Barack Obama

Alleged Chicago Bombing Targets Included Obama Campaign HQ, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's House

Nick R. Martin | May 19, 2012, 4:12PM

President Barack Obama meets alone with Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in the Oval Office on his first full day in office on Jan. 21, 2009.

Prosecutors said on Saturday that a trio of protestors arrested this week in Chicago were allegedly planning to target President Obama's campaign headquarters, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's house and some of the city's financial institutions with homemade bombs in a series of attacks timed to coincide with this weekend's NATO summit there.

Court documents posted online by the Chicago Tribune said the three men were anarchists who traveled together from Florida to Chicago to carry out the attacks and hoped to recruit as many as 16 people to help.

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Anti-Semitism

Illinois House Candidate: Holocaust Is The 'Blackest Lie In History'

Jillian Rayfield | February 29, 2012, 6:28PM

Today in questionable campaign strategies: A Republican running for Congress in Illinois says that the Holocaust is the "biggest, blackest lie in history."

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White Supremacist Groups

How The Feds Brought Down Arizona's Suspected White Supremacist 'Serial' Bombing Brothers

Nick R. Martin | January 10, 2012, 5:25AM

In a small trailer park in Catoosa, Okla., in 2005, an aging white supremacist made a startling claim to a woman he had met only earlier that day.

He told her he was a serial bomber.

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Larry Dominick

Illinois Town President Sued For Alleged Racial Slur-Tinged Sexual Harassment

Jillian Rayfield | September 15, 2011, 1:26PM

Cicero Town President Larry Dominick

The Town President of Cicero, Illinois is being sued for allegedly sexually harassing the woman who ran the town's "Waggin' Tails" animal shelter, after instructing her to lie under oath about the nature of their relationship.

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Pat Quinn

Illinois Governor Increases Restrictions On Military Funeral Protests

David Taintor | August 15, 2011, 5:51PM

Gov. Pat Quinn (D-IL)

Anyone who wants to protest a military funeral in Illinois will have to do so from a distance of 300 feet, according to a new measure Gov. Pat Quinn (D) signed on Sunday.

The legislation is an expansion of the "Let Them Rest in Peace Act," one of Quinn's "top initiatives", press secretary Annie Thompson told TPM. The extension expands on the law's previous 200-foot barrier.

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Edward Bachner

Illinois Man Pleads Guilty To Buying Puffer Fish Poison To Use As A Weapon

Jillian Rayfield | August 11, 2011, 6:31PM

Edward F. Bachner

A man in Illinois has pleaded guilty to posing as a doctor in order to purchase the poisonous toxin found in puffer fish for "use as a weapon."

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Rod Blagojevich

Blago Convicted Of Trying To Sell Obama's Senate Seat

Jillian Rayfield | June 27, 2011, 3:15PM

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich

A Chicago jury has found former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich guilty of 17 of the 20 charges in his corruption trial, including multiple charges of wire fraud and bribery, and attempting to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat.

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Rod Blagojevich

Blagojevich: It's 'Irresponsible' To Retry Me During An Economic Crisis

Jillian Rayfield | March 9, 2011, 5:11PM

Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is pushing for a judge to cancel his retrial and skip right over to sentencing, "in the interests of justice and saving the taxpayers funds."

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GITMO

Despite Not Owning It, DOJ Asks For Money To Renovate 'Gitmo North'

Ryan J. Reilly | February 14, 2011, 3:32PM

The Justice Department is still holding out hope that Congress will give the federal government money to purchase Thomson prison, the state facility in Illinois that was originally intended to hold the detainees from Guantanamo.

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Guantanamo

Gitmo Transfer Ban, Pushed By Illinois Republicans, Was Part Of DADT Deal

Rachel Slajda | December 20, 2010, 10:50AM

Mark Kirk

A provision banning the Obama administration from transferring detainees from Guantanamo Bay to the United States, even for trial, made its way into the National Defense Authorization Act that passed the House Friday. According to reports, it was part of a deal worked out with Illinois Republicans to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Congress hammered out a compromise last week that stripped controversial measures like DADT repeal (passed instead in a standalone bill) from the defense spending bill. But Illinois Republicans, lead by Sen. Mark Kirk, warned the negotiators not to take out the Gitmo transfer ban if they wanted the bill to pass both houses.

