawaii everyone in state government is honest and clean as a whistle.

This guy sounds like a CONSPIRATOR, but of course, that also is UNPOSSIBLE, since no one in politics EVER conspires about ANYTHING.

Can you write another article about PALIN?

Anybody thinking about The Wire right about now?

Baltimore is not that far away from Springfield, as it turns out.

It's more common than you think.

"..."I’ve got this thing and it’s freaking golden, and, uh, uh, I’m just not giving it up for freakin’ nothing. I’m not gonna do it. And, and I can always use it. I can parachute me there...”

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

What's illegal about this? "He'd raise me" is a reference to campaign contributions, not direct graft. There's no crime here--it's a promise to work for somebody, that's all. The other stuff, especially the Cubs stuff, may well be criminal--but this is BAU, SOP, not putting money into Blago's pocket--directly, at least.

I'm also not so sure the record from the tape will be enough for some people. The other angle to this they might try is that "Blago didn't play ball with the Obama camp, so they turned up the heat on him."

Of course, this would imply some link between them and Fitzgerald, of which there is no indication.

And of course, Blagojevich was the one committing the crimes here. Fitzgerald was just doing his job.

While I'm not surprised by any of this (any given day in Chicago, it could be windy, and/or the Gov. could be indicted), it is sort of interesting that Blagojevich made it this far. I mean, you read the transcripts, and this guy was just sloppy. I suppose it all comes down to the Feds getting the right guy, and Blagojevich trusting the wrong guy. And maybe he did really think that because Barack was the President-Elect, the heat on Illinois politicians would be turned down.

The only thing different between this and the Good Ol' Boy Machine of Texas is that he got caught asking for specifics. And he didn't say "please" and "thank you."

It leads one to ask the question: What's the difference if they ask for the favor or if it is slyly given through vague nods and innuendo? Buying a senate seat is buying a senate seat no matter how you slice it.

What's the chain of command here? Who's up next? The Lt. Governor? He's probably as corrupt as Mr. Blagovjevich.