Happy New Year! The Sunlight blog is back after the holidays and here’s a look back at some stories we missed covering over the past week and a half:

Gov. Rod Blagojevich, man of multiple criminal conspiracies and multiple toupees, appointed former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to fill the open Senate seat vacated by President-Elect Barack Obama that Blagojevich was wont to sell to the highest bidder. The press conference announcing the pick was one of the best media spectacles of 2008 (and that’s saying a lot). The Senate has threatened to not seat Burris despite varying degrees of legal certainty regarding their power to refuse membership.

The stimulus package is in many ways turning into a bailout for the rest of us (us meaning people - ie: organizations - other than you and me). Zoos, bicycle companies, alternative energy, mayors, eroded beaches, you name it, they’re lobbying for money in the as yet unfinished stimulus package.

‘Twas the season of giving and we the followers of the Charlie Rangel saga were presented with more stories about the embattled Ways and Means Committee Chairman. The New York Times reported that Rangel pushed bailout magnate/insurer AIG for a contribution to the Charles B. Rangel School for Public Service as AIG pushed Rangel for a tax break. They both got what they were asking for. On the more mundane side, Rangel was found to use campaign funds to pay for his parking tickets.

USA Today reported what we already knew, one-third of all top staffers become lobbyists when they leave the halls of Congress.

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Yesterday, I was sitting around thinking about how Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. found himself in the predicament that is now in. To begin with, how did Jackson secure a very public meeting with Blagojevich to discuss the open Senate seat. Blagojevich, as one can tell from the criminal complaint, wasn’t just meeting with anyone. Most of the other named candidates were contacted by emissaries from Blagojevich’s circle. Something must have happened between Blagojevich’s people and Jackson’s people that preceded a meeting. Preconditions must have been met.

State Senator Kwame Raoul, who represents President-Elect Obama’s old South Side district, explains that consideration for the Senate seat was contingent on paying-to-play. This was an open secret:

The state senator, Kwame Raoul, who represents the South Side of Chicago, offered few details of his interaction with the governor’s office but said he received a call about a month ago confirming that he was under consideration. Soon afterward, however, Mr. Raoul said he ran head-on into another message: that the governor was looking for a candidate who offered something of tangible value to him.

“It was open knowledge among people in and around Springfield,” Mr. Raoul said. “Legislators and lobbyists alike openly talked about the fact that the governor would want to appoint somebody who would benefit him. I can firmly say that I’ve had these conversations, that I’ve spoken with both legislators and lobbyists who felt that that would be the consideration in his appointment.”

Mr. Raoul would not specifically say what the content of the conversations were, or whom they were with, except that the initial inquiry from the governor’s office was made by Victor Roberson, deputy director for intergovernmental affairs. Interest in his candidacy died on both sides, Mr. Raoul said, adding, “Obviously, the perception was that I didn’t have anything to give other than my service.”

If Raoul is being accurate, we can determine that something happened behind the scenes prior to a meeting between Jackson (Senate Candidate 5) and the governor. Sure enough, “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,” according to the Chicago Tribune. Jackson denies knowing about any emissaries acting on his behalf to raise money for Blagojevich. The inclusion of the congressman’s brother at a fundraiser for Blagojevich, meant to help persuade the governor to pick Jackson, may bring that denial into doubt.

Unfortunately for Jackson, it looks as though people close to him were playing Blagojevich’s game. Jackson’s knowledge of these fundraisers and promises are certainly key to unraveling his involvement.

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UPDATE: ABC News reports, sources finger Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. as Senate Candidate 5.

While there are many unnamed officials and deputy governors in the criminal complaint filed against Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the one getting the most attention is still Senate Candidate 5. According to Christy Hardin Smith at FireDogLake, the Chicago press is discussing the possibility that this unnamed individual could be indicted:

On C-Span’s Washington Journal this morning, Chicago newsman Mike Flannery of WBBM-TV CBS2 had some interesting scuttlebutt. Seems the word on the Chicago streets is that an indictment of Senate Candidate 5 may be a possibility.