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Sharia

Feds Bust Alleged Sharia Ponzi Scheme In Chicago

Rachel Slajda | November 19, 2010, 8:40AM

Three men have been indicted for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme and stealing $43 million from investors who thought they were putting their money in a Sharia-compliant investment strategy.

According to federal officials, the men ran a firm called Sunrise Equities and told Pakistani-American investors and banks in Chicago that their money would go exclusively into real estate development. Earning interest is prohibited under Sharia, or Islamic law, and observant Muslims cannot invest in financial products that earn interest.

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Illinois

Man Who Sent Threat To IL Mosque Sentenced To Year In Prison

Rachel Slajda | November 4, 2010, 3:57PM

The Central Illinois Mosque and Islamic Center

A 25-year-old Maryland man was sentenced to one year in prison yesterday after sending email threats to an Illinois mosque, demanding that the mosque close or else he would "eradicate Islam."

The man, Ilya Sobolevskiy, pleaded guilty in August to obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs, a civil rights violation. He was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Illinois to 12 months in prison and a $3,000 fine.

The judge who sentenced him called the threats "an act of terror."

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Illinois

IL GOP Wants Election-Day Deadline For Military Votes Erased

Rachel Slajda | October 27, 2010, 4:48PM

American troops in Iraq

The Illinois Republican Party, which along with other Republican groups has attacked the Justice Department's enforcement of the MOVE Act, wants the DOJ to force the state board of elections to accept military ballots postmarked after election day.

The MOVE Act, which is new this election, requires states to send overseas military voters absentee ballots at least 45 days before the election. Several states were granted waivers because of late primary dates but several, including Illinois, still failed to get their ballots out on time.

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voter fraud

IL Dems Sent Error-Ridden Absentee Applications To Potential Voters (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | October 27, 2010, 11:40AM

In Illinois, applications for absentee ballots may not be processed in time for the election.

Errors on applications sent by the Illinois Democratic Coordinated Campaign to wannabe absentee voters could mean that thousands of voters in the state won't receive their ballots before election day.

This year for the first time, Illinois voters are allowed to vote by mail without giving a reason for their absence from the polls on Election Day. The IDCC hired a company to send out applications to make it easier for voters to receive such ballots. But because the applications are first being routed through the Democratic Party, they might not make it to the Lake County clerk in time for Thursday's deadline.

An Illinois county election official told Chicago's ABC 7 that thousands, and potentially hundreds of thousands, of voters who anticipate receiving a ballot in the mail may not get them in time.

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David Orr

Cook County Clerk: Voter Fraud Fears 'Totally Blown Out Of Whack'

Ryan J. Reilly | October 25, 2010, 8:44AM

Cook County Clerk David Orr

Fears over the potential for voter fraud in Illinois -- where the state GOP has reportedly partnered with a variety of conservative organizations to recruit poll watchers -- have been "totally blown out of whack," Cook County Clerk David Orr tells TPMMuckraker.

Orr, a Democrat who was first elected as County Clerk in 1990, oversees elections in the suburban parts of Cook County. He said that poll watchers are an important part of the election process, so long as they follow the rules.

"Poll watchers are good. You have to separate the fact that it's good for campaigns, it's good for the body politic to have people there that are watching, I think that's important," Orr told TPMMuckraker on Friday. "The only problem comes if people abuse that, and we've certainly seen that in the past. We saw it in the last presidential election, we saw it in Michigan."

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Sharon Meroni

E-Mail Lists 'Birther' As Recruitment Coordinator For IL Poll Watching Effort

Ryan J. Reilly | October 21, 2010, 12:00PM

Sharon Meroni, an Illinois resident who is a member of the so-called birther movement, is listed as "Recruitment Coordinator" in an e-mail obtained by TPMMuckraker.

Illinois is the location of an apparently significant anti-voter fraud effort focused on part of the states with high concentrations of minority voters, which came under scrutiny after GOP Senate candidate Mark Kirk said that he was deploying "voter integrity" squads to monitor the elections there.

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voter fraud

Illinois GOP Chair: We're Working With RNLA On 'Voter Integrity' Program

Ryan J. Reilly | October 19, 2010, 2:26PM

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady

Illinois GOP Chairman Pat Brady told TPMMuckraker on Tuesday that the state Republican Party does not have a prominent birther on the payroll, but confirmed that his organization is working with the Republican National Lawyers Association to train volunteers on election day as part of a "voter integrity" initiative.

