Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges.
Blagojevich and Harris were accused of a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy that included Blagojevich conspiring to sell or trade the Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama in exchange for financial benefits for the governor and his wife. The governor was also accused of obtaining campaign contributions in exchange for other official actions.
And you thought we here in Massachusetts were having some corruption issues. Our officials take $1000 for a liquor license. The article doesn’t specify how much Blagojevich was selling the US Senate seat for, but it’s gotta be a lot more than that. (Update: CNN has some of the details) As Patrick Fitzgerald put it, “The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering.”
I think Illinois will very soon be joining Massachusetts and Alaska in the ranks of states that hold immediate special elections, instead of letting one man appoint the replacement…
