THE MAD MADIGANS AND THE HATERS' HYPOCRISY

Blago & Speaker Madigan Share a Hug, Aug 27, 2008 (Sun Times)Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan couldn't have been more excited than on that cold December morning in 2008 when he heard then-Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested by the Feds. After all, it was about time the Governor was stopped from taking the silver lining out of the Madigans' pockets. Today's Sun Times report proves the point.

MADIGAN TO BLAGO: YOU STOPPED BY PAY TO PLAY SO YOU DON'T GET TO STAY

Even though no formal charges had been filed against Blags, the mere allegation he was trying to sell the vacant Obama Senate seat was enough to cause Speaker Madigan to lick his chops - he wanted Illinois' CEO gone for years! So, on Decrember 15, 2008, just six days after Blagojevich was arrested, Speaker Madigan formed an impeachment commission within the House to get Blago out of the Governor's seat. "It is my intention to appoint a special committee to begin immediately an investigation into the governor's conduct in office and to undertake the preparatory work that is a prerequisite to an impeachment proceeding in the Illinois House," Madigan said.

Just three days earlier, Speaker Madigan's daughter, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, asked the Illinois Supreme Court to declare Blagojevich disabled for office. "We think it is very clear he is incapable of serving. We want to make sure the people of Illinois have a governor who can legitimately fulfill the duties of that office."

MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL POLITICS

Granted, almost everybody despised our helmet-headed Governor who dressed for success every day in his nylon jogging suit from the '90's. But really, why-oh-why were the Madigans so hard-up on tossing Blago?  Maybe after all these years of Blago not allowing the Madigans' pockets to be lined, the icing on the cake was when Blago did not appoint Lisa to the Senate seat.August 12, 2005 (UPI Photo/Bill Greenblatt)

We know one of Rahm Emanuel's picks for the Senate seat was Attorney General Madigan. Remember Obama's self-reporting - that Emanuel had "about four" conversations with John Harris, Blago's Chief of Staff, about who Obama considered to be "highly qualitfied" for his position: Comptroller Dan Hynes, Tammy Duckworth, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, and Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Cheryle Jackson.

According to the Sun Times (article here):

Twenty-eight of the 59 Illinois state senators who voted early this year to remove Blagojevich as governor had gone to him with recommendations for state jobs, promotions, transfers or appointments to state boards, a database of patronage hires kept by Blagojevich aides shows.

In the House, 53 of the 114 state representatives who voted to impeach Blagojevich were listed as earlier having sought personnel moves from the governor.

Most of those who made hiring requests were Democrats, according to the records, which cover the period from 2003 to 2005.

Among them: Blagojevich's political nemesis, House Speaker Michael Madigan. In that period, the records show the powerful Southwest Side Democrat sought 98 jobs, raises or appointments and got 33 of them.

In all, the Madigan-sponsored candidates contributed more than $84,000 to the speaker's political funds and another $40,236 to his daughter, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, state records show.

In response to the article, Speaker Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said, "$80,000 for a campaign organization that raises several million dollars every year, that certainly is not a significant number anyone would notice."

Exactly my point! Blagojevich only granted 1/3 of Madigan's requests. Had he granted more, the Madigan Duo would have received more campaign contributions! Brown's statement goes to the heart of the problem: the Madigan's campaign contributions were insignificant compared to what they could have been had Blagojevich granted their requests.

The hypocrisy of it all is just shocking. All this talk about Jesse Jackson, Jr. allegedly possibly having emissaries who maybe kinda tried to apparently attempt to raise money for his Senate appointment. And then there is on-the-books quid-pro-quo behavior taking place by Lisa Madigan, who also desired Senate appointment, and her daddy, the man who led the way for Blago to get tossed from office.

Look, politics is just another form of business. I get it: if you give me money for my campaign, I will get you a job. Honestly, I do not really care, so long as everyone who does their job does it well. Most importantly, if you are going to play the game, especially the Chicago way, be sure to call a spade a spade.

(PS: I want to make it clear that I have absolutely no personal issue with any of these Chicago politicians. I met with AG Madigan a couple of times on legislative issues on expungement and sealing laws. She was very interested in my positions, I found her to be extremely competent and likeable. I also met several times with Governor Blagojevich on the issue of pardons. He was also generous with his time, even though he didn't do as promised: clear that pile of 2500+ pardon petitions from his desk.)

www.xpunged.com and www.tamaraholder.com

IL ATTORNEY GENERAL LISA MADIGAN TO FILE SUIT AGAINST IL STATE POLICE?