Brady -- who previously posted a notice on the GOP website about the "voter integrity" program that was later scrubbed -- said that the program is not unusual.

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Republican National Lawyers Association

Illinois GOP Worked With 'Birther' On 'Voter Integrity' Plan

Ryan J. Reilly | October 19, 2010, 9:45AM

The voter integrity program that has come to be associated with the campaign of GOP Senate nominee Mark Kirk was launched by the Illinois Republican Party, working with a conservative political action committee and an anti-Obama birther, Mother Jones reported.

Sharon Meroni -- who according to Mother Jones blogs under the pseudonym "Chalice Jackson" -- launched a petition demanding Obama's resignation for "high crimes and misdemeanors." Reached on Monday, Meroni wouldn't answer TPMMuckraker's questions, referring any inquiries to another representative. "My role is to recruit, and that's it," she said.

She did, however, say that the proper person to speak with was Curt Conrad, who is listed online as the Executive Director, IL Republican State Committee. Conrad didn't return a message left for him on Monday.

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Mark Kirk

Mark Kirk's 'Voter Integrity' Program Connected To IL GOP, National Efforts

Ryan J. Reilly | October 14, 2010, 11:00AM

Rep. Mark Kirk (IL)

So just who are the "lawyers and other people" that Rep. Mark Kirk, the Republican nominee for the Illinois' Senate seat, planned to deploy to two predominately African-American neighborhoods in Chicago and two other areas of Illinois on Election Day?

Republicans are being publicly mum in the wake of the Kirk revelations, and many GOP Illinois officials didn't return messages left for them Wednesday. But a week ago the state Republican Party posted on its website a request for volunteers for a "ballot integrity" program -- and just this week the Republican National Lawyers Association was conducting training on this issue in Chicago.

According to an Oct. 6 posting on the Illinois GOP website by Chairman Pat Brady, the Republicans were seeking volunteers for their "ballot integrity" program. Brady noted that "ballot integrity will be a key ingredient to our success, and we need your help."

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2010 Elections

Illinois Democrat: Mark Kirk's 'Voter Integrity' Effort Is 'Karl Rove Politics'

Ryan J. Reilly | October 13, 2010, 5:28PM

IL Senate candidates Alexi Giannoulias (D) and Mark Kirk (R)

Illinois GOP Senate candidate Mark Kirk is taking some heat from his Democratic opponent Alexi Giannoulias for bragging on a secretly-recorded phone call about his "voter integrity" project, which he said focused on two largely African-American sections of Chicago and two other urban areas in the state.

Kirk said on the tape recorded last week that he had arranged for lawyers and other people to be "deployed in key, vulnerable precincts, for example, South and West sides of Chicago, Rockford, Metro East, where the other side might be tempted to jigger the numbers somewhat."

Giannoulias said in a statement on Wednesday that he would have his lawyers look into Kirk's effort.

"That sort of Florida-style voter intimidation is disgusting, illegal, and smacks of the Karl Rove politics that Illinois voters are sick of," Giannoulias said.

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Mark Kirk

Mark Kirk Sends Poll Monitors To 'Vulnerable,' Largely African-American Neighborhoods

Ryan J. Reilly | October 12, 2010, 2:45PM

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill)

In a private phone conversation that was secretly recorded, Mark Kirk, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Illinois, told state Republican leaders last week about his plan to send "voter integrity" squads to two predominately African-American neighborhoods of Chicago and two other urban areas of Illinois with significant minority populations "where the other side might be tempted to jigger the numbers somewhat."

Kirk's campaign confirmed the candidate was secretly taped last week as he was talking about his anti-voter fraud effort.

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Robert Blagojevich

Charges Dropped Against Blago's Brother Robert

Ryan J. Reilly | August 26, 2010, 3:49PM

Robert Blagojevich

Federal prosecutors will not retry Robert Blagojevich, the brother of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, for two counts of extortion conspiracy and one count each of wire fraud and extortion reports the Chicago Tribune.

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Illinois

IL Gov Chief Of Staff Resigns After Ethics Probe Over Emails

Rachel Slajda | August 23, 2010, 9:35AM

IL Gov. Pat Quinn (D)

The Illinois governor's chief of staff resigned yesterday after the state ethics investigator found that he violated ethics rules by sending campaign-oriented emails from his state email address.

In a twist, the investigator, Executive Inspector General James A. Wright, was fired by Gov. Pat Quinn (D) on Aug. 13, the same day Wright released his findings against the chief of staff, Jerry Stermer, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Quinn's office denies that the report against the COS had anything to do with Wright's firing.

