Did Roland Burris pay Gov. Blagojevich to play?
Governor Rod Blagojevich Feel free to castigate the appointor [me], but don’t lynch the appointor [me]. I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing.
********************************************
Mike Parker [CBS-2 News]: Mr. Burris, your law firm, your lobbying firm, you yourself personally have contributed well over, I believe, it’s $14,000 to Governor Blagojevich.
Roland Burris: Is it that much?
***************************************
Roland Burris: [Our] consulting firm had a small contract with IDOT, where we certified minority businesses and we did a good job. And, I think the law firm of which I am of counsel—it’s my son’s law firm—and we received some bond business and we were co- bond counsel as a minority firm.
Jeff Berkowitz:... How much? Give me an estimate…How much business have you gotten? Give us a number.
******************************************
Whenever a politician has to keep repeating, “I am not a crook,” he’s in trouble. That's what Richard Nixon said before he resigned. See, also, Blagojevich’s denial, above, that he's a crook.
Did Roland Burris engage in Pay to Play for the last six years with the State of Illinois government? Did Burris pay to get business from the State in the last six years?
*************************************
Most of the news accounts of Governor Blagojevich’s appointment of Burris to the U. S. Senate to replace Senator Obama focused on whether the likely impeachment of Blagojevich and the criminal complaint filed against Blagojevich alleging public corruption taint his Senate appointment and justify the Democratic Senate Leadership’s statement that it would not accept any person appointed by Blagojevich to the Senate.
The discussion also focused on African-American Cong. Rush’s “spontaneous,” emergence from the audience at yesterday’s presser to play the racial deck, not card, as Rush argued that the U. S. Senate couldn’t possibly block the only African-American Senator from taking his seat in the Senate. Rush spoke, in his post-cancer voice, as if such an act would take the country back to Jim Crow legislation.
And, Secretary of State Jesse White, himself an American-American, popped up after Cong. Rush to state he would not certify the nomination of Burris to the Senate. However, White said to this reporter that he wouldn’t criticize Rush for supporting the nomination of Burris.
Senate Republican Leader Radogno [R-Lemont] and Senator Matt Murphy [R-Palatine] held a presser in the same Blue Room in the Thompson Center where Blago, Burris, Rush and White had all appeared. Radogno and Murphy urged the General Assembly to proceed to enact legislation to hold a special election for a Senator to replace Obama. Blagojevich said previously that he would sign such legislation, if passed.
If Republicans speak and the MSM ignore them, did they speak? This reporter watched Public TV’s Chicago Tonight and the 5:00 pm CBS-2 news last night and they omitted any mention of the Radogno-Murphy presser. The Chicago MSM’s understanding of fair and balanced coverage? ignore the Republicans.
Mike Parker of CBS-2 News focused, in yesterday’s Burris presser, on the campaign contributions given by Burris to Blagojevich, asserting they totalled to $14,000. This reporter asked Burris about the aggregate business he and his associates received from the State of Illinois over the last six years. Burris said he didn’t have a number to tell us.
The CBS-2 News Report at 5:00 pm yesterday included a segment by CBS-2 News’ Jim Williams reporting Roosevelt University Professor Paul Green as saying Burris had trouble raising much money when he ran for Governor, so Burris isn’t somebody who has done Pay to Play. Williams didn’t pick up on the Parker/Berkowitz exchange with Burris, below. It appears it is an open question as to whether Burris has been doing pay to play, but apparently that question is closed to Jim Williams, working on the 5:00 pm CBS-2 News.
A rule of thumb in Pay to Play is that those who get business from the State pay about 5% back to the Governor in the form of campaign contributions. Thus, if Burris in fact made campaign contributions to Blagojevich in the last six years in the amount of $14,000, that would correspond to business from the State of Illinois in the amount of $280,000. Did Burris and his associates get business in that ballpark range from the State? We don’t know. But, we imagine Burris and Blagojevich know. We wonder if Mr. Williams will ask. Or, perhaps, Mike Parker will ask. Or, maybe Mike Flannery when he returns to the action.
*******************************************
Governor Rod Blagojevich [Concluding the press conference held by Gov. Blagojevich, in which he nominated Roland Burris to take the place of Senator Barack Obama in the U. S. Senate]: Feel Free to castigate the appointor [me], but don’t lynch the appointor [me]. I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing.
Mike Parker [CBS-2 News]: Mr. Burris, your law firm, your lobbying firm, you yourself personally have contributed well over, I believe, it’s $14,000 to Governor Blagojevich.
