|
|
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his wife, Patti, outside their Chicago home shortly after Blagojevich receiving a full pardon from President Donald Trump on Feb. 10, 2025. (Andrew Adams / Capitol News Illinois)
|
When President Donald Trump signed the papers to pardon former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich of 18 felonies, the president explained his reasoning. “He was set up by a lot of bad people,” Trump said. “It was a sort of terrible injustice.” Those who saw from under the Capitol dome how Illinois was plagued by Blagojevich’s leadership, and who helped drive him out of office in the months following his Dec. 9, 2008, arrest on corruption charges, view it differently.
Some quotes:
“Blagojevich was not set up,” former House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R) said. “Rod Blagojevich set himself up. And he deserved what he got. His convictions on the various charges — whether it’s shaking down Children’s Memorial (Hospital), pay-to-play situations and also the trading (of then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s) Senate seat, … it was as plain as the nose on his face.”
“Anybody that had lived in the state of Illinois during that time and saw how dysfunctional and chaotic that administration was … it does not seem fair,” state Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) said. “This man abused his power and there definitely was a pay-for-play.”
“I think that on a certain level Trump has been made to see some of himself in Rod,” former state Rep. John Fritchey (D) said. “One thing everyone can agree on is that Rod is, was, an excellent campaigner, and he campaigned hard for this part.”
Some background:
Blagojevich, who spent a portion of his time between the governor’s office and the start of a 14-year prison sentence as a contestant on Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice,” spent only eight years in a federal penitentiary thanks to Trump in 2020 commuting his sentence. Since then, Blagojevich has moved back in with his wife, Patti, in Ravenswood. Blagojevich insists that he “broke no laws, crossed no lines, never took a penny. It was all politics” and that his prosecution told a “big lie.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thank you for being a Daily Chicagoan reader. To better understand what you like to see in your newsletter, we want to hear from you. Please take a few minutes to take a short survey and help us better serve you.
In addition to the short survey, we are also looking for volunteers to take part in a 15-minute phone or Zoom interview to give us an even deeper understanding of your thoughts. Volunteer here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Chicago Police Department headquarters. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
|
New rules designed to limit when Chicago police officers can stop and search Chicagoans violate the U.S. Constitution by allowing officers to stop and frisk people based on their race or ethnicity, a coalition of reform groups told the federal judge overseeing efforts to reform the Chicago Police Department.
The coalition of police reform groups behind the consent decree — the federal court order requiring the CPD to change the way it trains, supervises and disciplines officers — told U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer that they would give CPD officials until April 26 to revise the policy before asking her to intervene and force changes to the policy.
The proposed policy “impermissibly allows officers to use race, ethnicity, and other protected characteristics when making decisions on whether to stop, frisk or search people, in violation of federal and state law” and the consent decree, the coalition led by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois told Pallmeyer, court records show.
Some background:
The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment prohibits officers from exercising their police powers on the basis of race, ethnicity or other protected characteristics, except when they have a specific description of a person.
Black Chicagoans were nine times more likely to be stopped by Chicago police officers than White Chicagoans in 2018 and 2019, even though officers were 29% more likely to find drugs or weapons if they searched someone who is White, according to a report from the monitors. in addition, Latino Chicagoans were three times more likely to be stopped by a police officer than White Chicagoans, according to the report.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Back in the Day: February 12, 1809 - Abraham Lincoln Born
|
In Chicago, calling yourself a Chicagoan usually means you were born in the city. Locals tend to make fun of people who say they’re from Chicago but are actually from the suburbs. It’s funny to think about when you consider that Illinois is “The Land of Lincoln” when the iconic president wasn’t even born in this state. On this day 216 years ago—February 12, 1809—Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin near Hodgenville, Kentucky. Of course, the future 16th president of the United States who was in Indiana and Kentucky, would eventually move to Illinois in March 1830. He was elected to the Illinois General Assembly in 1834, starting a political career that took him to
the U.S. House of Representatives and eventually the Presidency. Illinois would designate "Land of Lincoln" as the official state slogan in 1955
|
|
|
|
|
|
Local Live Music Recommendations for Feb. 12- Feb. 18
|
|
Each Wednesday, WTTW News producer Josh Terry presents must-see live music shows from indie rock to jazz, country, hip-hop and more.
Thursday, February 13:
Babe Corner, Sports Boyfriend, Josephine at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
Two excellent local songwriters open for the Vancouver rock band.
Friday, February 14:
Stars, Lydia Persaud at Thalia Hall. Tickets.
The Canadian indie pop band celebrates 20 years of their album “Set Yourself on Fire.”
Saturday, February 15:
Jason Isbell at Auditorium Theatre. Tickets.
The star Americana songwriter plays one of the city’s most ornate venues.
Monday, February 17:
TV Buddha, Bungee Jumpers, Friko (solo) at Empty Bottle. Free.
This 21+ show is a part of the Ukrainian Village venue’s Free Monday series.
Tuesday, February 18:
Cymande, Bathe at Metro. Tickets.
This British funk group has been active since the ‘70s.
|
|
|
|
|
|
It’s Valentine’s Day Friday. What’s the most romantic place in Chicago?
|
|
|
Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published.
|
|
|
|
|
|
5:30 PM | 10:00 PM
|
|
|
|
Want more WTTW News content? Follow WTTW on Instagram to check in with us daily, go behind-the-scenes, and more.
|
Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry
|
|
|
|
|
