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Corruption in Chicago? I don't believe it.

It's the news of the hour. TV's most photogenic US Attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, has arrested the governor of Illinois for, among other things, trying to "sell" the U.S. Senate seat vacated by (technically-not-yet)-President-Elect Barack Obama.

(Actually, there's more to the indictment. But let's stick with the sexy stuff.)

In exchange for appointing any particular individual, Governor Blagojevich attempted to negotiate any of the following: (a) a high-paying job for himself or his wife at a union-affiliated organization; (b) a highly-paying corporate board member position for his wife; (c) an up-front grant of campaign funds; or (d) a cabinet or ambassadorial position for himself. (from HuffPo).

In other words, it was mostly about the benjamins. And we're not talking McCain or Kerry money. (You have to marry rich for that.) Blagojevich was looking for midlevel Biglaw associate money: the ability to earn $250k-300k annually.

Here's my thought. Some of these demands (e.g., the cash payment) are clearly graft. A few of the others, though--particularly the demand that the appointee help fund-raise--sound like the quid-pro-quo of politics, except taken to an unreasonable (i.e., clearly criminal) degree.

To put it another way: Blagojevich had every right to say "F-ck Obama" (that's in the indictment!) and appoint himself to the vacant seat. There's no reason for Obama's designee to get any particular consideration. Clearly, their's an inherent promise here: appoint my chosen successor, and I'll campaign in your state, or invite you on Air Force One, or otherwise give you national prominence. The difference here is that Blagojevich attempted to monetize the transaction, in a particularly transparent way.

Full post as published by Nuts & Boalts on December 09, 2008 (boomark / email).