U.S.: Illinois governor arrested in corruption scandal

The comments surrounding this case are so predictable -- "his father was Serbian, so he must be corrupt because he is of Serbian descent."

Never mind the fact that he was born in the U.S., educated in the U.S., and that Illinois has a long history of corrupt politics (Not that Washington DC is any better).

He's getting what he deserves and should have gone to jail long ago.

You are in wrong country,mr. governor. For crimes and corruption you should chose you country of origin, Serbia, where you would feel safe and protected.

Something tells me the political machine (Illinois is one of the most corrupt states in America) and not his ancestral ethnicity, is the source of his crimes. I'm sure our above Albanian colleagues would be quick to remind the rest of us in the same flowing grammar that, were the governor's last name more "Illyrian" sounding.

The reason the article doesn't say that Mr. Blagojevich is of Serbian descent is because that fact is pretty irrelevant in the United States. I can guarantee you that the only thing 98% of Americans could tell you about the Illinois governor's ethnic background is that they have no idea how to pronounce his name, even with an "h" at the end.

Kosovar Heritage? What are you talking about. There is no Kosovar Heritage. Kosovar people are either Serbs or Albanians.

Now that he is out in bail, he can go to the Serbian consulate in the US, get some fake passport and return home. Its not like its never been done before.
Go Obama your credibility skyrocketed! woohoo

So what if he is Serbian ???
At least we got some high profile people in America and are not cleaning toilets over there like some "other" Balkan comrades...

its true and fox news said also thet new he can go in serbia to his fothers country and try to be president

Its amazing to see the Albanians here seizing on Mr Blagojevich's Serbian heritage and using it taint all Serbs as corrupt. If thats not blatant racism, I dont know what is. Guys, Mr Blagojevich's predecessor is Irish, George Ryan who is currently doing jail time for corruption. I dont see anyone here jumping on an anti Irish bandwagon.

Fact is Illinois has a nasty record for croneyism and corruption going back to the Prohibition period.

Corruption trancends all nationalities as seen here. The Albanians shouldn't be too quick to start pointing fingers at anyone else given the 'impeccable' record of their own politicians.

Lads, i'll hold my hands up and admit that Joe Kennedy (father of JFK) was a crook who bought the 1960 election (with help from the Chicago mob) but oh boy we loved them, Ted and Bobby et al. Why? because they were one of us (catholic & Irish).

"The comments surrounding this case are so predictable -- "his father was Serbian, so he must be corrupt because he is of Serbian descent.""

Actually, his descent is getting very little attention in the US news. The only ones bringing it up appear to be Serbs, of which there is a large population in Chicago. Let's try to keep it that way folks and not link his crime to his ancestry.

It is despicable to suggest just because he is Serbian he must be corrupt, however up until now he was the “mascot” of Serbian Unity Congress and the most famous lobbyist for Serbian cause in Congress. From PR perspective it hurts and let’s face it; few other prestigious members of the Congressional Serbian Caucus are charged and some indicted on federal criminal charges. Interesting enough they are all from Illinois were the stronghold of Serbian community established themselves. Coincidence – might be – but it leaves a black cloud over the head of this organization, which by the way didn’t yet react to condemn the Governors behavior.
It is not about Blagojevich being Serbian, but in my view it is about Serbian community being mislead by few bad guys which gives a negative perception of Serbia as a nation in U.S.. Those bad apples didn’t become criminals over night, the allegations, charges and the indictments of prestigious members of Serbian Caucuses didn’t start yesterday. The CSC should have distanced themselves from those toxic members, but instead those members were the face of the organization.
By the way who decided Illinois as the head of Serbian Diaspora to start with?

(Patrik, 10 December 2008 15:32)

I couldn't agree with you more Patrik,his ancestry cannot be blamed for any individual wrongdoings,no matter what the etnicity is Serbian,Albanian etc..but in Fort Dix case Serbian camp couldn't wait to label Albanians as terrorists,sad isn't it?

He is 100% Serb and even was an altar boy at SOC. There is a Youtube video of him saying that. Serbs had hoped that he talks to Obama.

His audacity and profanity stunned America, this is a new low for corruption as the prosecution said. His approval rating is only some 13%, and he is hated by quite a few people.

Nobody in the US cares that his father was Serbian, and absolutely nobody is making any connection to corruption in Serbia. The political machine in Chicago, and in Illinois as a state, has been tainted for decades. The predecessor of Blagojevich is in prison now! The guy seems to be crazy, but nobody is connecting it to his Serbian heritage.

