CHICAGO -- Attorney General Jim Ryan on Wednesday challenged opponent Rod Blagojevich to answer questions about his ethics while on the City of Chicago payroll.

Jim Ryan said the questions are relevant because Rod Blagojevich claims he is suited to clean up state government.

"Do we want to trust the job to a career prosecutor or to a politician who owes his career to a Chicago ward boss," Jim Ryan said.

The Attorney General asked Blagojevich to answer two questions that were raised in an exhaustive profile written Oct. 24, 1996 by Chicago Tribune reporters Laurie Cohen and Mitchell Locin. The questions stem from Blagojevich's employment with the City of Chicago from 1988 to 1993.

1. How did Rod Blagojevich escape sanctions when he apparently violated Chicago’s ethics ordinance by simultaneously drawing a city paycheck and representing clients who were suing the city? According to the article, the City Corporation Counsel's Office said the practice violated the city ethics ordinance. And it said the violation would have been investigated by the City Council's Rules Committee chaired by Blagojevich’s father-in-law, Dick Mell.

2. What exactly did Rod Blagojevich do for the $83,000 he received on the city payroll in those years? William Donaldson, head of the city's Legislative Reference Bureau, said that Blagojevich "did very good work" there as a full-time member of his staff. Records showed he worked there, according to the article. Yet Blagojevich claims he never worked there a single day. Instead, Blagojevich claims he always worked as a part-time aide to Mell. Because a federal ghost-payrolling investigation was underway, Mell produced affidavits on behalf of his employees, including Blagojevich, giving some information about their duties. Yet the episode remains murky. The Tribune said: "The specifics of what Blagojevich did for that money are elusive, and public records provided little clarification."

"This state is facing an ethical crisis and the people of Illinois deserve to know relevant facts about the backgrounds and records of those people seeking to clean up the mess," said Jim Ryan. "We don’t need any December surprises."
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From the editor:
Listeners to WLS-AM were surprised to hear rumors aired about Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Rod Blagojevich from none other than his Father in-law Ward boss and Alderman Dick Mell. In a rambling interview Alderman Mell spoke in detail about a rumor that he had covered up an arrest of Blagojevich for visiting prostitutes.

Mell tried to tie the rumors to GOP challenger Jim Ryan and called it "gutter stuff", he said it was an effort to destroy Rods candidacy. Mell said "One of the stories was that he visited a house of ill repute and that I went down and ripped up the [police] papers," then he said "Can you imagine that happening in the city of Chicago?" After you stop laughing you have to remember who started this whisper campaign, Speaker of the Illinois House and Head of the Democratic party Mike Madigan. And they say there's nothing good on the radio anymore!

Speaking of Talk Radio I (Jim Leahy) will be on the Tom Roeser Show Sunday October 6th from 8:00pm till 9:00pm on WLS-AM 890 call in @ 312-591-8900

Jim

Here's how the scandal search started. In mid-August, when some Republicans were criticizing their leaders for a series of improprieties, allegations were made that the Democrats were sublimely uncritical of their leader.

That's when Rep. Rod Blagojevich responded by declaring that the $300,000 Madigan included in the state budget for the International Livestock Exposition at Springfield was a ''misplaced priority'' and a ''product of arrogance.''

This charge, it turns out, could probably be the worst mistake Blagojevich has made in his young political career.

Madigan portrayed the livestock show as a financial blessing that Springfield Mayor Karen Hasara had sought. He distributed to reporters copies of the solicitation letter he received from Hasara on May 8. He defended himself as ''not an arrogant person.''

He added, ''Clearly, I occupy a position where I could be arrogant if I wanted to be, but strive not to be.''

He added that the difference of opinion between Blagojevich and himself on the livestock show was legitimate. Then the most powerful Democrat in Illinois inflamed the condition of Illinois politics with four simple sentences:

''Now,'' Madigan said, ''I don't plan to get into any criticism of Blagojevich. I could do that. I could talk about his indiscretions. But I'm not going to do that because I believe in solidarity within the political party.''

The press perked up its ears at ''indiscretions.'' But Madigan declined to elaborate on what he meant by ''indiscretions.''

