Dec 9, 2008 5:51 pm US/Central
A Look Back At Blagojevich's Career
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Gov. Rod Blagojevich discusses his proposal for "Green Lanes" for carpools and hybrid cars on Illinois tollways.
CBS
Tuesday evening, Governor Blagojevich is back home where this all began around six in the morning. CBS 2's Dana Kozlov has more on the history of what led to the complaint today.
A family feud started this four years ago. That's when Patti Blagojevich's father, Chicago Alderman Dick Mell publically accused the Governor of making pay to play deals. Mell was angry that Blagojevich had shut down a Will County landfill owned by one of Mell's relatives. The Governor insinuated that Mell was speaking out of anger.
In January 2005, Governor Blagojevich said, "I suppose I could have been more like Governor Ryan. I could have heard of something that wasn't right. I could have heard that there was a landfill operating illegally where a member of my family may have been involved. I could have acted like Governor Ryan, looked the other way, ignored it, done nothing. But when I heard about it and I heard things weren't right over there, we acted."
Mell later backed off from his claims but the damage was already done. The feds began taking a look at the way the Blagojevich administration did business. Just a few months later, Stuart Levine, the head of the Illinois Facilities Planning Board, was charged with getting kickbacks for state contracts. Blagojevich expressed outrage in May 2005.
"This is one of these occupational hazards that happened. The overlap splashes on you. But the alternative is..can you imagine making appointments and you have a list of what people gave or didn't give as you're making decisions like that. That would be terrible."
Then the Governor's chief fundraiser Tony Rezko was indicted for essentially the same tactics - asking for campaign contributions in exchange for state business. In September 2005, Blagojevich again defended himself.
"I never instructed anyone to do any of those things. I don't believe anybody close to me did those things and we don't operate that way."
Rezko was convicted and the governor was identified as the complicit "Official A" at the trial even as he continued to insist he was not under federal investigation.
He said,"The answer is I am not and it's a ridiculous question and you know it's a ridiculous question."
It was that investigation that led to the complaint Tuesday, just two months after the Governor said, "All men make mistakes, but a good man changes course when he recognizes that mistake. And failing to do it, the only sin is pride."
What does Alderman Dick Mell have to say about his son-in-law's arrest Tuesday?
Nothing, except that he is concerned about his daughter Patti and two granddaughters.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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