Even for Chicago, Blago Scandal 'Jaw-Dropping'

Ex-gov bashes his trial, his successor; jokes about hair and lack of progress on book

(NEWSER) - Morning drive-time radio could be the future for Rod Blagojevich, if the impeached Illinois’ governor’s fill-in stint today on Chicago’s WLS-AM is anything to go by, Jimmy Orr writes in live-blogging the show for the Christian Science Monitor. Amid Elvis theme music and complaints about his successor’s proposed tax hike, the “natural radio host” responded to jokes about his hair and the book he’s writing. More»

Milton Patterson won't say much beyond having 'gut feeling' about proceedings

(NEWSER) - The one nay vote in today’s Illinois House impeachment of Rod Blagojevich was from Chicago Democrat Milton Patterson, the Chicago Tribune reports. Patterson said he wasn’t defending the disgraced governor. “I went by my own gut feeling,” he said. The lone “present” vote belonged to Elga Jefferies, “torn between political and personal.” Neither is returning to the House in the new session, Talking Points Memo notes. More»

(AP) - With pressure mounting by the hour for him to resign or face impeachment, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich remained "upbeat" and in a "positive mood," his spokesman said. Blagojevich did his best to ignore the storm swirling around him. "There's a sense of trying to return to normalcy," said the spokesman, adding that he didn't know whether Blagojevich would step down. "That's something that obviously he'll decide on his own." More»

Blagojevich just doing what machine politicians do, warts and all

(NEWSER) - Amateur psychologists are calling Rod Blagojevich “crazy,” just because he dropped some F-bombs while allegedly trying to sell Barack Obama’s Senate seat. Obviously, these guys “have never talked to a Chicago machine politician in their lives,” writes John Kass in the Tribune. “How do they think Chicago politicians talk in private when they’re muscling some other guy for cash? Like Helen Mirren playing the Queen?” More»

(NEWSER) - Jesse Jackson Jr. vigorously denounced Gov. Rod Blagojevich today and insisted he did nothing unethical to try to win appointment to Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat. "I reject and denounce pay-to-play politics," said Jackson, who was identified earlier today as the so-called "Senate Candidate No. 5" in the scandal. The Illinois congressman said neither he nor any of his representatives made any offers to the governor, the Chicago Tribune reports. More»