Speculation has largely centered around Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., as he was the only known replacement candidate to meet with Blagojevich at times that correspond to the times laid out in the complaint. The only tip in the complaint that makes Jackson somewhat unlikely is that the person offered to raise a large sum of money and Jackson is not known as a good fundraiser. Other possibilities include former State Senate President Emil Jones, a monster fundraiser; State Assemblyman Arthur Turner; Rep. Danny Davis, who has denied; and Rep. Luis Gutierrez, who is facing his own problems. Gutierrez could be a strong underdog here. As the Chicago Tribune article linked to above shows, he isn’t afraid to walk close to the line of unethical behavior.

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Apparently, Senate Candidate 3 is Rep. Jan Schakowsky. Senate Candidate 3 was mentioned in passing in the criminal complaint, more as a threat that the Governor would appoint her despite not wanting to.

The possibility of Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. being Senate Candidate 5 keeps getting more attention.

Also, this:

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Sunlight’s Bill Allison, at Real Time Investigations, links to a Many Eyes presentation of the Blagojevich criminal complaint. Looking at the visualization makes one thing clear: while the selling of the Senate seat is by far his most audacious activity, the rest of the charges are actually far, far worse. The imperious pressure the Governor put on the Tribune Company to fire editorial board members and staff is reminiscent of a third world dictator. The pay-to-play contract rigging is also horrific. Just look at this:

On October 8, Blagojevich told Individual A that he wanted to obtain a $50,000 contribution from Hospital Executive 1, the chief executive officer of Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, which had recently received a commitment of $8 million in state funds. When the contribution was not forthcoming, Blagojevich discussed with Deputy Governor A the feasibility of rescinding the funding.

The Governor threatened to close a Children’s Hospital over a $50,000 campaign contribution.

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The criminal complaint filed against Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris names five considered Senate candidates. Most of the mentions of the potential candidates indicates that they were only mentioned in discussions with Blagojevich and Harris and that they were likely unaware of the pay-to-play negotiations going on. Except, maybe, for Senate Candidate 5:

Just last week, on December 4, Blagojevich allegedly told an advisor that he might “get some (money) up front, maybe” from Senate Candidate 5, if he named Senate Candidate 5 to the Senate seat, to insure that Senate Candidate 5 kept a promise about raising money for Blagojevich if he ran for re-election. In a recorded conversation on October 31, Blagojevich claimed he was approached by an associate of Senate Candidate 5 as follows: “We were approached ‘pay to play.’ That, you know, he’d raise 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million, if I made him (Senate Candidate 5) a Senator.”

So, who are these Senate Candidates:

Senate Candidate 1: Obama-Biden Transition Adviser Valerie Jarrett

Senate Candidate 2: Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan

Senate Candidate 3: UNKNOWN

Senate Candidate 4: Deputy Gov. Louanner Peters

Senate Candidate 5: UNKNOWN. Possibly, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.

UPDATE: Totally missed Senate Candidate 6: A rich person in Illinois

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Gov. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois was arrested today on charges related to his decision on whom to appoint to President-Elect Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges.

Blagojevich and Harris were accused of a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy that included Blagojevich conspiring to sell or trade the Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama in exchange for financial benefits for the governor and his wife. The governor was also accused of obtaining campaign contributions in exchange for other official actions.

A press release from the office of the U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald reads as follows (via FireDogLake):

A 76-page FBI affidavit alleges that Blagojevich was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps during the last month conspiring to sell or trade Illinois’ U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama for financial and other personal benefits for himself and his wife. At various times, in exchange for the Senate appointment, Blagojevich discussed obtaining:

— a substantial salary for himself at a either a non-profit foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions;

— placing his wife on paid corporate boards where he speculated she might garner as much as $150,000 a year;

— promises of campaign funds – including cash up front; and

— a cabinet post or ambassadorship for himself.

…

“The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering,” Mr. Fitzgerald said. “They allege that Blagojevich put a ‘for sale’ sign on the naming of a United States Senator; involved himself personally in pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of a salesman meeting his annual sales target; and corruptly used his office in an effort to trample editorial voices of criticism. The citizens of Illinois deserve public officials who act solely in the public’s interest, without putting a price tag on government appointments, contracts and decisions,” he added….