Curropted people are everywhere but I was surprised that there was no mention of Mr. Blagojevich being a Serb heritage. If the news had been positive and I wouldn't be surprised "Serbian Heritage" was mention 100 times. Also, if he was a kosovar heritage, we would have seen in capital letters "KOSOVAR HERITAGE". T

"I couldn't agree with you more Patrik,his ancestry cannot be blamed for any individual wrongdoings,no matter what the etnicity is Serbian,Albanian etc..but in Fort Dix case Serbian camp couldn't wait to label Albanians as terrorists,sad isn't it?
(arti, 10 December 2008 19:46)"

I remember when the Fort Dix news came out. I am from New Jersey and was shocked that the media immediately labeled them Serbs. I had my own thoughts, and when it came out that several were Albanian I was also shocked that the media focus quickly changed to "Muslims from Eastern Europe". But I shouldn't have been. It is truly sad indeed. Terrorists are terrorists, plain and simple. It doesn't matter where they come from. The funny thing is, with all the media hype in the US, the average citizen doesn't have the slightest idea where Albania or Serbia is. Albania? They never heard of it. Serbia? I thought they were from Yugoslavia...........

I like these coments from Albaniens. This must be to wash corrupted government in Pristina. By the way, the most corrupted politicien in America is your good body Clinton, but you named street after him and odor him. So corruption has no color or nationality-it is universal.

If it is true that Mr Blagojevich is a Serbian, why does it not state in this article? Or maybe he is not Serbian?

To Mike

I used to actually read your comments, because they used to be fairly balanced. Lately you have become unbearably racist towards anything Albanian though. you are being fed way too much truth serum up there in Belgrade. You are in need of some change in terms of work environment my friend.

people who really think like americans will think about this guy as an american. i am not surprised to find posts by albanians about the fact that he is of serbian descent, though. and if an albanian were involved here i'm sure you'd find be posts by serbs saying something similar. serbs and albanians don't seem to agree about anything, but that's not true. they agree that nationalism is cool, for example. i'm pretty sure they agree about some other forms of bigotry as well and i'm sure they do that in the wrong way. of course i am also aware that not all serbs and albanians think in this way, but those who do are being given too much space.

the comment #12 shows that this kind of thinking still exists in the west as well, unfortunately. you can always expect that if the usa is going to wage a war against some country that the people of that country will get negative coverage in the press. it's actually funny that serb nationalist are trying to appeal to anti-muslim prejudice when they try to paint albanians as muslim terrorists. but albanians are no better when they blame serbia for everything. it is based on the appeal to prejudice as well.

So many serbs pinned their hopes on Mr Blagojevich that this guy will changes americas attitude towards serbia but this hope has been shattered by what it looks as the most corrupt govenor at all times.

here is the link to those who still dont believe is serbo-american no that it really matters.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/arrested-the-governor-who-tried-to-sell-obamas-seat-1059443.html


let's hope this time my commetns are published.

Are you serious with some of these comments? He's 2nd generation, meaning his grandfather was from Serbia. He can't speak, read, write, or even begin to consider himself Serbian. He rode on the last name and made promises to get him the Serbian vote (of which is large in Chicago) that he never followed through on. This is the result of an idiot using any means necessary to get notoriety and cheat his way to the top...just like 5 of the last 9 Illinois governors who were arrested on corruption charges. The fact that he has a Serbian last name has nothing to do with him as a person. So those of you that are making links, why don't you go argue about calling the kettle black.

Blagojevich is as Serbian sa Obama is Kenian! Wikipedia:
Blagojevich was born and raised in Chicago's northwest side, the second of two children. His father, Radisa Blagojevich (Serbian: Радисав Благојевић), was an immigrant steel plant laborer from Serbia.

Business as usual in politics- but in Illinois probably they are not very good in that- since they end pretty badly ;)

What do you think how the political parties in the decent EU finance themselves? with 5-10 € per vote they get in the elections???

Try to build some important public infrastructure and you will choose only the business, but not: the banks, construction companies or you will find your self surrounded by “consultants” that you "don't" know whey are you paying them ;))

Blagojevich would take a chunk of that money the other chunk would distribute to the party and help his mates of the party to finance next elections.

‘One hand washes the other’- as Italians say.

However, linking the corruption with ethnicity is simply a primitive revenge. Same as saying Kosova is drug hub and forgetting that the drugs in Kosova enter from: Serbia, one EU country, and 2-3 NATO countries. Simply, revanchist - Balkan style.

From the BBC website: "Three of the state's governors have been jailed on corruption charges in the last 35 years."

