Posted by Ray Long and Jeff Coen at 10:10 p.m.

Federal prosecutors will try to freeze the money in Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s campaign account, according to a letter defense attorney Edward Genson said the political fund received this week.

If prosecutors are successful, the move would severely hamper Blagojevich’s ability to pay huge legal bills as he fights corruption charges in what could be a long-running court battle. The governor has been charged with two criminal counts in federal court, but has not been indicted yet.

Blagojevich considered moving money out of the fund to try to avoid having prosecutors seize it, authorities alleged in court documents last week.

Friends of Blagojevich reported $3.6 million on hand as of June 30, but still owed the law firm of Winston & Strawn $750,000, records showed. The governor has since parted ways with the firm and hired Genson.

Several years ago, authorities froze Republican Gov. George Ryan's campaign fund, which became the first in American history to be convicted of racketeering. Prosecutors later indicted and convicted Ryan on corruption charges and he remains in a Terre Haute, Ind. federal prison while President George W. Bush considers his clemency request.

Blagojevich has long been under scrutiny for pay-to-play allegations in which big campaign contributors end up with lucrative state contracts.

On Thursday, the House continues impeachment hearings against him.

Posted by Hal Dardick at 3:30 p.m.

An effort to weed out careless and neglectful valet parking operators hit a speed bump today when a City Council vote on tougher regulations was put off for a month.

Ald. George Cardenas (12th) and Ald. Ray Suarez (31st) got the vote delayed.

Cardenas questioned the feasibility of requiring valet operators to secure one off-street parking space for every four people allowed under occupancy limits into the businesses they serve.

"We don't want to create further unemployment," he added.

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), the downtown alderman who proposed the stricter requirements, said "the larger, legitimate valet operators have indicated" they could meet the requirement. Saying many operators rely heavily on street parking, he said "the current 10 percent requirement clearly isn't working."

The measure also would increase insurance requirements and fines for ordinance violations.

Posted by Rick Pearson at 1:55 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD---The Illinois Supreme Court today rejected Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan's attempt to have disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich declared unable to hold the office of Illinois chief executive, court officials said.

The high court, without comment, denied Madigan's attempt to file a complaint with justices arguing Blagojevich's fitness to serve. The court also rejected Madigan's attempt for a temporary restraining order, aimed at preventing him from using state law to appoint a U.S. Senate replacement for President-elect Barack Obama.

A criminal complaint filed against Blagojevich, which resulted in his arrest eight days ago, contended the governor was seeking to try to sell the Senate seat to benefit himself and his family.

Justices, again without comment, also rejected a private petition seeking to remove Blagojevich from office for disability under the state constitution.

Download supremecourtorder1.pdf

Download supremecourtorder2.pdf

Download supremecourtorder3.pdf

Madigan said she was disappointed by the court's decision.

"Because of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's refusal to resign, the state of Illinois is in an unsustainable situation," Madigan said in a statement.

Even though federal charges and the impeachment process are in place, Madigan said, "the state is left with a governor who cannot make effective decisions on critical and time-sensitive issues."

She said she hoped the legislature will "act with deliberate speed."

Posted by Ray Long at 1:45 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD---It seemed like a reasonable request given the high drama at the impeachment hearings in the case against Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, and it was granted without hesitation.

Rep. Bill Black (R-Danville), one of the lawmakers on the House committee reviewing the Blagojevich case, suggested the impeachment process got under way this week faster than he and other lawmakers realized it would. Black said he only brought enough clothes for a couple days at the Capitol. So he asked Tuesday for a little extra time to get home to Danville and gather some extra attire for a longer stay.

House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago) immediately decided to delay the start of today's hearing by one hour, giving lawmakers like Black a chance to go home and get back to Springfield.

Currie, the chair of the Special Investigative Committee, said the delay would be granted so that Black would be able to get some clean "underwear."

In the spirit of bipartisan cooperation, Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) suggested he might have a pair for Black to use, but there was no sign that offer was accepted.

