Politics

The sometimes contentious and surprising audio from the appeal hearing of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is now online.

Attorneys spent an hour arguing Blagojevich’s appeal on December 13th.  Leonard Goodman told judges that Blagojevich never intended to commit fraud, he thought he was engaging in political horse trading.

That led Judge Frank Easterbrook to repeatedly ask Blagojevich’s attorney about a case called  Cheek.

Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan says Nelson Mandela was instrumental in his 2003 decision to empty death row.  

Ryan addressed attendees gathered Sunday at the Chicago church of U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, who hosted a "people's tribute'' to the late South African leader.  

Ryan, a Republican, was released from prison earlier this year after serving more than five years on corruption charges. His roughly five-minute speech was one of his first public appearances since his release.  

Ryan and Mandela met in 2000 on a trade mission to South Africa.  

Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford doesn’t think he will see a backlash against Republicans in next year’s race for governor. Some recent polls have shown most Americans disapprove the way congressional Republicans handled the budget.
Rutherford says he doesn’t think the conflicts in Washington, D-C will be a factor in a race closer to home - like his bid to win the Republican nomination for governor.

Former Illinois Congressman Lane Evans has been honored by his hometown. Tuesday, Rock Island re-named a street in the neighborhood where he grew up "Lane Evans Drive." 

Another Democrat is joining what is becoming a crowded field of candidates for Illinois' 13th Congressional District seat. David Green of Champaign said Monday that he will run in the Democratic Party primary. He joins University of Illinois physicist George Gollin and retired Edwardsville judge Ann Callis. Green is a 63-year-old social policy analyst at the University of Illinois' Center for Prevention Research and Development. He told The News-Gazette in Champaign that he's anti-war and hopes to appeal to leftists and anti-war libertarians.

An emotional Jesse Jackson Jr. says he "misled the American people.''

He made the statement Wednesday to a federal judge who is sentencing him for misusing $750,000 in campaign money.

Pausing and appearing to get choked up in the Washington courtroom on Wednesday, Jackson Jr. also apologized to his mother and his father, civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson.

He added: "I take responsibility for my actions and am very sorry for what I've done.''

Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon is jumping into the 2014 race for Illinois comptroller.

After months of considering other statewide offices, she'll make it official Wednesday with stops in Chicago, Springfield and Carbondale. She tells The Associated Press the idea of teaching the public about the budget is appealing.

She could face Will County Auditor Duffy Blackburn in a Democratic primary.

Republican Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka is seeking re-election and has a fundraising advantage. She's a former state treasurer and gubernatorial candidate.

House Speaker Michael Madigan's request to be investigated by the Legislative Ethics Commission is being granted.

Metra is considering hiring a former assistant U.S. attorney to investigate allegations that prominent politicians pressured staff in personnel and contract decisions.

The public agency's board of directors will vote Monday on whether to approve hiring Patrick Collins, who prosecuted the case that sent former Gov. George Ryan to prison for corruption.

The allegations involving Metra emerged during inquiries into a lucrative buyout for former CEO Alex Clifford.

A former California transit executive tapped to clean up Chicago's scandal-tarnished Metra commuter rail agency says he was pushed out for doing exactly that and resisting pressure from Illinois politicians.
 
Alex Clifford was allowed to speak publicly for the first time Wednesday about his lucrative buyout agreement, which critics have called hush money and a waste of taxpayer funds.
 

The electronic system Springfield aldermen use to record their votes is getting an upgrade the city clerk says will soon allow the public to follow along with City Council action in real-time on the web.

City Clerk Cecilia  Tumulty introduced aldermen to the new eVote system during their committee meeting Tuesday.  Tumulty says work will now begin to link the technology to her website.  She says the goal is to give the public a more "comprehensive snapshot" of Council action:

A cheerful, joking George Ryan has spoken outside his home after the former Illinois governor was released from home confinement.  
 Ryan spoke Wednesday afternoon in Kankakee, saying he felt good, physically and mentally.  
 Wednesday ended more than five years in federal custody for corruption. In January, he was released from an Indiana prison and moved to confinement at his home.  
 Ryan says he feels ``wonderful'' and that ``freedom's a great thing.''  
 Ryan says he's writing a book but didn't elaborate.  

The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Springfield says the nation's high court has given "legal protection to an intrinsic evil" by striking down the Defense of Marriage Act and not defending California's Proposition 8.  

In a statement Wednesday, Reverend Thomas John Paprocki went on to call the Supreme Court's rulings "hollow decisions" that are "devoid of moral authority".  

Members of the Springfield City Council are looking for a way to prevent further incidents like the one in April in which police records were apparently shredded or deleted after they were requested by a local reporter through the Freedom of Information Act.

Tuesday night aldermen passed out of committee an ordinance that would require all changes to union contracts be approved by the Council and signed by the Mayor.  Such contractual changes are known as memorandums of understanding, or MOUs. 

The U.S. Supreme Court is giving Illinois’ attorney general more time to decide whether to appeal a ruling that the state’s ban on the public possession of firearms is unconstitutional.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan now has until June 24 to ask the high court to hear the case.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found Illinois’ prohibition on the carrying of concealed firearms unconstitutional in December.  

It ordered lawmakers to pass legislation to legalize concealed carry by June 9.  The 30-day extension granted by the court Friday does not affect that deadline.