All that you can say about the guy is that he is following the 'high' standards set by his predecessors.

Mr.Blagojevich is a native, US-american. fullstop.

and please, do not compare a jurist with stupid low-life-idiots who were so dumb to send a video-tape with their terrorist-training to a video-store for copying...

they were even too stupid for that. ( in times when everybody can duplicate home-made movies on the own personal-computer... )

bottom-line:

this article is not really of interest.

Albanian, Serb, American, A politician is a politician.. Dirty...

Its going to hurt Serbia because he was Serbian. Its going to hurt them because he had Rahm Emanuel's ear. And he would have had Obama's ear. It could have shifted the US stance on Kosovo, not change it completly where they would have done a 180 and derecognized (prob not a word) Kosovo. But they would would have done some major damage there. I think Belgrade would have found a way to use this guy for something. Maybe even getting Obama to warm on the Partition of Northern Kosovo. The fact that Rahm Emanuel (who i believed was on the Serbia Caucus), makes this even worse. I think this is a Major loss for Serbia.

re: the comment #12 - i'd like to clearify that when i said that this kind of thinking still exists in the west i was referring to the journalists covering events in fort dix, not to the poster who i agree with.

An article from the Chicago Tribune about him

http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2007/11/gnad.html#editorial

Same as saying Kosova is drug hub and forgetting that the drugs in Kosova enter from: Serbia, one EU country, and 2-3 NATO countries. Simply, revanchist - Balkan style.
(ben, 12 December 2008 13:58)
not really. saying that kosovo is a hub for drug smuggling is simply stating what is widely being reported. kosovo does have this problem and it does have special place on the drug trade route. using this fact to suggest that all albanians are criminals would be linking ethnicity with a particular group of criminals. that would indeed be balkans style. but then so is the denial of problems that kosovo (with other countries in the region) is facing.

So what if he is Serbian ???
At least we got some high profile people in America and are not cleaning toilets over there like some "other" Balkan comrades...
(CG, 11 December 2008 20:21)

Rod WILL be cleaning toliets very soon!

A lot of Serbs in the USA are cleaning toliets. There is nothing wrong with that. People have to make a living one way or another. No need to be an elitist. A job is a job.

Serbs, Bosniaks, Albos, in the USA are all the same. They are all trying hard to make a better life for themselves.

You are in wrong country,mr. governor. For crimes and corruption you should chose you country of origin, Serbia, where you would feel safe and protected.

Something tells me the political machine (Illinois is one of the most corrupt states in America) and not his ancestral ethnicity, is the source of his crimes. I'm sure our above Albanian colleagues would be quick to remind the rest of us in the same flowing grammar that, were the governor's last name more "Illyrian" sounding.

its true and fox news said also thet new he can go in serbia to his fothers country and try to be president

Now that he is out in bail, he can go to the Serbian consulate in the US, get some fake passport and return home. Its not like its never been done before.
Go Obama your credibility skyrocketed! woohoo

He is 100% Serb and even was an altar boy at SOC. There is a Youtube video of him saying that. Serbs had hoped that he talks to Obama.

His audacity and profanity stunned America, this is a new low for corruption as the prosecution said. His approval rating is only some 13%, and he is hated by quite a few people.

(Patrik, 10 December 2008 15:32)

I couldn't agree with you more Patrik,his ancestry cannot be blamed for any individual wrongdoings,no matter what the etnicity is Serbian,Albanian etc..but in Fort Dix case Serbian camp couldn't wait to label Albanians as terrorists,sad isn't it?

So many serbs pinned their hopes on Mr Blagojevich that this guy will changes americas attitude towards serbia but this hope has been shattered by what it looks as the most corrupt govenor at all times.

here is the link to those who still dont believe is serbo-american no that it really matters.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/arrested-the-governor-who-tried-to-sell-obamas-seat-1059443.html


let's hope this time my commetns are published.

If it is true that Mr Blagojevich is a Serbian, why does it not state in this article? Or maybe he is not Serbian?

It is despicable to suggest just because he is Serbian he must be corrupt, however up until now he was the “mascot” of Serbian Unity Congress and the most famous lobbyist for Serbian cause in Congress. From PR perspective it hurts and let’s face it; few other prestigious members of the Congressional Serbian Caucus are charged and some indicted on federal criminal charges. Interesting enough they are all from Illinois were the stronghold of Serbian community established themselves. Coincidence – might be – but it leaves a black cloud over the head of this organization, which by the way didn’t yet react to condemn the Governors behavior.
It is not about Blagojevich being Serbian, but in my view it is about Serbian community being mislead by few bad guys which gives a negative perception of Serbia as a nation in U.S.. Those bad apples didn’t become criminals over night, the allegations, charges and the indictments of prestigious members of Serbian Caucuses didn’t start yesterday. The CSC should have distanced themselves from those toxic members, but instead those members were the face of the organization.
By the way who decided Illinois as the head of Serbian Diaspora to start with?