Posted by Hal Dardick and Dan Mihalopoulos at 1:35 p.m.

The Chicago City Council voted 48-0 today to approve a deal for the city to buy the 37-acre Michael Reese Hospital site for $86 million as part of the city's bid for the 2016 Olympics.

The Daley administration hopes to use the site as the Olympic Village and then transform it into a mixed-use devlepment with affordable housing.

Posted by Dan Mihalopoulos at 1:20 p.m.

Chicago Ald. Manuel Flores (1st) and Scott Waguespack (32nd) today introduced legislation directing the Daley administration to consider recouping tax subsidies given to Republic Windows and Doors.

The aldermen said a 1996 agreement between the company and the city that granted the subsidies requires Republic to maintain its operations in Chicago until 2019.

The company's workers staged a sit-in last week at its Goose Island factory demanding severance and vacation pay after they were laid off suddenly. An agreement later was worked out.

Republic filed for bankruptcy earlier this week.

Posted by Rick Pearson at 1:05 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD---Gov. Rod Blagojevich's attorney is maintaining that Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan has a conflict with her legal duties to represent the governor and her efforts before the state Supreme Court to remove him from office and wants an outside attorney general appointed.

In a letter to Madigan, a frequent Blagojevich foe, and to a special House panel weighing the governor's impeachment, attorney Ed Genson also notes that the attorney general "has spoken publicly against the governor."

Read the letter to Lisa Madigan: Download gensonletter.pdf

Read the motion: Download gensonfiling.pdf

"The matters before this (House) Committee relate to an investigation of alleged actions by Governor Blagojevich while in office. The Attorney General cannot represent the Governor in this matter," Genson wrote.

Madigan has asked the state Supreme Court to declare Blagojevich unable to carry out the duties of his office. Lawmakers saw her efforts as a longshot before the court and began impeachment proceedings.

Posted by Ray Long at 12:25 p.m.; updated at 2:17 p.m.

Update: The House impeachment panel has adjourned until 10 a.m. Thursday.

SPRINGFIELD—It didn't take long for Gov. Rod Blagojevich's attorney to make his voice heard today as the Illinois House committee reviewing impeachment got underway at the state Capitol.

Criminal defense attorney Ed Genson, known to be both eloquent and combative in a courtroom, went on the offensive almost from the moment he arrived for the morning hearing, interjecting his comments even as he politely asked lawmakers to hear his side.

Genson asked that Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan and lawmakers appoint a special prosecutor in the state proceeding and he requested that state taxpayers pay for the embattled governor's legal defense in the impeachment matter.

By Rick Pearson at 4:30 a.m.

SPRINGFIELD---Just how big a story nationally is the scandal surrounding Gov. Rod Blagojevich? One of the biggest stories of the year.

The Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, which measures on a weekly basis the issues that attract media attention, says the Blagojevich story was the biggest story of the year that didn't involve the 2008 elections or the tanking of the economy.

Posted by Dan Mihalopoulos at 8:25 p.m.

Mayor Richard Daley today listed several reasons why Gov. Rod Blagojevich should resign, but stopped short of calling on his fellow Democrat to step down.

"When you say fight the charges, these are charges. What I'm asking him to do (is) look at his family and look at the people of Illinois and make a decision whether or not he should stay as governor," Daley said. "You can fight charges as an individual, as a citizen. But he should really do what is good for his family and for the people of Illinois."

Posted by Hal Dardick and Dan Mihalopoulos at 2:05 p.m.

Mayor Richard Daley today joined a diverse group of aldermen who say the group leading the city's bid for the 2016 summer Olympics should find more work for more minorities and the businesses they own.

Daley said he's not satisfied with the track record of Chicago 2016 in that area. "They have to do a better job," he said. "They know that."

On Monday, aldermen spent hours criticizing the Olympic group's minority hiring record, particularly as it relates to contracts, when Chicago 2016 Chairman Patrick Ryan appeared before the City Council Finance Committee.

