Blago Pal Suddenly Assumes Room Temperature

How convenient. A major figure in the Blagojevich fiasco suddenly assumed room temperature:

Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's former chief fundraiser died Saturday at a Chicago hospital, a hospital spokesman said.

Christopher Kelly, 51, arrived at Cook County's Stroger hospital by ambulance at 5:15 a.m. Saturday and was pronounced dead at 10:46 a.m., said spokesman Marcel Bright.

Bright did not know whether Kelly was conscious when he arrived in the emergency room or where he was transported from. He said the body was still at the hospital, but was to be taken to the morgue where an autopsy was to be performed.

Kelly, a suburban roofing contractor, was Blagojevich's longtime fundraiser and had been indicted on three separate federal cases, including the one that alleges Blagojevich sought to sell or trade President Obama's former seat in the U.S. Senate.

Let me guess....he committed suicide by shooting himself in the back of the head three times....He hung himself and then tied his own hands behind his back.

Don't be surprised if you find out later that his autopsy is "inconclusive" and then his remains are cremated immediately.

And one less guy will be around to sing like a canary about Blago and the Machine. Funny how that always seems to happen in Chicago.

Ah yes, the Chicago Way.

More:

Kelly raised millions of dollars for Blagojevich's campaigns and was among his closest advisers. He had pleaded not guilty to charges included in the federal indictment alleging Blagojevich sought to sell or trade President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat.

Kelly, who admittedly loved to gamble and ran up big debts at Las Vegas casinos and elsewhere, was part of Blagojevich's tight inner circle along with convicted influence peddler Tony Rezko. Rezko is believed to be cooperating with federal prosecutors after being convicted of taking part in a $7 million payoff scheme.

Kelly was due to report next Friday to start serving a three-year federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to tax fraud charges that included writing off thousands of dollars in gambling debts as business expenses.

Hmmm. Another Tony Rezko associate suddenly dead.

Obama Pal Indicted On Federal Corruption Charges

All the President's Men

That shining exemplar of Chicago machine politics, Rod Blagojevich.

Obama was too busy kissing Saudi royal ass to comment.

Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and five others were indicted Thursday on charges of scheming to auction off President Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat, pressuring a congressman for campaign money and lying to FBI agents. The 19-count indictment alleges Blagojevich and his aides discussed the possibility he could get a Cabinet post in the new president's administration, substantial fundraising assistance or a high-paying job in exchange for the Senate seat.

Obama's Deputy Press Secretary, Josh Earnest, said the White House would not comment.

Yeah, probably too busy catching up on his basketball picks.

Also swept up were Blago's brother and four others. I'm sure Obama has no connection whatsoever to them. Except for his close connections to them.

The sweeping indictment comes four months after Blagojevich was arrested and charged with engaging in pay-to-play politics in a major federal complaint that accused him of trading state jobs, contracts and regulatory favors for campaign contributions.

The criminal complaint charged Blagojevich with attempting to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama and seeking the firing of Tribune editorial writers in return for state help on the sale of Wrigley Field. The ballpark and newspaper are owned by Tribune Co.

While those allegations are repeated in today's charges, the 19-count indictment also includes allegations that convicted insider Antoin "Tony" Rezko steered real estate commissions to former first lady Patti Blagojevich despite her performing no work and paid cash to Monk for a car and home improvements. The indictment claims Blagojevich attempted to extort a U.S. congressman for campaign cash by withholding a $2 million state grant to a public school in the congressman's district.

All told, the ex-governor faces 16 felony counts, including racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud, extortion conspiracy and lying to federal agents. The government is seeking forfeiture of $188,370 from Blagojevich and will try to take his Ravenswood Manor home if needed.

Rezko, of course, helped Obama buy his house, but the media is curiously uninterested in him.

Try not to laugh while reading this.

Gov. Pat Quinn offered his reaction at a quick news conference after stepping off a plane at O'Hare International Airport.

"This is a very sad day for the people of our state the people of Illinois are entitled to honest government all the time, the charges today are very, very serious. The defendants are entitled to their day in court, we believe in that in America. The people of Illinois are entitled to honest government that works for them 24 hours a day every day, that's what I'm committed to, that's why I was sworn in, I think, 9 weeks ago," Quinn said.