Rod Blagojevich (gov)

Former Illinois Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich today  pleaded “innocent ” on charges following his re-indictment earlier this month, Bloomberg reports. On Feb. 4, a federal grand jury on Thursday issued a new 113-page, 24-count indictment against Blagojevich.

Last month, the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Illinois, headed by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, announced plans to bring a revised indictment against Blagojevich, who was arrested in December 2008 on federal corruption charges that involved conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery. He was later impeached and removed from office.

The new indictment includes many of the same charges as the first indictment, but downplays charges against “honest services fraud” that had been in the original indictment. That type of fraud is under review by the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Attorney’s office, headed by Patrick Fitzgerald, does not want the case to be endangered by an adverse ruling.

When asked today by U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel if he waived reading of the revised indictment, Blagojevich said, “Your honor, I waive reading and enter a plea of innocent to each and every charge.” Leaving the courtroom after entering his plea, Blagojevich told reporters he plans to testify at his June trial, Bloomberg reports.

Patrick Fitzgerald (DOJ)

In addition, Blagojevich also told reporters that he plans to waive his constitutional right to seek suppression of any of the eavesdropping and wiretap recordings collected by the government during its investigation of him, and ask federal prosecutors to agree that the recordings can be played at trial, Bloomberg reports. “Play the truth and play the whole truth,” Blagojevich said.

Blagojevich’s attorney, Sam Adam Jr., said, “We don’t have to prove Rod innocent, but the tapes will.”

Rod Blagojevich (gov)

A federal grand jury on Thursday issued a new 113-page, 24-count indictment against former Illinois Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, The Daily Herald of Chicago reports. Last month, the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Illinois announced plans to bring a revised indictment against Blagojevich, who was arrested in December 2008 on federal corruption charges that involved conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery.

The new indictment includes many of the same charges as the first indictment, but downplays “honest services fraud,” according to the newspaper. That type of fraud is under review by the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Attorney’s office headed by Patrick Fitzgerald is concerned that the court’s ruling could hinder its case against the former governor. The honest services statute is under attack because, some critics argue, it fails to give fair warning of precisely what conduct violates the law

The new charges in the revised indictment include new counts of racketeering, attempted extortion, extortion conspiracy, bribery and bribery conspiracy, but “are based on the same underlying criminal conduct,” according to an accompanying filing. “Because the defendants’ illegal conduct violated multiple criminal statutes, additional statutes are charged.”

Randall Samborn, a spokesman for the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s office, told The Daily Herald, “There is no new substance to these charges.” Blagojevich’s attorney, Sheldon Sorosky, called the re-indictment “nothing more than warmed-up old soup.” He added that his client is innocent and will be vindicated at trial, The Daily Herald reports.

The indictment also names Blagojevich’s campaign manager Alonzo Monk, chief of staff John Harris and brother Robert, chairman of the Friends of Blagojevich campaign organization, as defendants. The Blagojevich aides, along with fundraisers Antoin Rezko and Chris Kelly were accused of running the “Blagojevich Enterprise.” The plan involved using political power to fund its members through government acts and bribery and then amass the money and divide it up after he left office, according to The Daily Herald.

Blagojevich is scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 10. The trial is scheduled to begin June 3.

David Hoffman (Hoffman for Senate)

A former federal prosecutor has lost the Democratic primary to fill President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat, finishing second in a five-candidate field.

David Hoffman, who was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago under Patrick Fitzgerald, received almost 34 percent of the Democratic Senate primary votes on Tuesday, trailing Illinois state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, who captured 39 percent of the ballots.

The battle was for the right to appear on the November general election ballot to fill the seat being vacated by Democrat Roland Burris. Burris was appointed early last year to finish Obama’s Senate term but  decided not to seek election to a full term.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, The Associated Press called the election for Giannoulias, who earned 39 percent of the vote. He was followed by Hoffman with 33.8 percent, Chicago Urban League CEO Cheryle Jackson with 19.7 percent, physician Robert Marshall with 5.7 percent and attorney Jacob Meister with 1.8 percent.

Alexi Giannoulias (Alexi Giannoulias for Illinois)

Hoffman, who was a federal prosecutor in the Northern District of Illinois from 1998 to 2005, came under fire from Giannoulias for seeking campaign donations from his former colleagues. He had received endorsements from numerous news organizations, including The Chicago Tribune and The Chicago Sun-Times and numerous politicians and organizations.

Giannoulias will face Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) in November. Kirk won the GOP primary on Tuesday with 56.6 percent of the vote. He beat attorney Patrick Hughes who earned 19.3 percent, retired attorney Don Lowery. who got 8.9 percent, historian Kathleen Thomas,  who got 7.3 percent, writer Andy Martin, with  5.1 percent, and management consultant John Arrington who garnered just 2.8 percent of the vote.

Rod Blagojevich (gov)

The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Illinois next month plans to bring a revised indictment against former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), The Chicago Tribune reports. Blagojevich was arrested exactly one year ago on federal corruption charges that involved conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery.

The revised indictment is part of federal prosecutors’ efforts to avoid possible delays that may result from the ruling in an ongoing U.S. Supreme Court case, according to the U.S Attorney’s office in Chicago, The Tribune reports. The case, which was scheduled to begin oral arguments this morning, involves limitations on “honest services” fraud law.