IL Attorney General Lisa Madigan

 A few moments ago, I spoke to the IL Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office and the Attorney General is pretty upset.

Apparently, 7000 orders to expunge and seal in Cook County alone have been ignored by the IL State Police. And, approximately 10,000 orders to expunge and seal have been ignored by ILSP within the entire state.

At the end of 2008, Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge (6th District) Ronald Riley found ILSP in contempt for ignoring his orders to expunge and seal records because ILSP had a different interpretation of the law. Article here.  The Judge dropped the contempt order after ILSP agreed to comply with his orders. But that was just for less than 200 orders.  As I stated above, almost 10,000 are still left in limbo.

Finally, AG Madigan decided to step in when last week, Chief Judge Evans alerted her to the numerous refusals. 

Here's the problem: The Chief Judges of the Circuit Courts have the authority to grant a petition to expunge or seal if the person is eligible.  The Order then goes to the arresting agency (Chicago Poilce, for example) and then to the ILSP.  Chicago sends back all original records to the individual if an order to expunge was entered or they send a letter of compliance if the order was to seal.  ILSP must also comply with the orders and then send a letter of compliance to the individual petitioner.  What's happening is that ILSP is, in many cases, sending a letter to the individual saying, "We are denying the order to expunge/seal because it is contrary to the law."  

There are two problems with the ILSP denial: 1) A court order must be complied with.  If ILSP wants to ignore a court order, they should file the proper appeal in the court.  They cannot unilaterally decide to ignore a court order.  2) Upon a person filing a petition, the law requires a 30-day waiting period for expungement and a 90-day waiting period for sealing before a judge can enter the order.  This waiting period was created so that any agency can object to the entry of the order.  ILSP is not using this waiting period to object.  Instead, they are simply refusing to comply with the order after it has been granted.  This behavior is illegal.

Some of Chicago's finest legal aid clinics, like Cabrini Green Legal and and Chicago Legal Aid, and Circuit Court Chief Judge Paul Biebel have teamed up with the AG's office to remedy the situation.  I will be contributing my private-practice experience with the AG's office as well because many of my clients are caught in the same situation. 

Look to AG Lisa Madigan to fight for the thousands of people who are, by law, entitled to have their records expunged or sealed.  Thank you, AG Madigan for stepping up.

www.tamaraholder.com and www.xpunged.com

GOV. BLAGOJEVICH: WE MUST RESPECT OUR GREAT AMERICAN PRINCIPLES

IL Governor Blagojevich has told the world that he's going to fight for his innocence, that the truth will come out in his favor.  At the same time, the IL House began impeachment proceedings first thing Monday morning, just several days after his arrest for allegedly attempting to sell Obama's senate seat. 

As a criminal defense attorney, I know that once the Feds gotcha, you are pretty much cooked.  They use phone taps, wiretaps, surveillance, etc. before making an arrest.  They make sure their case is pretty air-tight before charging someone.  Seems like this is exactly the case for Blagojevich:  We've known the Feds have been investigating him for years; however, they waited for the final clincher to arrest him.

But remember, he still has not been convicted.  In fact, we don't even really know what's evidence they have against him besides a few released phone taps, and his use of many f-bombs.  I think it's tragic that the media and our other elected officials have rushed to convict him and remove him from power before we really know the facts.

Also, we must be mindful of the fact that the very people who are attempting to remove him so quickly from power are the very people who seek their own political gain.  AG Lisa Madigan, who is very well respected in our State, is also interested in that open Senate seat.  And her father, IL House Speaker, is the person who initiated the impeachment proceedings yesterday. Many people who want him gone have their own vested interest. Speaker of the House Michael Madigan is taking the first step toward possibly impeaching embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich, seen here leaving his Ravenswood home today. Madigan did not join the chorus of officials calling for Blagojevich's resignation. (AP)

We are all innocent until proven guilty.  I don't necessarily think Gov. Blagojevich should remain in a position of power while facing such grave charges; however, it's important to take a step back and not convict him in the newsroom before the courtroom.  It's also important to look at the motives of those leading the fight against him.

www.xpunged.com and www.tamaraholder.com