Illinois is gaining quite a reputation for corrupt governors. Before Blagojevich there was former Governor Ryan. Now more recently Blagojevich is known as the governor of Illinois who allegedly tried to "sell" the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama when he entered into the Presidential election. Some reports say he tried to trade the seat for ambassadorships, money and positions within pro-union groups and even a $150,000 salary for his wife.
At a news conference, Patrick Fitzgerald, the prosecutor, said that Blagojevich had gone on a "political corruption crime spree," and that his actions had "taken us to a truly new low." You can read more about that here.
In an excerpt from the above article, "According to the affidavit, Blagojevich told an adviser last week that he might get some money 'upfront, maybe' from one of the candidates hoping to replace Obama. That person was identified only as 'Candidate 5.' In an earlier recorded conversation, prosecutors say, Blagojevich said he had been approached by an associate of Candidate 5 with an offer of $500,000 in exchange for the Senate seat." On April 2, 2009 a Federal Grand jury indicted Rod Blagojevich on 16 indictments of which included racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud, extortion conspiracy, attempted extortion, and making false statements to federal agents.
Chapter 13 in our textbook is titled "Power and Politics" which directly applies to this particular case. In the book on page 321 it talks about The Relationship Between Dependency and Power, and according to the text Blagojevich was feeling indispensable. He was feeling dependency for the scarcity of his resource and the importance of his resource. Blagojevich felt that he held all the power because people depended on his to fill this Senate seat. How do you think he should have handled the appointment of the new Senator? How do you think Blagojevich should be punished for the crimes he is accused of?
Posted By: Amy Beagles
No comments:
Post a Comment