Rod R Blagojevich

With Senate leaders threatening to block Roland Burris from being sworn in today as Barack Obama's replacement, many of his supporters see a familiar story of race and injustice. An all-white club, they say, is trying to prevent a black man from gaining admission, as well as the power that comes with a Senate seat. Summoning a harsh metaphor from the nation's racial battles, Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.) even called the Senate "the last bastion of plantation politics."

Former Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, his brother and a former top fundraiser were among six men indicted Thursday on political corruption charges, the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago announced. The sweeping indictment comes four months after Blagojevich was arrested and charged with engaging in pay-to-play politics in a major federal complaint that accused the Democrat of trading state jobs, contracts and regulatory favors for campaign contributions.

Six years ago, Rod R. Blagojevich became the first Democrat to be elected governor of Illinois in 30 years, unseating what he called a Republican "legacy of corruption, mismanagement and lost opportunities." Until his arrest Tuesday on federal corruption charges, the self-proclaimed "always lawful" Blagojevich had built a political career, in part, on fighting corruption.

Angered by Chicago Tribune editorials, Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich tried to get members of the newspaper's editorial board fired, promising in exchange to support lucrative state financial assistance in the sale of Wrigley Field -- part of the cash-strapped parent company's efforts to sell the Chicago Cubs, authorities charged Tuesday.

An unflattering portrait depicting Illinois first lady Patricia Blagojevich as a modern-day Lady Macbeth who plotted against her husband's perceived enemies and backed his corrupt schemes emerged in court documents connected to the governor's arrest. Her alleged ambitions and brashness are outlined in a 76-page federal criminal complaint: She helped her husband hatch a plan to sell President-elect Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat.

A footnote to the 76-page criminal complaint and affidavit charging Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, a Democrat, with soliciting bribes confirms what has long been rumored: that a former longtime friend of and fundraiser for President-elect Barack Obama is talking to federal prosecutors in hopes of a reduced sentence.

It took three tries in as many days for President-elect Barack Obama to roll out a strategy for defusing the crisis over Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich's alleged attempt to put his old Senate seat up for sale. In his initial reaction, Obama said he was saddened by the episode, that he hadn't talked about the Senate seat with Blagojevich and that he wouldn't discuss an ongoing investigation.

Tribune Co. acknowledged Thursday that it had been subpoenaed in the federal criminal case against Illinois' governor, Democrat Rod R. Blagojevich, and sources confirmed that the FBI had interviewed a close associate of company Chairman Sam Zell. The associate, Nils Larsen, is the financial advisor who allegedly was asked to help get Chicago Tribune editorial writers fired. (None were fired.) Larsen, a Tribune Co.

If it wasn't nailed down, it was for sale, federal officials say. Seeking a high-level Illinois job? Make a contribution to Friends of Blagojevich. Want a state contract? Pony up. Have your heart set on the U.S. Senate? Let's talk. Federal authorities say Democratic Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich put a "for sale" sign on state government. But in many ways, that sign had been there for years. "When you look at the countless scandals that have plagued Illinois politics over the last several years . . .

Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich met with a renowned Chicago criminal lawyer Saturday as he weighed his legal options on how to fight a scandal that has left his career in tatters and disrupted President-elect Barack Obama's White House transition. The Democratic governor had a four-hour meeting with Ed Genson in the lawyer's downtown office Saturday. Genson has defended newspaper baron Conrad Black, R&B singer R.