Updated by Ray Long at 11:55 a.m.

By Ray Long

SPRINGFIELD--The House special committee investigating whether to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich began its work this morning with the 21 members getting a chance to speak about the somber and sober work ahead.

As the committee began meeting at the State Capitol, Blagojevich’s office in Chicago announced that the governor would continue to sign legislation—an apparent show of normalcy against a maelstrom of calls for his resignation following his arrest a week ago.

House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, a Chicago Democrat and top deputy to House Speaker Michael Madigan, is chairing the panel. She noted that efforts by the panel to investigate alleged criminal activities surrounding Blagojevich may be affected by how much cooperation is forthcoming from federal investigators.

“We may be stymied early in this investigation by an inability to get answers from the U.S. attorney,” Currie noted.

Currie spoke Monday to U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald about the panel’s desire to explore the criminal complaint federal prosecutors have filed against Blagojevich. The allegations include Blagojevich trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

After setting up its rules and procedures today, the committee expects to review the federal criminal complaint against Blagojevich on Wednesday—along with federal corruption guilty pleas already reached against Ali Ata and Joe Cari.

In Ata’s guilty plea, he acknowledged giving campaign donations to Blagojevich in exchange for heading the Illinois Finance Authority. Cari pleaded guilty as part of a conspiracy to seek millions of dollars in kickbacks from investment firms seeking state pension business, was a prominent national Democratic fundraiser.

Currie said Blagojevich’s attorney, Ed Genson, is expected to attend Wednesday’s committee session.

Currie says the panel’s lines of inquiry will be official misconduct, abuse of power, actions without legal authority, failure to follow state law and failure to respond to requests for information from the administration. Among the controversial actions that she said the panel  will look into are the Blagojevich administration's purchase of a flu vaccine that was never distributed and his unilateral decision to send a $1 million grant to a private school that was damaged when the historic Pilgrim Baptist Church was destroyed by fire.

Currie said the investigation will not be “frontier justice.” She urged committee members not to let “passion and anger” overcome the process. “We’re prepared to work as long and as hard as it takes,” she said.

Rep. Jim Durkin of Western Springs, the committee’s Republican spokesman, told colleagues “it’s unfortunate that we’re here.” But, he said, panel members must put aside their attitudes and prejudices against the governor as they review the evidence to make sure he receives due process.

Rep. Edward Acevedo (D-Chicago) said of the panel’s work: “It’s imperative that we bring back the trust of the citizens of Illinois.”

Rep. Monique Davis (D-Chicago) noted that Illinois was both the land of Lincoln and Obama in saying the “cloud” must be removed from Illinois.

Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) called it a “grave and sobering time in the history of Illinois” and said the committee’s work goes to the “heart of open and honest government.”

Posted by Monique Garcia at 7 a.m.

The Illinois House will begin impeachment proceedings against Gov. Rod Blagojevich this morning when a bipartisan investigations committee meets for the first time in Springfield.

The 12 Democrats and 9 Republicans on the committee have been given the task of  "investigating allegations of misfeasance, nonfeasance, and other misconduct," against Blagojevich. Committee Chair Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago) said that will include allegations contained in the complaint filed by federal investigators as well as other issues, such as Blagojevich's penchant for bypassing the legislature to push pet projects.

By Rick Pearson

Incoming Illinois Senate President John Cullerton says the situation surrounding whether to hold a special election for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama is “obviously very complicated.”

Speaking to host John Williams on WGN-AM (720) this morning, Cullerton says the easiest thing would be for disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich to step aside temporarily which would allow him to keep his paycheck, but let Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn assume the power to make a Senate appointment.

Lawmakers are returning to Springfield today for an emergency session that includes the potential of special-election legislation on the U.S. Senate successor and talks about an impeachment of Blagojevich.

