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Looks Like AG Madigan Is Candidate 2
Senate Candidate 2 appears to be Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
From the charging document:
On November 6, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH talked with Spokesman. ROD BLAGOJEVICH told Spokesman to leak to a particular columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, that Senate Candidate 2 is in the running for the vacant Senate seat. According to ROD BLAGOJEVICH, by doing this, he wanted "to send a message to the [President-elect's] people," but did not want it known that the message was from ROD BLAGOJEVICH.Thereafter, ROD BLAGOJEVICH and Spokesman discussed specific language that should be used in the Sun Times column and arguments as to why Senate Candidate 2 made sense for the vacant Senate seat. A review of this particular Sun Times column on November 7, 2008, indicates references to the specific language and arguments regarding Senate Candidate 2 as a potential candidate for the Senate seat, as discussed by ROD BLAGOJEVICH and Spokesman.
So let's look at that November 7 item. Written by Michael Sneed and headlined: "Tipsville", it reads (via Nexis):
The latest from Blagoville: Is Gov. Rod Blagojevich toying with tossing Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who wants Blago's job?
- It's his pick . . . and it would get rid of a rival.
- It may endear him to powerful House Speaker Mike Madigan, Lisa's dad, who is Blago's political foe.
- It would enable Gov. Blago to choose a new Illinois attorney general.
- Hmmm: Even though this sounds like looneyville . . . stay tuned.
It's worth making clear: Candidate 2 is not accused of wrongdoing.
Josh
Zachary
This scared me for a second. I am a big fan of Madigan and would hate to see her have gotten herself caught in Blago's web.
December 9, 2008 2:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Credit where credit is due. At least Governor Blagojevich thinks a seat in the United States Senate is valuable. Here in New York, the governor is considering giving one away to a desperate housewife with empty nest syndrome.
Does Ted Kennedy understand he is just as corrupt as Blagojevich for cashing in on his family name in these trying times? Why does he think his niece is more qualified to be a US senator than any of the many New Yorkers who have worked long and hard to make this country a better place to live?
Mrs. Schlossberg is a wealthy socialite whose major accomplishment to date is hitting up Mayor Bloomberg's wealthy friends for money which supposedly benefited public education. Tough job but I guess someone had to do it.
I can understand why Caroline K-E-N-N-E-D-Y would want the senate seat. She's bored and Washington DC will be a fun place to be now that the Democrats are in control.
But I can't understand why any New York Democrat would think Caroline's thiry-second endorsement of Obama is worth a seat in the senate. Obama didn't need her.
Where was Caroline during the campaign? Did she do any heavy lifting? Did she show us the money? Did she do anything at all?
When Hillary Clinton wanted the senate seat, she worked for it. Princess Caroline thinks the seat was bequeathed to her as part of the Camelot legacy.
Obama hasn't even been sworn in and the Democrats have already made a joke out of good government.
December 9, 2008 2:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Please. Just stop.
December 9, 2008 4:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
isnt Lisa Madigan Rod Blogo's sister in law? why would she be a political rival?
December 9, 2008 4:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
living in Illinois you can ask anyone and they will tell you of the brutal enmity between Mike Madigan (Lisa's father) and Blago. Blago's own father in law has gone on record saying he hates his guts. Family doesn't mean anything to Rod.
December 9, 2008 4:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Lisa Madigan isn't related to Blago at all. She's the daughter of his arch enemy Mike Madigan who is the Dem who controls the state house. These two guys hate each other and the animosity has held up the state budget for two years running and threatens to lose us billions in federal road funds too.
December 10, 2008 12:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
Lisa Madigan is no relation to Blago. She is the daughter of Michael Madigan, who is a member of the Illinois House and a major power broker.
Blago's father in law in Richard Mell, a Chicago aldreman and a major cog in the old Chicago machine. Blago got into a public fued with his father in law early in his administration.
Outsiders must realize that Chicago machine estabished by Richard J. Daley (the current major's father) has splintered into several branches, all vying for power. These are headed by a handful of power brokers: Richard M. Daley, Richard Mell, Michael Madigan. The Daley's hate the Madigans, the Madigans hate the Mells and so on.
December 9, 2008 5:29 PM | Reply | Permalink