The Chicago Tribune has a disturbing editorial:
The Illinois Gaming Board could decide Tuesday where it will reactivate the state's 10th casino license. We hope the board doesn't put the urgency to create new tax revenue for Springfield ahead of thoroughly investigating the three finalists. Here's why:there's more:
The FBI complaint filed against the governor of Illinois last week discusses his alleged fundraising efforts in connection with a bill affecting the casino and horse-racing industries. Hmm. And some people still wonder why public officials and law-enforcement agencies need to apply extraordinary scrutiny to industries that involve gambling.
The bill would extend the life of existing law that subsidizes the state's racetracks with revenue from its largest casinos. The FBI complaint suggests that the alleged Blagojevich fundraising effort was tied to his expected decision to sign the bill. That would help the racing industry and take money from the casinos.
The convoluted passage in the FBI complaint has the governor talking on Nov. 13 with an unnamed Fundraiser A, who has been talking with Lobbyist 1 about Contributor 1. The complaint states: "In a series of calls since that time, it became clear that the bill Lobbyist 1 is interested in is in the Office of the Governor awaiting Rod Blagojevich's signature. The bill, which is believed to be a law which involves directing a percentage of casino revenue to the horse racing industry, is expected to be signed as soon as [this] week."How is Eric Holder going to deal with this? What does Eric Holder have to do with Blago and that casino license? Here's a CBS TV Chicago report:
The complaint alleges that several of the players in this subplot, the governor included, were sensitive to timing issues, with Lobbyist 1 telling Contributor 1 that the contribution in question "got to be in now."
Holder once had a high-profile job here in Chicago. CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports Holder was the federal prosecutor who announced the indictment of Dan Rostenkowski. He ultimately sent that powerful Chicago congressman to prison. But with the FBI closing in on another top Chicago politician, Holder may face questions about a potential conflict of interest.The casino situation in Rosement dealt with Chicago Mob ties,Mob boss John "No Nose" DiFronzo's name came up.
Four-and-a-half years ago, he held a news conference in Chicago at the Thompson Center. He had accepted a $300,000 assignment from Rod Blagojevich: Should a company whose chairman had been fined for violating gambling rules in Illinois be allowed to build a half-billion dollar casino in Rosemont?
In the end, it didn't happen. Holder got into a jurisdictional dispute with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and he did not get the free and total access to all the documents he wanted.
