rod blagojevich

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested this morning and charged with few counts of corruption. It's in the news now, no need to go into much detail, but basically he was caught attempting to sell the Senate seat Obama vacated. Everyone in Illinois already knew that Blagojevich was a crook, and he was under investigation, so it makes this particular allegation especially galling. You know you're under investigation, and you don't even bother to ask euphemistically for a bribe? Instead you say, "I've got this thing and it's fucking golden?" What a chump.

Blagojevich was arraigned fifteen minutes ago in the next courtroom over from mine, so I stood in the back with a gaggle of other clerks and courtroom staff and watched the whole thing. The room was packed. There were three illustrators plus nine reporters in the jury box, five U.S. Marshals in blue turtlenecks and handgun holsters by the front entrance, about eight attorneys for both sides, and spectators filling every seat in the pews. Blagojevich came out wearing the most bizarre outfit: a Nike zip-neck powder blue fleece with reflective piping, black running tights, and running shoes. Apparently he'd been arrested around 5 or 6 a.m. this morning, so maybe they picked him up while he was jogging? John Harris, Blagojevich's chief of staff, was also arrested early this morning, but he was wearing a suit and tie, so it makes you wonder what the hell was wrong with Blagojevich's attorney that he didn't bring the governor a suit. Blagojevich stood in the middle of a phalanx of attorneys and mostly kept his head down. One of the illustrators moved to a vantage point directly in front of me (she turned around and asked, "Which one is Harris?" We pointed.) and started drawing the governor's face and so I got to watch her capturing the solemnity of his expression but not the clownishness of his outfit. The whole thing was ridiculous. With the illustrator wielding her clutch of colored pencils before me, I was a cotton candy puff short of feeling like the whole thing was a street performance in Pier 39 or Times Square.

Some very interesting things are happening in Chicago! Glass factory workers at a plant half a mile from my house have taken the factory over and are refusing to leave until they get severance pay. In 2008 - amazing! I don't think I am allowed to go over and show support for them because of canon of judicial ethics #5, but still . . . good for them.

Back to work.