“The most immediate solution to the short-term problem is if the governor could step aside, which the constitution allows, and Pat Quinn would become the acting governor and he (Quinn) could appoint the U.S. senator and that would be acceptable to the U.S. Senate,” said Cullerton (D-Chicago), who assumes the leadership of the chamber next month.

Posted by Tribune staff at 2:35 p.m.

Chicago is the nation's political capital right now, what with President-elect Barack Obama working on his transition here and Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich pondering his future after Tuesday's arrest on charges he conspired to sell Obama's old U.S. Senate seat.

So Tribune political writer Rick Pearson and WGN 720-AM radio picked a good time to launch a new weekly radio show devoted to politics.

Pearson will be on the air from noon to 1 p.m. Sunday on 720-AM taking calls and e-mails. If you want to e-mail him a question, click here.

And if you want to listen online, click here.

He's got a pretty good line-up for the debut show: Robert Gibbs, press secretary for the incoming Obama administration, and state Sen. Christine Radogno, who is the incoming Senate Republican leader.

Pearson's show is missing one thing, however. A name. If you want to offer suggestions, go for it in the comment section. The show is scheduled to run every Sunday, so maybe he'll get a name by week two.

Posted by Ray Long at 12:15 p.m.

Atty. General Lisa Madigan called on the Illinois Supreme Court today to temporarily remove Gov. Rod Blagojevich from office and appoint Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn as acting governor, "so the business of the state of Illinois can go forward."

Madigan said she wants the court to bar Blagojevich from directing state contracts along with a broad range of state business.

"We think it is very clear he is incapable of serving," Madigan said of the governor during a news conference in downtown Chicago.

She said, "We want to make sure the people of Illinois have a governor who can legitimately fulfill the duties of that office."

Posted by Carlos Sadovi at 4:45 p.m.

U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said today that she believed Chicago Public Schools Chief Arne Duncan had the necessary skills to take her place in President-elect Barack Obama's administration.

"I don't want to hurt his chances but I think he's a terrific school leader…and im saying this because we have a lot of experience together,'' said Spellings, who works for Republican President George W. Bush. "I consider him a fellow reformer and someone who cares deeply about students. I think he'd be a great choice.''

Posted by Rick Pearson at 3:45 p.m.

National Democratic Chairman Howard Dean today called on Gov. Rod Blagojevich to leave office, following on the heels of calls for the governor's resignation by President-elect Barack Obama and the U.S. Senate's 50 Democrats.

Dean, a former Vermont governor, said the corruption allegations contained in Tuesday's criminal complaint filed against Blagojevich that led to his arrest "represents a disgraceful abuse of the public trust."

Posted by Hal Dardick at 2:01 p.m.

A top City Hall official today said the Daley administration is weighing whether to increase cab fares next year.

"It's something we have to continue looking at," said Norma Reyes, commissioner of Consumer Services. The three factors that determine whether a fare increase is warranted are gas prices, cab lease prices and the cost of living, she added.

"Gas prices are currently lower today than they were when they received a fare increase in May of 2005," she said. "In our area, they are about 50 cents or so lower."

But she also noted prices have fluctuated a great deal in recent months and the cost of living has gone up by 10.5 percent.

Posted by Ray Long at 11:42 a.m.

SPRINGFIELD---Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn today called on the Illinois House to begin impeachment proceedings against embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich next week, saying the state needs to move quickly to dump the governor if he won't resign.

If he ascends to governor, Quinn said he would make one of his first orders of business the selection of a new U.S. senator to fill the vacancy caused by the departure of President-elect Barack Obama.

He maintained the new idea of holding a special election to fill Obama’s replacement would be costly and could leave Illinois and the nation short of a senator for months at a critical juncture in history.

The House and Senate plan to return to Springfield next week to vote on legislation that would create a special election to allow voters to pick Obama's successor.

Blagojevich was arrested by the FBI on Tuesday and charged with a criminal conspiracy involving the sale of the U.S. Senate seat. Under state law, the governor now has the sole authority to fill the vacancy.