The question is: Would the House speaker baselessly charge Blagojevich with improprieties for no reason? Hardly. The speaker is a man who practices economy and exactitude in his utterances.

Gary MacDougal, the newly elected state Republican chairman, has quite properly asked what Blagojevich indiscretions Madigan had in mind. There has been no answer.

As for Blagojevich, he claims he has no idea. He quickly toned down his allegation.

''I didn't say he was arrogant,'' the young congressman said. ''What I said was that misplaced priority [the money for the livestock show] was a product of arrogance. There's a difference,'' he said, adding that ''if I were governor, I'd veto that.''

The press has launched a kind of probe into Blagojevich to determine what, if anything, Madigan had in mind. Was it merely the juvenile smoking of marijuana, during which, Blagojevich insisted, he had not inhaled?

MacDougal continues to ask. For the GOP, this articulate businessman who once considered the governorship is a godsend. Before him, with few exceptions, state chairmen merely filled a seat at a State Central Committee meeting.

Now the GOP has a keen debater, first-rate fund-raiser and party strategist rolled up into one. MacDougal, who was born in Chicago, made a fortune as an entrepreneur, served as assistant to Jim Baker in George Bush Sr.'s victorious 1988 campaign, is an expert on welfare reform and is an author. Recently, one media commentator said that MacDougal was acting improperly by keeping the issue of ''indiscretion'' alive.

On my WLS radio talk show last Sunday, Madigan spokesman Steve Brown labored intensively to dismiss the allegation. But Brown, brilliant as he is, cannot bring the issue to rest.

But it all could end. And it will end, if and when Madigan tells us what he meant by Blagojevich's indiscretions.

Until then, the speaker's mystifying words remain the single most intriguing issue of the campaign, and Illinois media will continue investigating the public and private life of the Democratic nominee. Blagojevich has no one to blame but Madigan. And, of course, himself.

With six weeks until the midterm election and facing desperate straits because of their inability to adopt a budget and move forward with important initiatives that have been addressed by the President and the House of Representatives, some Democrats may feel forced to embrace a scorched earth policy to achieve victory in November. If we allow Democrats to use the politics of economic destruction and scare tactics to frighten seniors, we will have put our party and our candidates at a distinct disadvantage. Spurious statements by some national Democrats and Democrat websites will be formulated into television, radio and print ads and talking points for local races.

One might think that outrageous and inaccurate statements are the work of only fringe groups, but often they originate with prominent members of the national party. For example, Democrats.com is an extremely anti-Bush web site, full of misrepresentations and misinformation about the President's record and Republicans in Congress. These are not exclusively the liberal extremists you might imagine. The site is owned and operated by Democrat activists. The site outlines many of the scorched earth tactics we are beginning to see some Democrat candidates imitate all across the country.

It is important to be prepared. Democrat attacks may be so outrageous or inaccurate that candidates may consider a response to be unnecessary. Inaccurate attacks left without a truthful and timely response, however, can take on a life of their own and suggest a possibility of accuracy.

We expect this to be a growing trend as Election Day approaches and we must address attacks thoughtfully, but forcefully and quickly. We have to seize every opportunity to set the record straight. The RNC will work aggressively with other Republican organizations to assure the accuracy and defend the principled leadership of President Bush, Republicans in Congress, and our candidates around the nation. Already, Democrat attack ads that focused on Enron and Social Security have been pulled in North Carolina, West Virginia, Maryland, Indiana, Mississippi, and Connecticut because of inaccuracy.

We need your help to be vigilant and responsive. Toward that end, we have established a toll-free number. If you see or hear Democrat distortions on television, radio, print or during public debate, call 1-866-NOT-TRUE or www.democratattacks.com immediately so that Republicans across the country can be put on notice and respond.

If we set the record straight and focus on our positive agenda for the American people, Republicans at all levels will be successful in November.

"You got him all wrong, Mr. Mayor. He never understood the orders. If you give him another chance you'll never need to complain. He's one of our best captians. I can always count on him. He's a good conscientious son of a bitch, even if he does run a whorehouse!"

==>Chicago First Ward Alderman and Boss Michael"Hinky Dink" Kenna