According to The Christian Science Monitor, the law, which makes it a crime “to deprive another of the intangible right of honest services,” is a “powerful weapon in the arsenal of prosecutors seeking to root out all forms of public and private corruption. But the statute, critics say, fails to give fair warning of precisely which conduct violates the law.”

Patrick Fitzgerald (DOJ)

The Tribune reports that prosecutors, led by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, “are relying on [the law]” for a number of the corruption charges against the former governor.

The revised indictment will separate out Blagojevich’s charges in order to allow the June trial to start on time, regardless of the outcome of the Supreme Court case, the newspaper reports. The issue of honest services fraud law as it relates to the former governor will be dealt with in a new filing, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office, The Tribune reports.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid Schar wrote in the court filing, “At this time, it is anticipated that any new charges would be based on the underlying conduct that currently encompasses the pending charges.”

Blagojevich’s attorney, Sam Adam Jr., denounced the U.S. Attorney’s office decision. “It seems to me they ripped a sitting governor out of his home and said he had conducted a crime spree that they had to stop, and now they’re saying there isn’t going to be any ‘honest services’ and they’re going to charge him with something different,” Adam told The Tribune. “I haven’t seen this much backpedaling since Gerald Wilkins got dunked on by Michael Jordan. Now we have to wait until January to find out what he really did?”

David Hoffman (Hoffman for Senate)

A fundraising appeal to federal prosecutors has become a campaign issue in the Illinois Senate race.

Among the candidates vying for the Democratic nomination to fill President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat is former federal prosecutor David H. Hoffman. Hoffman, who is running on an anti-corruption platform, has sought campaign donations from his former colleagues in the Northern District of Illinois U.S. Attorney office.

Because prosecutors don’t earn the big bucks, Hoffman suggested a modest donation of $150 in this fundraising event flier. But one of his challengers had found reason to complain — not because the prosecutors are giving too much, but because they are asked to give too little.

Illinois state treasurer Alexi Giannoulias has pointed out that donations of less than $200 do not require the donor to report his or her name and employer to the Federal Election Commission, The Huffington Post reported.

Giannoulias then accused Hoffman, a former inspector general for the City of Chicago, of not being transparent.

Alexi Giannoulias (Alexi Giannoulias for Illinois)

Giannoulias wants Hoffman to cancel the fundraiser and return any donations he has received from current prosecutors. Giannoulias campaign manager Tom Bowen said in a statement: “The last thing the Illinois culture of corruption needs is political candidates soliciting the lead agency responsible for investigating corruption.” He added: “If we are going to be serious about reform, we have to act seriously. Hoffman should cancel the fundraiser, refuse money from current federal prosecutors and refuse to take contributions from employees of the U.S. Attorney’s office.”

Hoffman spokesman Thom Karmik released the following statement:

“Alexi Giannoulias just retired the award for political hypocrisy. For months, he’s been trumpeting the lie that he’s emulating Barack Obama’s ethical standards by not taking corporate PAC money. But Obama swore off all PAC money in his presidential campaign. By taking thousands of dollars in non-corporate PAC money, Alexi’s failed to meet Obama’s standard while trying to fool the voters.

“Among Alexi’s latest PAC contributions is one from the Community Bankers Association. That association is leading the fight in Washington against President Obama’s efforts to pass tougher financial regulations to protect consumers. Instead of throwing stones from his glass house, Alexi ought to return that contribution.

“And while he’s at it, he can reveal for the first time how many millions of dollars in dividends he took out of his family bank while its loans were failing and the FDIC put it on its “watch list.” Perhaps that’s why he’s refusing David’s challenge to release his tax returns for the past five years – another standard Barack Obama set that Alexi’s refused to honor.”

Assistant Majority Leader Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) included a Bush holdover in his recommendations for the next Illinois Central and Southern District U.S. Attorneys, according to a news release from the senator’s office.

A. Courtney Cox (Hart & Hart)

The Illinois senator recommended that President Obama consider retaining Southern District U.S. Attorney A. Courtney Cox in the job he has held since he was appointed to the post by a federal court in November 2007. This is the second Illinois U.S. Attorney that Durbin has asked Obama to keep in place. We previously reported that the Illinois senator requested that Northern District U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald keep his job.

Durbin spokesperson Joe Shoemaker said the Illinois senator did not make his recommendations based on the political affiliations of the candidates. He said Durbin picked the “best qualified people.”

Durbin also suggested that Obama consider lawyer Stephen Wigginton for the Southern District post. He has been with Belleville, Ill. firm Weilmuenster & Wigginton since 2000. Prior to joining the Belleville firm, he spent eight years as a litigator at law firms. He also served as a criminal prosecutor in the Circuit Attorney’s Office in St. Louis.

Stephen Wigginton (Weilmuenster & Wigginton)

Durbin recommended to Obama that Central District Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory Harris or James Lewis replace Illinois Central District U.S. Attorney Rodger Heaton, who has held his post since 2005.

Lewis has served as the head of the office’s civil division for two decades. He was a Justice Department Civil Division trial attorney and civil rights lawyer in Mississippi before joining the Central District office.

Harris, the office’s criminal division chief, joined the criminal division at the office in 2001. He worked as a litigator at Springfield law firm of Giffin, Winning, Cohen & Bodewes from 1988 to 2001 after serving an eight year stint as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the office.

A bipartisan committee suggested the candidates to Durbin.

Obama has the final say on all U.S. Attorney recommendations. The Senate must confirm the president’s nominees before they can be sworn in as U.S. Attorneys.