Dec 11, 2008 9:22 pm US/Central
With Chicago Serbs, Opinions Vary Over Blagojevich
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
As pressure mounts for him to quit, Serbs in Chicago are voicing their opinions about the governor, who has roots in their homeland. CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot reports.
Boban Kukic and Nikola Kokot sit at the Beograd Restaurant and Cafe. Among the things they're discussing over coffee are the allegations against a person that shares their Serbian heritage: Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
"I think that's not true," Kukic said. "I'm not sure. I just read in newspaper and time's gonna show everything."
In today's edition of the Serbian newspaper Vesti, there's an interview with Dragan Blagojevich, the governor's cousin. Dragan is shown in front of the family home in Veliki Krcmare in Serbia.
The cousin showed a journalist a picture of a young Milorad Blagojevich from 1967. Dragan says the governor may have been born in America, but he's never forgotten where he came from. Nikola Kokot says with that in mind, he stands behind the governor.
"I think, Serbian-Americans, like all of us, they support him … he's our guy, we support him even now," he said.
For Nebojsa Cvetkovksi, the scandal surrounding Blagojevich is especially difficult. The Serbian business owner and his family have known the governor for years. He says Blagojevich and his family have come here often. He showed a picture with Cvetkovski's uncle and the governor.
"It's Christmastime as well, so I can just imagine what it's like for his family to go from all this stuff," he said. "But you know, I believe that everything's going to be fine at the end."
He added: "I believe that, at the end, he will be innocent."
In 1999, when Blagojevich was a Chicago congressman, he went to his homeland with the Rev. Jesse Jackson to free three American soldiers who were held hostage. At the time, Jackson said the soldiers' release was due to Blagojevich and his Serbian roots.
"I played a good compliment to that because of the fact that I understand the history of the Balkans and understand the grievances the Serbs expressed 'cause I hear them so often from Serbian-Americans, and I used to hear them so often from my father," Blagojevich said then.
Chicago has a Serbian population that is nearly a quarter of a million strong. With that in mind, there are many opinions.
There were some Serbs and Serbian-Americans who spoke off-camera Thursday. They expressed deep shame and sadness, saying this is a man who achieved so much. To hear these allegations is crushing to them.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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