Fitzgerald Inching Closer To Illinois Governor

Proving once again that a good U.S. Attorney can go along way towards cleaning up political corruption, Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has indicted yet another close pal of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagoyevich and re-indicted others close to him. The latest target of Fitzgerald's work is Christopher Kelly, one of the governor's closest friends, biggest political fundraiser and go-to-guy on gaming issues. Kelly allegedly wagered millions with bookies in Las Vegas and used a roofing company he owns to avoid paying taxes. This comes at the same time Gov. Blagoyevich has been trying to broker a major deal on expanding gaming in Illinois with the state's lawmakers.

Although the governor is not specifically mentioned in the Kelly indictment, another indictment handed down by the U.S. Attorney's office does name him as Public Official A. "Former investment banker P. Nicholas Hurtgen allegedly told a hospital executive 'Official A' wanted hospital projects steered to a preferred contractor, and that the desire to reward that contractor was 'all about money' for political campaigns, Hurtgen's indictment alleges," the Sun-Times reports. The governor's office issued a forceful denial, claiming not to be that public official according to the newspaper. Others weren't so sure. "It's like the game Battleship, and the shots are landing all around him," said Jay Stewart, executive director of the Better Government Association. "If [the investigation] isn't directed at the governor, it's sure coming close to him."

Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is facing more scrutiny after the Sun-Times reveals that his son and nephew had hidden interests in a sewer inspection business whose business with the City of Chicago rose sharply while they were owners. "Patrick Daley invested in Municipal Sewer Services in June 2003, along with Robert Vanecko, a nephew of the mayor," the Sun-Times reports. "The pair cashed out their small investment about a year later, as federal investigators were swarming City Hall in the early days of the Hired Truck scandal." The newspaper reports that five months after Daley's son and nephew became owners, the company got a $3 million contract extension from the city. “Yes, it is the mayor’s son, and, yes, it is also his nephew,” Daley press secretary Jacquelyn Heard said. “But, as you know, the mayor is a very busy man, and he does not make a practice of knowing the details of other people’s investments, including those of his son and/or his nephew."

I'm betting Patrick Fitzgerald's office won't see it the same way. You can bet his office is on it. He's already nailed a number of high-ranking Daley officials as part of his Hired Truck investigation. When I post about these matters about Illinois corruption, invariably people sometimes ask why I'm talking about them. This is Indiana, after all. Well, it's simply to prove a point that these matters can be detected and prosecuted when you have a prosecutor on the ground who is willing to fight public corruption head on. These kinds of case aren't prosecuted here in Indianapolis because we don't have a prosecutor on the ground willing to tackle public corruption, which is too apparent to many of us. Some of us would like to see that change.