In December 2008, a few days after Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested, I discovered this photograph in a newsletter published by the State of Illinois on November 12 celebrating the election of Barack Obama:

The photo was posted along with an article discussing the selection process for Obama’s replacement in the Senate. The caption to the photo read simply:

Governor Blagojevich confers with now President-elect Barack Obama

Within hours after we published the photo on Verum Serum, and after it was picked up by Hot Air and ultimately the Drudge Report (along with other blogs), the newsletter disappeared from the State of Illinois web site. Fortunately we were smart enough to save a copy.

The question of course is this: when did this meeting take place and what exactly were Blagojevich and the President-elect “conferring” about? (more…)

The Chicago media covers Illinois political corruption like crime reporters. They show up at the scene, gather for the perp walk, snap a photo, and cover the trial.  In short, they wait for the story to happen and then accept official explanations with minimum scrutiny.  Consequently, when the Machine gets caught, it’s generally not the media that breaks the story. And it’s been that way in Chicago for a very long time.

Here’s one example of a story gone missing: the strange saga of an FBI mole who interacted with several Chicagoland players, including Barack Obama, associated with the rise-and-fall of Antoin “Tony” Rezko and former Illinois Governor Milorad R. “Rod” Blagojevich.

It starts in the late 1990’s in New York where Bernard Barton, Jr. made “wrong decisions” while running his billboard leasing company. One wrong decision was selling space on billboards he neither owned nor controlled.

According to an FBI affidavit, those “wrong decisions” included Thomas’ drawing more than $350,000 from his customers’ credit cards while he was running a billboard leasing business in Manhattan in the late 1990s. He also charged more than $140,000 to an American Express business account he obtained using his father’s Social Security number.

To mitigate jail time, Barton volunteered to help New York federal prosecutors make a case against organized crime families that were trying to penetrate the billboard business. His offer worked. His sentencing has been delayed… for seven years now. (more…)

Historians will someday document the pressure that Democrat Party leaders put on their members in Congress to vote for the “health care” bill. Until then, we mainly rely on leaked stories and accounts offered by House members willing to talk. But there is this one other source we can look to for hints of what’s happening to Democrat House members behind the scenes.

President Obama and Chicago’s Mayor Daley share a political advisor: David Axelrod.  Plus, Axelrod and Rahm “Rahmbo” Emanuel worked together on Democrat Paul Simon’s 1984 election to the U.S. Senate. It’s all in the family, so to speak.

Daley attacked the reporter when he was asked a question pertaining to the suicide death of Chicago School Board President Michael Scott. Watch His Honor’s response here.

It reminds you of this: (more…)

In his March 12, 2010, interview with FOX News’ Greta van Susteren, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich described a conversation he said he had with Rahm Emanuel concerning a replacement for Obama’s Senate seat.  His comments on that subject are within 1:09-3.29 of this video.

Blago’s words came in the context of discussing former Congressman Eric Massa’s allegation that Emanuel lobbied him in a shower while both men were naked. Suggesting this episode displayed Emanuel’s tactics, Blagojevich said,

I chose Rahm Emanuel. He was my first choice to help us pick a United States Senator. I wanted him to make a deal with the Democratic House Speaker here in Illinois. In exchange for me appointing his daughter he would stop blocking a public works bill that would create jobs. He would stop blocking healthcare expansion for fifty to three-hundred thousand people. And a written promise not to raise taxes on people.  Rahm was the guy I chose to make that deal happen. And was about to do it and then everything changed when they came and arrested me.

The Illinois House Speaker in Illinois is Michael J. Madigan. He’s been Speaker since 1982, and chair of the Illinois Democratic Party since 1998. Here’s some of what the Chicago Tribune knows about him: (more…)

Chicago Tribune reporter John Kass is an old school journalist. He’s one among a cadre of Windy City reporters, most from the Sun Times and the Tribune, who routinely expose the hooligans and shenanigans of the Chicago Political Machine.

Kass says the national MSM ignored the political environment that gave birth to Barack Obama.

While Kass calls Obama “a Chicago political guy,” he knows the Machine is multi-layered. While the hub is Chicago, spokes extend throughout Cook County, and reach deep inside the state capital at Springfield.

Because the MSM ignored the Machine from which Obama emerged, the electorate didn’t realize that voting for Obama meant endorsing politics the Chicago way. Consequently, those outside Illinois knew little about the Machine, how it cleans up its messes, and how the clean-ups can impact individual lives. For example: (more…)

The Chicago media is having trouble picking a winner out of the line-up of likely suspects for the Machine’s chosen candidate for Barack Obama’s old, hardly even used U.S. Senate seat.  The dragnet doesn’t include anyone with an impressive rap sheet of accomplishments. So what’s up? Is the Machine sputtering?

The Illinois primary election for U.S. Senator is February 2. Senator Roland Burris isn’t running. No money. No support. No surprise.  After what the disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s hand-picked seat warmer had to go through just to get credentialed, it’s no wonder he just wants to pack up and go home to his monuments.

And the recent victory by Scott Brown in the Massachusetts special election for the U.S. Senate certainly has put the fear of God into party hacks from sea to shining sea. So, who’s the Machine’s candidate among the leading suspects? Here’s the line-up. (more…)

Will the Chicago Machine corruption story break wide open in 2010?

If you think Chicago crook and long-time Obama buddy Antoin Rezko is serving out his jail sentence, think again.

Antoin “Tony” Rezko is a forgotten man. During the presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton tried to make Barack Obama’s connection with Rezko an issue.

On June 4, 2008, Rezko was convicted in federal court on 16 charges of corruption. For a day or so, he was big news.

After that, a national media that ignored Obama’s connections with the corrupt Chicago political machine lost all interest in Rezko.  After all, there was an “historic” election to influence, and anything that made Obama’s shady past the subject of a national conversation had to be squelched. (more…)