The governor of Illinois was arrested Tuesday on charges of conspiring to get financial benefits through his authority to appoint a US senator to fill the vacancy left by Barack Obama's election as president. According to a federal criminal complaint, Gov. Rod Blagojevich also was charged with illegally threatening to withhold state assistance to Tribune Co., the owner of the Chicago Tribune, in the sale of Wrigley Field. In return for state assistance, Blagojevich allegedly wanted members of the paper's editorial board who had been critical of him fired. A 76-page FBI affidavit said the 51-year-old Democratic governor was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps over the last month conspiring to sell or trade the vacant Senate seat for personal benefits for himself and his wife, Patti. The affidavit said Blagojevich discussed getting a substantial salary for himself at a nonprofit foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions. It said that Blagojevich also talked about getting his wife placed on corporate boards where she might get $150,000 a year in director's fees. He also allegedly discussed getting campaign funds for himself or possibly a post in the president's cabinet or an ambassadorship once he left the governor's office. “I want to make money,” the affidavit quotes him as saying in one conversation. US Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald said in a statement that “the breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering.” “They allege that Blagojevich put a for sale sign on the naming of a United States senator,” Fitzgerald said.” Among those being considered for the post include US Reps. Danny Davis and Jesse Jackson Jr. Blagojevich also was charged with using his authority as governor in an attempt to squeeze out campaign contributions. His chief of staff, John Harris, also was arrested. Both men were expected to appear later Tuesday before a federal magistrate in Chicago. Corruption in the Blagojevich administration has been the focus of a federal investigation involving an alleged $7 million scheme aimed at squeezing kickbacks out of companies seeking business from the state.