Roland Burris: Is it that much?
Mike Parker: Yes.
Roland Burris: Wow, that’s a lot of money for us.
Mike Parker: Did that play a role in your appointment and should we suspect that it might. Perhaps the Governor could weigh in.
Roland Burris: How much did you say? $14,000?
Mike Parker: We believe that’s the amount. Yes.
Roland Burris: We didn’t have that much money to give to the Governor.
Jeff Berkowitz [Illinois Channel and Public Affairs]: Roland, how much have you received in business from the state of Illinois—your law firm, your businesses, your colleagues, your affiliates in the last six years—whether it’s from the state of Illinois or any of its entities, how much business have you received in aggregate?
Roland Burris: The consulting firm had a small contract with IDOT, where we certified minority businesses and we did a good job. And, I think the law firm of which I am of counsel—it’s my son’s law firm—and we received some bond business and we were co- bond counsel as a minority firm.
Jeff Berkowitz How much, how much? Give me an estimate…How much business have you gotten? Give us a number.
Roland Burris: I don’t have the number.
*************************************
Roland Burris, Gov. Blagojevich, Cong. Rush presser, December 30, 2008, Thompson Center, Chicago, IL
******************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com. *************************************************************
"Public Affairs," is a weekly political interview show airing in Chicago on CANTV, in the Chicago metro area, Aurora and Rockford on Comcast and also often on the Illinois Channel. You can watch the shows, including archived shows going back to 2005, here.
**************************************************
Recently posted shows on the Public Affairs YouTube page include a recent Bill O'Reilly segment w/Berkowitz on Obama, shows with newly minted State Rep. Mark Walker (D-Arlington Heights), essentially the first Dem to represent his district since the Civil War, on the connection between the mess in Springfield and in Cook County government, Chicago Alderman Manuel (Manny) Flores (D-1st Ward, Wicker Park) on impeachment of Rod, Chicago issues and a possible run to replace 5th CD Cong. Emanuel, Cook County Cmsr. Tony Peraica (R-Riverside) on the mess we call Illinois politics, Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell, State Senator Bill Brady (R-Bloomington), State Senator Kirk Dillard (R-Westmont), Cook County Commissioner and possible 5th CD Dem. Primary candidate Mike Quigley (D-Lakeview), State Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) and Cook County Cmsr. and Obama Media Team Member Forrest Claypool and much more.
**********************************************************************
********************************************
Mike Parker [CBS-2 News]: Mr. Burris, your law firm, your lobbying firm, you yourself personally have contributed well over, I believe, it’s $14,000 to Governor Blagojevich.
Roland Burris: Is it that much?
***************************************
Roland Burris: [Our] consulting firm had a small contract with IDOT, where we certified minority businesses and we did a good job. And, I think the law firm of which I am of counsel—it’s my son’s law firm—and we received some bond business and we were co- bond counsel as a minority firm.
Jeff Berkowitz:... How much? Give me an estimate…How much business have you gotten? Give us a number.
******************************************
Whenever a politician has to keep repeating, “I am not a crook,” he’s in trouble. That's what Richard Nixon said before he resigned. See, also, Blagojevich’s denial, above, that he's a crook.
Did Roland Burris engage in Pay to Play for the last six years with the State of Illinois government? Did Burris pay to get business from the State in the last six years?
*************************************
Most of the news accounts of Governor Blagojevich’s appointment of Burris to the U. S. Senate to replace Senator Obama focused on whether the likely impeachment of Blagojevich and the criminal complaint filed against Blagojevich alleging public corruption taint his Senate appointment and justify the Democratic Senate Leadership’s statement that it would not accept any person appointed by Blagojevich to the Senate.
The discussion also focused on African-American Cong. Rush’s “spontaneous,” emergence from the audience at yesterday’s presser to play the racial deck, not card, as Rush argued that the U. S. Senate couldn’t possibly block the only African-American Senator from taking his seat in the Senate. Rush spoke, in his post-cancer voice, as if such an act would take the country back to Jim Crow legislation.
And, Secretary of State Jesse White, himself an American-American, popped up after Cong. Rush to state he would not certify the nomination of Burris to the Senate. However, White said to this reporter that he wouldn’t criticize Rush for supporting the nomination of Burris.
Senate Republican Leader Radogno [R-Lemont] and Senator Matt Murphy [R-Palatine] held a presser in the same Blue Room in the Thompson Center where Blago, Burris, Rush and White had all appeared. Radogno and Murphy urged the General Assembly to proceed to enact legislation to hold a special election for a Senator to replace Obama. Blagojevich said previously that he would sign such legislation, if passed.
