Thursday, June 24, 2010
 
sponsored by

Blago saw escape in organized labor

Send a link to a friend

[June 24, 2010]  CHICAGO -- Rod Blagojevich wanted out of Illinois in November 2008, and with the door closing on his opportunity to fill Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat, he sought escape through organized labor.

HardwareTapes obtained through FBI wiretaps show an increasingly desperate Blagojevich grasping at straws, as he tried to allegedly cash in on the Senate seat left open by then-president elect Obama.

"(Obama's) gonna resign on Tuesday or Wednesday and they're gonna start putting pressure (to fill the seat)," Blagojevich told John Harris, his chief of staff, on Nov. 7. Obama resigned from the Senate nine days later.

As the pressure to appoint Obama's friend Valerie Jarrett to the seat mounted, Blagojevich's demands shrunk. He began floating ideas about a move to the private sector with the help of his supporters in organized labor, rather than a top Cabinet post in the administration.

This came as a relief to Harris, who had previously warned Blagojevich he might be reaching too high.

"I always thought his future lied somewhere in organized labor," Harris testified on Wednesday during Blagojevich's federal corruption trial.

Blagojevich and his advisers had been in frequent contact with Tom Balanoff, vice president of Service Employees International Union.

Harris described Balanoff as Obama's emissary to the former governor but noted the close relationship the labor leader shared with Blagojevich, as well.

"Let's stay with just Balanoff," Blagojevich said of the negotiating process for the appointment.

The governor hoped Balanoff and Obama could arrange a lucrative position for his wife or himself at Win for Change, a political action arm for the union, according to Harris. The former governor said on tape he wanted to get a "long-term career" out of the seat, expressing concerns about his financial troubles.

Harris said the job represented Blagojevich's best hope to benefit from the seat.

"The SEIU provides a buffer between Rod and Obama ... meaning Obama would not have ... an obvious quid pro quo for Valerie," Harris explained to the jury.

He seemed to see a labor position as a way to make more money and stay on the political scene.

"It gives you a way to go out there and make contacts ... for a political comeback in 2016," he said.

The governor was not always so excited about the move.

Blagojevich's temperament had changed since Election Day, when he was recorded outlining his initial demands. Curse words echoed through the courtroom far more often on Wednesday than his earlier tapes.

[to top of second column]

Blagojevich had seen himself as the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services or ambassador to the United Nations.

Harris' doubts about prospects in a top Cabinet position began to sink in for Blagojevich.

"Barack really wants to get away from Illinois politics," he told Harris.

The governor was also increasingly worried about Obama's reaction to his demands and how to wiggle free of them.

He discussed leaking various candidates, like Attorney General Lisa Madigan, to the press or calling in candidates like U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. to interview.

"We gotta show ... we got some process going on," he said.

But rumors in the press of a Madigan Cabinet appointment worried the governor.

"If they make her the deputy attorney general, that hurts me, right?" he asked Harris.

Water

Harris testified that Blagojevich was worried his poor relationship with Madigan could exacerbate the ongoing federal investigation into the governor's relationship with convicted influence peddler Tony Rezko.

Harris is testifying against his old boss in exchange for a reduced sentence on a bribery charge he pleaded guilty to earlier this year.

Blagojevich faces up to 415 years in prison of convicted of more than 20 counts of corruption.

[Illinois Statehouse News; By BILL McMORRIS]

< Top Stories index

Back to top


 

News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching and Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries

Community | Perspectives | Law and Courts | Leisure Time | Spiritual Life | Health and Fitness | Teen Scene
Calendar | Letters to the Editor