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Rod Blagojevich

Blago Jury Deadlocked On Some Counts; Haven't Deliberated Yet On Others

Rachel Slajda | August 12, 2010, 1:02PM

Former IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich

The jury in Rod Blagojevich's corruption trial told the judge today that they have only come to unanimous agreement on two of the 24 charges.

As for the other 22 charges, the jury said they haven't even begun to discuss the 11 wire fraud charges. They have not been able to come to a decision on the other 11.

According to the Sun Times, Judge James Zagel is instructing the jurors to keep trying:

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Rod Blagojevich

Storage Facility Auctioning Off Blago's Stuff After He Falls Behind On Payments

Eric Lach | July 26, 2010, 2:39PM

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D)

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's corruption trial moved on to closing arguments today, and a storage facility which has been holding a bunch of Blago's stuff is moving on too. According to The Chicago Tribune, Boyer-Rosene Moving & Storage is planning to auction off several crates worth of Blagojevich's belongings, because the former governor has fallen a year behind on his payments.

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Rod Blagojevich

Defense Rests In Blagojevich Trial, Calls No Witnesses

Eric Lach | July 21, 2010, 12:37PM

Former IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich

In the end, America's loudest disgraced ex-governor stayed silent. The defense rested its case in Rod Blagojevich's corruption trial today, without putting a single witness on the stand.

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Robert Blagojevich

Today's Moment Of Blago: When Gov't And Fundraising 'Bleed Over'

Eric Lach | July 20, 2010, 6:54PM

Former IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich

Today featured the prosecution's cross-examination of Rod Blagojevich's brother Robert -- and ended with the ex-governor's lawyers saying their client may not take the stand after all. After all this build up, could Blago sit silently through his trial? What happened?

Blagojevich's lawyers say they don't think the prosecutors have proven their case. But The Chicago Sun-Times suggests keeping Rod off the stand may have something to do with Robert's performance during cross examination. "In just the first 10 minutes of cross-examination Monday, Robert Blagojevich, who had overseen the Friends of Blagojevich campaign fund, found himself contradicting his own statements and having to explain a secretly recorded and previously unheard conversation." Today's Moment of Blago comes from Robert, and via the Sun-Times.

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Today's Moment Of Blago

Today's Moment Of Blago: The Sherlock Holmes Defense

Eric Lach | July 19, 2010, 4:31PM

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D)

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's defense in his corruption trial began today. A central part of his lawyers' argument is expected to be that Blago is a naive man who got bad advice. Blagojevich himself has spent months in the media spotlight projecting an image -- deliberately or not -- as a smiling oaf. The defense thinks the jury will buy this story. We think it's ripe for comic moments.

In that spirit, we bring you the first installment of Today's Moment of Blago:

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Rod Blagojevich

Blago Trial: The Prosecution Rests, And The Defense Begins Monday

Rachel Slajda | July 16, 2010, 6:00PM

Former IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's defense in his corruption trial will begin Monday, after the prosecution wrapped up their case this week more than a month ahead of schedule.

Blago's lawyers may have a tough time winning over the jurors, who have heard weeks of the infamous wiretappings ("fucking golden," anyone?) and Blago's delusions of grandeur. According to the Chicago Tribune, Blago's top lawyer told the judge this week that he won't dispute many of the charges; instead, he's trying to prove that Blagojevich "had no criminal intent in the things that he said and the things that he did." He's painting him, as he did in his opening statement, as a naive man who trusted the wrong people. The defense has also argued that Blago got bad legal advice.

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Rod Blagojevich

LISTEN: Blago Says 'I've Got This Thing And It's F*cking Golden' (AUDIO)

Eric Lach | July 1, 2010, 1:56PM

Former IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich

Prosecutors in the Rod Blagojevich trial have released some classic audio of a recorded conversation between the former Illinois governor and Doug Scofield, a political advisor and former deputy governor, from the day after Barack Obama won the Presidential election.

In a candid conversation, Blagojevich and Scofield discussed the governor's strategy for filling the vacant Senate seat, and the governor utters the now-infamous phrase: "I've got this thing and it's fucking golden."

