How much for the little ... Senate seat?


Two shady characters sit down in a restaurant in Chicago, a city well-known for corruption, and ask someone "how much for the ... "

The news about the brewing scandal over the attempt to sell (or trade) favors for the appointment to Barack Obama's soon-to-be-vacated Senate seat reminded us of a scene from the Blues Brothers where Jake, John Belushi's character, turns to the table next to them and asks "how much for the little girl?".

Bad joke, we know, but we couldn't help ourselves.

It's interesting to note that Blagojevich represented Illinois' 5th Congressional District, based in Chicago. The seat, which is currently held by Rahm Emanuel, was once represented by Danny Rostenkowsi, the House Ways and Means Chairman who was toppled by voters in 1994 when he sought re-election while under indictment for wire fraud, of which he was later convicted. In the fifty years from 1958 to 2008, four people have held it - one was Ways and Means Chair, one elected Governor and another became White House Chief of Staff, while two of the four have been nailed on federal charges.

Depending on how you look at it, it's a great seat to hold, or a terrible one. In any event, apparently some Fifth Districts are worse than others.

4 Response to "How much for the little ... Senate seat?"

  1. Anonymous 10/12/08 09:45
    ironic how this follows the entry on school boards...
  2. Earl Capps 10/12/08 10:25
    Ironic? Huh? Mind explaining that one?

    I didn't pick the timing of this guy's arrest.
  3. L. Riney 10/12/08 11:53
    Don't waste the gas to drive so far to find corruption. Look in our own back yard. Isn't it curious that the 1st district solicitor's office found no grounds to pursue embezzlement charges against the man who had sole control of a bank account that hemorrhaged money. "Cash Back from Deposit"? No problem. Checks made out to "Cash"? No problem. Checks made out to himself? No problem. No receipts for anything? No problem. AND to add insult to injury, look really close to the determination and ask yourself who worked as campaign manager for which candidate back during the '08 primary. Are we talking about gall or what?
  4. west_rhino 11/12/08 08:59
    Ditto Riney, regards teh "little black book" kept by Charleston County deputy chief of facilites Thames that detailed questionable bidding and projects over a decade or so, that was fianchettoed out of public view. Mutual assured destruction in the courts perhaps or adequate hush money or perhpas witness protection program?

    Anon, I'll guess you mean that some school boards think they can play a pricing themselves above pleading the fifth, though not granted to public boards and inconvenient to folks that have to stand re-election.

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