Chicago Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) – who talked Monday with Gov. Rod Blagojevich about Jackson’s possible appointment to President-elect Barack Obama’s open Senate seat — said he was “shocked” by Blagojevich’s arrest Tuesday morning on federal corruption charges.Jackson said in a statement that the allegations, if they prove true, are “appalling.”
“Sadly, today’s criminal complaint casts another dark, wide cloud over the state. The people of Illinois deserve better,” Jackson said in the statement.
“I shared with the governor my hopes and unique qualifications for succeeding President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate,” Jackson said in the statement.
Today -
Chicago Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) is the anonymous “Senate Candidate #5″ whose emissaries Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich reportedly claimed offered up to a million dollars to name him to the U.S. Senate, federal law enforcement sources tell ABC News.
And -
In two other interesting developments Wednesday, NBC Chicago learned that Jackson Jr. was given a phone call from the U.S. Attorney’s Office the night before the governor was taken into custody, advising him that the arrest was imminent. Also, the congressman’s father, Jesse Jackson Sr., has retained legal council following the Blagojevich arrest.
Doh!
UPDATE:
The Chicago Tribune reports this morning [12/12] that a group of Chicago businessmen met to plan a fundraiser on the final weekend of the campaign. Did they raise money for favorite son Barack Obama, or perhaps for John McCain? In fact, they raised money for a candidate who wasn’t even running for office three days before his arrest — and the true intent was to benefit another:
As Gov. Rod Blagojevich was trying to pick Illinois’ next U.S. senator, businessmen with ties to both the governor and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. discussed raising at least $1 million for Blagojevich’s campaign as a way to encourage him to pick Jackson for the job, the Tribune has learned. more…