Furthermore:

In the earliest intercepted conversation about the Senate seat described in the affidavit, Blagojevich told Deputy Governor A on November 3 that if he is not going to get anything of value for the open seat, then he will take it for himself: “if . . . they’re not going to offer anything of any value, then I might just take it.” Later that day, speaking to Advisor A, Blagojevich said:  “I’m going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain.” He added later that the seat “is a [expletive] valuable thing, you just don’t give it away for nothing.”

Illinois law allows for Gov. Blagojevich to step out of the way and allow the Lt. Governor to appoint the President-Elect’s successor. It is, at this point, likely impossible for Blagojevich to appoint a replacement for Obama without creating the appearance of corruption. The Senate may even move to refuse to seat the replacement.

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As you may be aware, President-Elect Barack Obama has vacated his Senate seat and Sen. Hillary Clinton will be following his lead shortly. In the wake of their respective departures, the Governors of Illinois and New York will be tasked with replacing them in their seats. In the interest of keeping an eye on this less than democratic process, I’m going to be doing a series of posts looking at the various potential replacements through the Sunlight lens. That will involve looking at campaign contributions, earmarks, votes, personal finances, and all the other kinds of data that provide an insight into who these senatorial aspirants are. But first, let’s look at the deciders, Gov. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois and Gov. David Paterson of New York.

Blagojevich is the two-term Democratic Governor of Illinois. If you had to say one thing about him it would be that he is unpopular - super unpopular. At present, Blagojevich’s approval rating stands at 4%. I’m not sure of the margin for error in this poll, but it’s entirely possible that Blagojevich could have a 0% approval rating. This could lead to some taint on the replacement pick, as no one wants to be seen as having anything whatsoever to do with the Governor. Fueling this super unpopularity is a wide-ranging corruption investigation into bid rigging in Blagojevich’s administration.

Blagojevich is facing multiple pressures in his search for a replacement. As President-Elect Obama was the sole African-American in the United States Senate there is pressure from some quarters for Blagojevich to appoint an African-American replacement. Looming larger than the race of the replacement is whether the replacement will serve as a placeholder (as Ted Kaufman will do in Delaware) or will run for a full-term in 2010. This consideration is seen as paramount in Blagojevich’s choice. Another point of interest is Blagojevich’s desire to run for reelection (don’t ask why someone with a 4% approval rating would seek reelection), which may cause him to seek out a loyal supporter.

This is a list of the top ten contributing industries to Blagojevich from 2002-2008. (All data comes from followthemoney.org)

Paterson took office as Governor of New York when Elliot Spitzer resigned upon revelations that he had been sleeping with a high-paid prostitute. Paterson’s first order of business, which definitely influences his decision on Sen. Clinton’s replacement, is his 2010 election race. Paterson isn’t facing the kinds of pressures that the wildly unpopular Blagojevich faces, but there are still constituencies to appease and decisions to make. The challenges that Paterson faces include finding someone who can effectively raise a ton of money in two years to run in the 2010 special election, appeasing enough groups to smooth the way for his own election, and deciding whether to choose a rival to clear the Democratic field for the 2010 Governor’s race.

Many groups are putting pressure on Paterson to choose someone from their region, race, or sex. The biggest issue at hand may be regional representation. New York regional rivalries divide on the NYC v. Long Island v. Up State axis. This Senate seat also has a history of carpetbagging. It was previously held by the Massachusetts native Robert F. Kennedy and is currently held by Chicagoan Hillary Rodham Clinton.

This is a list of the top ten contributing industries to Paterson from 1998-2008. (All data comes from followthemoney.org)

Tomorrow, I’ll start to take a look at the replacement candidates.

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Yet again from Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire:

No one has mastered the art of fundraising like Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D), “whose campaign fund has amassed more than $45 million in his two bids for governor,” reports the Chicago Tribune.

“Blagojevich has said fundraising helps keep him independent. By raising money, he contends he is able to avoid pressure from special interests.”

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