"The comments surrounding this case are so predictable -- "his father was Serbian, so he must be corrupt because he is of Serbian descent.""

Actually, his descent is getting very little attention in the US news. The only ones bringing it up appear to be Serbs, of which there is a large population in Chicago. Let's try to keep it that way folks and not link his crime to his ancestry.

I like these coments from Albaniens. This must be to wash corrupted government in Pristina. By the way, the most corrupted politicien in America is your good body Clinton, but you named street after him and odor him. So corruption has no color or nationality-it is universal.

The comments surrounding this case are so predictable -- "his father was Serbian, so he must be corrupt because he is of Serbian descent."

Never mind the fact that he was born in the U.S., educated in the U.S., and that Illinois has a long history of corrupt politics (Not that Washington DC is any better).

He's getting what he deserves and should have gone to jail long ago.

To Mike

I used to actually read your comments, because they used to be fairly balanced. Lately you have become unbearably racist towards anything Albanian though. you are being fed way too much truth serum up there in Belgrade. You are in need of some change in terms of work environment my friend.

So what if he is Serbian ???
At least we got some high profile people in America and are not cleaning toilets over there like some "other" Balkan comrades...

Curropted people are everywhere but I was surprised that there was no mention of Mr. Blagojevich being a Serb heritage. If the news had been positive and I wouldn't be surprised "Serbian Heritage" was mention 100 times. Also, if he was a kosovar heritage, we would have seen in capital letters "KOSOVAR HERITAGE". T

people who really think like americans will think about this guy as an american. i am not surprised to find posts by albanians about the fact that he is of serbian descent, though. and if an albanian were involved here i'm sure you'd find be posts by serbs saying something similar. serbs and albanians don't seem to agree about anything, but that's not true. they agree that nationalism is cool, for example. i'm pretty sure they agree about some other forms of bigotry as well and i'm sure they do that in the wrong way. of course i am also aware that not all serbs and albanians think in this way, but those who do are being given too much space.

the comment #12 shows that this kind of thinking still exists in the west as well, unfortunately. you can always expect that if the usa is going to wage a war against some country that the people of that country will get negative coverage in the press. it's actually funny that serb nationalist are trying to appeal to anti-muslim prejudice when they try to paint albanians as muslim terrorists. but albanians are no better when they blame serbia for everything. it is based on the appeal to prejudice as well.

Its amazing to see the Albanians here seizing on Mr Blagojevich's Serbian heritage and using it taint all Serbs as corrupt. If thats not blatant racism, I dont know what is. Guys, Mr Blagojevich's predecessor is Irish, George Ryan who is currently doing jail time for corruption. I dont see anyone here jumping on an anti Irish bandwagon.

Fact is Illinois has a nasty record for croneyism and corruption going back to the Prohibition period.

Corruption trancends all nationalities as seen here. The Albanians shouldn't be too quick to start pointing fingers at anyone else given the 'impeccable' record of their own politicians.

Lads, i'll hold my hands up and admit that Joe Kennedy (father of JFK) was a crook who bought the 1960 election (with help from the Chicago mob) but oh boy we loved them, Ted and Bobby et al. Why? because they were one of us (catholic & Irish).

The reason the article doesn't say that Mr. Blagojevich is of Serbian descent is because that fact is pretty irrelevant in the United States. I can guarantee you that the only thing 98% of Americans could tell you about the Illinois governor's ethnic background is that they have no idea how to pronounce his name, even with an "h" at the end.

"I couldn't agree with you more Patrik,his ancestry cannot be blamed for any individual wrongdoings,no matter what the etnicity is Serbian,Albanian etc..but in Fort Dix case Serbian camp couldn't wait to label Albanians as terrorists,sad isn't it?
(arti, 10 December 2008 19:46)"

I remember when the Fort Dix news came out. I am from New Jersey and was shocked that the media immediately labeled them Serbs. I had my own thoughts, and when it came out that several were Albanian I was also shocked that the media focus quickly changed to "Muslims from Eastern Europe". But I shouldn't have been. It is truly sad indeed. Terrorists are terrorists, plain and simple. It doesn't matter where they come from. The funny thing is, with all the media hype in the US, the average citizen doesn't have the slightest idea where Albania or Serbia is. Albania? They never heard of it. Serbia? I thought they were from Yugoslavia...........

