Illinios governor Blagojevich arrested by federal authorities on corruption charges

10 December 2008

Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested on charges of corruption yesterday, which included a charge of trying to sell the US senate seat that was vacated by fellow Democrat and now President-elect Barack Obama.

The arrest is being viewed as a possible embarrassment for Obama, who has already distanced himself from Blagojevich. The Illinios governor has been under investigation on other issues for months, with federal prosecutors now saying the the breadth of corruption laid out in the charges is "staggering".

Blagojevich has been accused of threatening to withhold state assistance to the Tribune Company. This was ostensibly done in connection with the sale of the Chicago Cubs' baseball home, Wrigley Field, with a view to "to induce the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members sharply critical" of him. The 51-year-old governor and his chief of staff John Harris have been charged in a federal complaint with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and soliciting bribery.

Both Blagojevich and Harris were arrested at their homes in Chicago.

In the state of Illinois, the governor get to select a successor in the event of a mid-term vacancy in the US Senate. President-elect Obama had resigned from the Senate after winning the presidential election on 4 November.

Federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald in a statement said the charges "allege that Blagojevich put a 'for sale' sign on the naming of a United States senator" He reportedly involved himself personally in "pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of a salesman meeting his annual sales target; and corruptly used his office in an effort to trample editorial voices of criticism."