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Rod Blagojevich

Blago Trial Update: Rahm's 'B.S.' List Of Potential Senate Appointees

Rachel Slajda | June 25, 2010, 6:14PM

Former IL Gov Rod Blagojevich

The corruption trial against former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) has been chugging along, with the highlight this week being testimony from Blago's former chief of staff about Rahm Emanuel and President Obama's Senate seat.

Blagojevich's former COS, John Harris, testified that Emanuel sent him a list of people Obama would find acceptable to replace him in the Senate, according to news accounts from the Chicago Tribune and Sun. Blago reportedly called the list "B.S."

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Barack Obama

Blago Lawyers Try To Tie Kickbacks To Obama Donation

Jillian Rayfield | June 17, 2010, 5:12PM

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich

As the Rod Blagojevich trial wears on, defense attorneys are attempting to tie the shady dealings that took place during the former Illinois governor's tenure to donations made to Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

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Rod Blagojevich

First Tapes Heard In Blago Trial

Rachel Slajda | June 11, 2010, 12:06PM

Former IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich

The first tapes made from wiretaps on the phones of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his associates were played yesterday in Blago's corruption trial in Chicago federal court.

The tapes paint the former governor as desperate for campaign funds.

In one tape, Blagojevich can be heard telling his brother, Rob, to hit up everyone he can for donations, hoping to reach a $4 million campaign goal.

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Rod Blagojevich

Blago 2008: What Could Have Been

Rachel Slajda | June 10, 2010, 10:13AM

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-IL)

Oh, what could have been.

During former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's corruption trial yesterday, his former chief of staff testified that in 2003, Blago's closest advisers had their eyes set on higher office for Blago -- the highest office, in fact -- thinking a presidential run for the gov might be possible in 2008.

The former COS, Lon Monk, said that two members of Blago's inner circle, Tony Rezko and Chris Kelly, wanted to make sure the new governor wasn't worried about his finances.

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Rod Blagojevich

Opening Statements Begin In Blago's Corruption Trial

Rachel Slajda | June 8, 2010, 8:01PM

Former IL Gov Rod Blagojevich

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's (D) corruption trial began today, after a year and a half of the impeached governor and erstwhile Celebrity Apprentice star vowing that the evidence would prove his innocence. In his opening statement this afternoon, Blagojevich's lawyer argued that Blago is a naive politician who trusted the wrong people, calling his client "insecure" and "broke."

Blago's lawyer, Sam Adam Jr., told the jury today that Blago was a victim of men like Tony Rezko and others. He's naive, Adam said, and so insecure that "he shakes constantly" and "his own lawyers won't take his phone calls."

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Rod Blagojevich

Blago Trial Begins (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | June 3, 2010, 3:03PM

Former IL Gov Rod Blagojevich

Former Illinois Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich declared "I feel great" and stopped to kiss the cheek of a supporter bearing a "Rod's not cuckoo. Rod's not guilty." sign as he entered federal court in Chicago today for the first day of his corruption trial.

The Blago charges, regular readers will remember, stem from his alleged attempt to sell an appointment to Barack Obama's Senate seat in 2008, shaking down a children's hospital, and other alleged schemes to profit from his office. He has pleaded not guilty to 24 counts of bribery, wire fraud, racketeering, and attempted extortion.

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Raymond Martin

Alleged Crooked Sheriff On Pot-Dealing Competitor: I'll 'Put The Fear Of God In Him'

Justin Elliott | January 5, 2010, 1:42PM

Raymond Martin

Sheriff Raymond Martin once pulled his service revolver from its holster and pointed it at his drug-dealing partner, warning the man there was no "getting out" of their relationship, a criminal complaint against Martin alleges.

We told you earlier about how Martin, the sheriff in rural Gallatin County in southern Illinois, was arrested last May on drug and gun charges for allegedly dealing marijuana that had been confiscated by police.

Martin and his wife and son were charged Monday with murder-for-hire, reportedly for targeting witnesses who are going to testify against Martin. While the details of the alleged murder plot have not been released, we've now dug into the original drug complaint against the sheriff.

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Corruption

Small Town Illinois Sheriff Charged With Pot Dealing And Murder-For-Hire

Justin Elliott | January 5, 2010, 9:48AM

Raymond and Krista Martin (Cody Martin, Inset)

Raymond Martin had been sheriff in tiny Gallatin County, Illinois, for 20 years. So when he was arrested on federal drug and gun charges last May for allegedly running a large-scale marijuana dealing operation out of his police SUV, residents were shocked.

But that was only the beginning.

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