Nobody in the US cares that his father was Serbian, and absolutely nobody is making any connection to corruption in Serbia. The political machine in Chicago, and in Illinois as a state, has been tainted for decades. The predecessor of Blagojevich is in prison now! The guy seems to be crazy, but nobody is connecting it to his Serbian heritage.

Mr.Blagojevich is a native, US-american. fullstop.

and please, do not compare a jurist with stupid low-life-idiots who were so dumb to send a video-tape with their terrorist-training to a video-store for copying...

they were even too stupid for that. ( in times when everybody can duplicate home-made movies on the own personal-computer... )

bottom-line:

this article is not really of interest.

Blagojevich is as Serbian sa Obama is Kenian! Wikipedia:
Blagojevich was born and raised in Chicago's northwest side, the second of two children. His father, Radisa Blagojevich (Serbian: Радисав Благојевић), was an immigrant steel plant laborer from Serbia.

Same as saying Kosova is drug hub and forgetting that the drugs in Kosova enter from: Serbia, one EU country, and 2-3 NATO countries. Simply, revanchist - Balkan style.
(ben, 12 December 2008 13:58)
not really. saying that kosovo is a hub for drug smuggling is simply stating what is widely being reported. kosovo does have this problem and it does have special place on the drug trade route. using this fact to suggest that all albanians are criminals would be linking ethnicity with a particular group of criminals. that would indeed be balkans style. but then so is the denial of problems that kosovo (with other countries in the region) is facing.

So what if he is Serbian ???
At least we got some high profile people in America and are not cleaning toilets over there like some "other" Balkan comrades...
(CG, 11 December 2008 20:21)

Rod WILL be cleaning toliets very soon!

A lot of Serbs in the USA are cleaning toliets. There is nothing wrong with that. People have to make a living one way or another. No need to be an elitist. A job is a job.

Serbs, Bosniaks, Albos, in the USA are all the same. They are all trying hard to make a better life for themselves.

re: the comment #12 - i'd like to clearify that when i said that this kind of thinking still exists in the west i was referring to the journalists covering events in fort dix, not to the poster who i agree with.

From the BBC website: "Three of the state's governors have been jailed on corruption charges in the last 35 years."

All that you can say about the guy is that he is following the 'high' standards set by his predecessors.

Kosovar Heritage? What are you talking about. There is no Kosovar Heritage. Kosovar people are either Serbs or Albanians.

An article from the Chicago Tribune about him

http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2007/11/gnad.html#editorial

Are you serious with some of these comments? He's 2nd generation, meaning his grandfather was from Serbia. He can't speak, read, write, or even begin to consider himself Serbian. He rode on the last name and made promises to get him the Serbian vote (of which is large in Chicago) that he never followed through on. This is the result of an idiot using any means necessary to get notoriety and cheat his way to the top...just like 5 of the last 9 Illinois governors who were arrested on corruption charges. The fact that he has a Serbian last name has nothing to do with him as a person. So those of you that are making links, why don't you go argue about calling the kettle black.

Business as usual in politics- but in Illinois probably they are not very good in that- since they end pretty badly ;)

What do you think how the political parties in the decent EU finance themselves? with 5-10 € per vote they get in the elections???

Try to build some important public infrastructure and you will choose only the business, but not: the banks, construction companies or you will find your self surrounded by “consultants” that you "don't" know whey are you paying them ;))

Blagojevich would take a chunk of that money the other chunk would distribute to the party and help his mates of the party to finance next elections.

‘One hand washes the other’- as Italians say.

However, linking the corruption with ethnicity is simply a primitive revenge. Same as saying Kosova is drug hub and forgetting that the drugs in Kosova enter from: Serbia, one EU country, and 2-3 NATO countries. Simply, revanchist - Balkan style.

Albanian, Serb, American, A politician is a politician.. Dirty...

Its going to hurt Serbia because he was Serbian. Its going to hurt them because he had Rahm Emanuel's ear. And he would have had Obama's ear. It could have shifted the US stance on Kosovo, not change it completly where they would have done a 180 and derecognized (prob not a word) Kosovo. But they would would have done some major damage there. I think Belgrade would have found a way to use this guy for something. Maybe even getting Obama to warm on the Partition of Northern Kosovo. The fact that Rahm Emanuel (who i believed was on the Serbia Caucus), makes this even worse. I think this is a Major loss for Serbia.