Among the federal charges against Gov. Blagojevich is that he threatened to withhold substantial state assistance to the Tribune Company in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field to pressure the Chicago Tribune into firing editorial board members sharply critical of him.
Intercepted phone calls show that the Tribune Company, which owns the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Cubs, explored the possibility of obtaining assistance from the Illinois Finance Authority as part of the Tribune Company’s efforts to sell the Cubs and the finance or sell Wrigley Field.
In a Nov. 6 phone call, Blagojevich chief of staff John Harris explained to Blagojevich that the deal the Tribune Company was trying to get through the IFA was basically a tax mitigation scheme in which the IFA would own title to Wrigley Field and the Tribune would not have to pay capital gains tax, which Harris estimated would save the company approximately $100 million.
Intercepted calls allegedly show that Blagojevich directed Harris to inform the Tribune and an associate, identified as Tribune Financial Advisor, that state financial assistance would be withheld unless members of the Chicago Tribune's editorial board were fired, primarily because Blagojevich viewed them as driving discussion of his possible impeachment.
In a Nov. 4 phone call, Blagojevich allegedly told Harris that he should say to Tribune Financial Advisor, the Cubs chairman and the Tribune owner, "our recommendation is fire all those [expletive] people, get 'em the [expletive] out of there and get us some editorial support."
On Nov. 6, the day of a Tribune editorial critical of Blagojevich , Harris told Blagojevich that he told Tribune Financial Advisor the previous day that things "look like they could move ahead fine but, you know, there is a risk that all of this is going to get derailed by your own editorial page."
Read on.
2 comments:
How is this a shock, this guy is one smooth operator and he learned from the best, his father in law Dick Mel, the guy who helped him get all the way to the Governors' mansion, and when Rod got in a tiff with Mel, that's when the problems began.
G-Rod was a little ganster wasn't he as he ruled. Oh how the Mighty have fallen and now it's time little G-Rod save himself and his wife. Look the newspaper has it's own problems and their not all that clean themselves.
Post a Comment