VISIT WEBSITE >>>>> http://gg.gg/y83ws?4601938 <<<<<<
However, this isn't how the scenario played out, with Patti declaring her allegiance to the former governor in a September interview with Chicago Magazine.
I made a promise, and there's no need to break that promise. That being said, Patti has learned to live a life without the disgraced politician. I've been able to survive without him. I know I can exist without him.
Patti Blagojevich has weathered a lot to stick by Rod Blagojevich's side, including nightly phone calls from jail and frequently visiting him at a federal correctional institution in Colorado while he served out his year prison sentence.
But their strong marriage could come crumbling down depending on what Rod decides to do as a free man, as Patti noted to Chicago Magazine , "When he comes home, I want to live a very quiet life. Who knows what he wants? If he wants to get back into politics, he'll have to do that with his second wife. No thanks. It's no secret Rod is a bit of a wild card, so we wouldn't be surprised if he tries to insert himself back into politics in some way. The caveat? We're not sure he'd legally be able to jump back in the ring, at least in Illinois anyway.
That's because Blago was barred from ever holding public office in the state of Illinois again following his impeachment in , per The New York Times. Amid appealing to the public and politicians for help leading to Rod Blagojevich's release from federal prison, Patti Blagojevich had to maintain a sense of normalcy for the couple's two daughters, Amy and Anne Blagojevich.
Patti admitted in September that raising two kids solo was "a tough row to hoe," although she didn't have much time to wallow in her stress. It's been really hard for them. I can't let myself go there. I've got my nervous breakdown scheduled for, like, 10 years from now, when Annie's out of college. That's when I can fall apart. As of this writing, Amy is two years out of college and her younger sister Anne is still in high school. While the infighting has little practical effect on public policy, it symbolizes a battle between an Old Guard of Illinois Democratic, machine-style politics against a younger self-styled reformer--one who in many cases relied on the power, control and votes of the Old Guard to help get elected to office.
Moreover, the dispute adds to the turmoil that has been a hallmark of the state's first Democratic administration in 26 years. Blagojevich, in the image of an independent, has personally criticized other prominent Democrats in the state, including the longtime leader of the party, House Speaker Michael J.
Ironically, Mell, who had stayed in the shadows during his son-in-law's election victory as governor, had quickly sought to distance himself from Blagojevich while assuring voters that he would not be pulling any puppet strings in the governor's office. He called his own shots [as] a congressman and he will call his own shots when he is governor," Mell said shortly after his son-in-law won the Democratic nomination in March Yet last spring, the alderman was miffed by what appeared to him to be Blagojevich's attempts to keep him at arm's length, Mell aides said.
Mell has complained to his colleagues about matters ranging from the governor's feud with Madigan to his failure to return Mell's phone calls, he said.
The relationship between Blagojevich and Mell is "worse than it's ever been," said one city Democrat close to both men who asked not to be named. Acknowledging Blagojevich's ambitions to seek re-election to the governor's office and beyond, the Democrat noted the governor is not going to be brought down by an "aldermanic mentality" that involves trading off on Blagojevich's influence and pitching scams to the state like "the machine that turns sludge into gold bricks.
Blagojevich has instructed members of his Cabinet that if they receive a call from any Chicago alderman, particularly Mell, they should inform the governor's chief of staff, Lon Monk. I'm not going to dance with you. To be sure, there is a public relations payoff for the governor's office in taking a shot at Mell. Feeling some political vulnerability among Downstate voters for an alleged "Chicago-centric" bias in his administration, a highly public critique of a powerful city alderman, let alone a father-in-law, could help alleviate some of those negatives.
Even in family, I stick up for the people of Illinois,'" said Charles N. Adding to the skepticism about the feuding is the fact that dozens of Blagojevich's appointees have donated nearly a quarter-million dollars to Mell's campaign fund. Tusk also acknowledged that while the administration was sending a specific warning to Mell about the use of clout by closing the landfill, it had no documents to prove Mell was involved.
Mell has denied any role in the landfill, which was operated by Frank Schmidt, a distant cousin to Patti Blagojevich. Blagojevich first sought out former Ald.
Edward Vrdolyak 10th as a political patron, trading on his father's Yugoslavian-community connections. But the relationship didn't click. After two years in the Cook County state's attorney's office prosecuting traffic and criminal cases, Blagojevich was searching for a niche in private legal practice when he met Patti Mell in March at one of her father's fundraisers. Blagojevich stayed on the city payroll, with a short break for campaigning, until joining the legislature in The specifics of what Blagojevich did for that money are elusive, and public records provide little clarification.
The issue is highly charged because federal investigators have questioned a handful of Mell's office workers--all of whom have denied wrongdoing--as part of a sweeping probe into alleged City Council ghost payrolling, the time-worn practice of collecting a public paycheck but doing little or no work.
Blagojevich said he hasn't been questioned, but Mell still has collected affidavits attesting to Blagojevich's hard work. What did Blagojevich do? It's hard to pin down because of the slippery but legal system of City Council employment that lets people be paid by one committee and work elsewhere. City records show that Blagojevich was paid by four separate council committees within two months in William Donaldson, head of the Mell-controlled legislative reference bureau, an arm of the City Council that helps draft ordinances, said Blagojevich "did very good work" and filled a full-time position on his staff.
But Blagojevich says he never worked there, not even for a day. Instead, he said he always worked as a part-time aide to Mell out of the ward office, organizing community events and giving free legal advice to constituents. The Mell affidavits describe how Blagojevich helped people out of legal jams involving traffic tickets and irate city inspectors, among other problems.
Some grateful recipients of this taxpayer-funded assistance have donated to Mell's ward fund and Blagojevich's campaign fund. While on the city payroll, Blagojevich also continued to build his private law practice. But he apparently hit an ethical snag.
Chicago's ethics ordinance bars municipal employees from representing clients in legal cases against the city. Nevertheless, Blagojevich and his law firm took on the city in several personal-injury and worker's compensation cases at the same time he was taking home a city check.
Blagojevich said the ethics prohibition was aimed at aldermen, not rank-and-file city workers. According to the corporation counsel's office, however, all city employees are covered. The issue would fall to the City Council's Rules Committee, chaired by Mell, to investigate any violations.
Many city workers have pitched in for Blagojevich's congressional campaign, among them Dominic Longo, a longtime Mell ally who was singled out for praise in Blagojevich's victory speech on the night of the March primary.
Comments