If Republicans speak and the MSM ignore them, did they speak? This reporter watched Public TV’s Chicago Tonight and the 5:00 pm CBS-2 news last night and they omitted any mention of the Radogno-Murphy presser. The Chicago MSM’s understanding of fair and balanced coverage? ignore the Republicans.
Mike Parker of CBS-2 News focused, in yesterday’s Burris presser, on the campaign contributions given by Burris to Blagojevich, asserting they totalled to $14,000. This reporter asked Burris about the aggregate business he and his associates received from the State of Illinois over the last six years. Burris said he didn’t have a number to tell us.
The CBS-2 News Report at 5:00 pm yesterday included a segment by CBS-2 News’ Jim Williams reporting Roosevelt University Professor Paul Green as saying Burris had trouble raising much money when he ran for Governor, so Burris isn’t somebody who has done Pay to Play. Williams didn’t pick up on the Parker/Berkowitz exchange with Burris, below. It appears it is an open question as to whether Burris has been doing pay to play, but apparently that question is closed to Jim Williams, working on the 5:00 pm CBS-2 News.
A rule of thumb in Pay to Play is that those who get business from the State pay about 5% back to the Governor in the form of campaign contributions. Thus, if Burris in fact made campaign contributions to Blagojevich in the last six years in the amount of $14,000, that would correspond to business from the State of Illinois in the amount of $280,000. Did Burris and his associates get business in that ballpark range from the State? We don’t know. But, we imagine Burris and Blagojevich know. We wonder if Mr. Williams will ask. Or, perhaps, Mike Parker will ask. Or, maybe Mike Flannery when he returns to the action.
*******************************************
Governor Rod Blagojevich [Concluding the press conference held by Gov. Blagojevich, in which he nominated Roland Burris to take the place of Senator Barack Obama in the U. S. Senate]: Feel Free to castigate the appointor [me], but don’t lynch the appointor [me]. I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing.
Mike Parker [CBS-2 News]: Mr. Burris, your law firm, your lobbying firm, you yourself personally have contributed well over, I believe, it’s $14,000 to Governor Blagojevich.
Roland Burris: Is it that much?
Mike Parker: Yes.
Roland Burris: Wow, that’s a lot of money for us.
Mike Parker: Did that play a role in your appointment and should we suspect that it might. Perhaps the Governor could weigh in.
Roland Burris: How much did you say? $14,000?
Mike Parker: We believe that’s the amount. Yes.
Roland Burris: We didn’t have that much money to give to the Governor.
Jeff Berkowitz [Illinois Channel and Public Affairs]: Roland, how much have you received in business from the state of Illinois—your law firm, your businesses, your colleagues, your affiliates in the last six years—whether it’s from the state of Illinois or any of its entities, how much business have you received in aggregate?
Roland Burris: The consulting firm had a small contract with IDOT, where we certified minority businesses and we did a good job. And, I think the law firm of which I am of counsel—it’s my son’s law firm—and we received some bond business and we were co- bond counsel as a minority firm.
Jeff Berkowitz How much, how much? Give me an estimate…How much business have you gotten? Give us a number.
Roland Burris: I don’t have the number.
*************************************
Roland Burris, Gov. Blagojevich, Cong. Rush presser, December 30, 2008, Thompson Center, Chicago, IL
******************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com. *************************************************************
"Public Affairs," is a weekly political interview show airing in Chicago on CANTV, in the Chicago metro area, Aurora and Rockford on Comcast and also often on the Illinois Channel. You can watch the shows, including archived shows going back to 2005, here.
**************************************************
Recently posted shows on the Public Affairs YouTube page include a recent Bill O'Reilly segment w/Berkowitz on Obama, shows with newly minted State Rep. Mark Walker (D-Arlington Heights), essentially the first Dem to represent his district since the Civil War, on the connection between the mess in Springfield and in Cook County government, Chicago Alderman Manuel (Manny) Flores (D-1st Ward, Wicker Park) on impeachment of Rod, Chicago issues and a possible run to replace 5th CD Cong. Emanuel, Cook County Cmsr. Tony Peraica (R-Riverside) on the mess we call Illinois politics, Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell, State Senator Bill Brady (R-Bloomington), State Senator Kirk Dillard (R-Westmont), Cook County Commissioner and possible 5th CD Dem. Primary candidate Mike Quigley (D-Lakeview), State Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) and Cook County Cmsr. and Obama Media Team Member Forrest Claypool and much more.
**********************************************************************
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