Taking Stock of Blago's Indictment

After months of a surreal spectacle that took the former governor on a whirlwind tour in which his bizarre behavior became so absurd that many folks became entertained, we have finally come back again to the realization that he isn't just a goof and a freak but that he is likely a corrupt criminal. Today's indictment is a laundry list of seedy criminal activity all done in direct conflict with the public trust. Many of the co conspirators are behind the scenes power players like William Cellini. The crimes make up each and every portion of RICO (Racketeering, Influence Corruption Organizations).

My prediction is that Blago won't actually spend all that much time in jail. Here's why. Ultimately, Blago is a clown and punk but also a somewhat bit player in an overall machine for which the overall corruption is much bigger. I don't think that Blago's conviction is the endgame for Fitzgerald. I believe that Fitzgerald would gladly offer Blago some sort of a deal if it means that he rolls on a lot of other folks. Of course, Fitzgerald has Blago dead in his cross hairs and he won't deal without some very significant cooperation.

That's where I believe that Blago can be quite helpful. One thing I am very confident of is that Blago can be very "helpful" if he feels there is enough in it for him. He knows quite a lot about how the corrupt Illinois political system works and he also quite a lot about specific corruption at all levels of government. Blago can be the one key player in bringing down a very significant portion of the entire corrupt political structure in Illinois. I believe that if Fitzgerald has an opportunity to bring a whole lot of people down, that he would allow for some sort of sweetheart deal for Blago. Make no mistake, a deal would be predicated on rolling on all sorts of people.

As for President Obama...his main vulnerability lies in Emil Jones. Jones is the recently retired President of the Illinois Senate. He is also Obama's original political mentor. He has been operating deep inside the Illinois political machine for decades. Finally, a couple months before Blago and Jones stood side by side against the entire Illinois political apparatus in blocking a tough bill against pay to play. If Jones were to be indicted, that would be a politician very close to Obama and he could no longer cry ignorance.

This story is just getting started and I believe the citizens of Illinois will soon be in for relief as a plethora of corrupt politicians will soon face the same fate as Blago himself.