The Lt. Gov is Pat Quinn, who's a good guy and not close in any way to Blago. I don't know if Blago retains his right to pick a replacement for Obama, or if that transfers to Quinn in the event of Blago's detention.

FWIW, Blago's approval ratings are in Cheney territory in Illinois. That's before this. And he replaced Governor George Ryan in his first election. Ryan is now in jail for corruption.

Yay Illinois!

Pat Quinn will make the selection. I wonder if he will appoint himself in order to get out of the cesspool that is Illinois govt.

I hope the governor just steps down at this point. Anyone he would pick to replace Obama will be tainted, fairly or not.

Who will be the first right-wing radio mouth today to call for the impeachment of Obama based on his palling around with the Gov of Illinois?

per MSNBC, the straw that got Blagojevich arrested was that they have him on tape soliciting bribes as part of the process of choosing Obama's successor.

Dems need to come down on him like a ton of bricks to avoid a "see, both parties do it" answer to the Republican culture of corruption.

I agree with zeitgeist. Dems don't need to just distance themselves.

This could be troubling:

On the issue of the U.S. Senate selection, federal prosecutors alleged Blagojevich sought appointment as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the new Obama administration, or a lucrative job with a union in exchange for appointing a union-preferred candidate. - From Tribune update (8:57)

Who was he negotiating with?

Pat Quinn is about the only honest Democrat in Illinois.

Blagojevich should have been impeached months ago, except that he was protected by his buddy the Senate President, Obama mentor Emil Jones.

Leave it to a left-wing whack-job to immediately try and swing the attention to the right.

Yeah, there are crazy Right-wingers out there, but it's you left-wing crazies that give them ammunition.

I'll say that Obama's involvement in Illinois politics scares the crap out of me. But that goes for every republican as well.

"Only honest Democrat in Illinois"

Au Contraire, Shortstop is beyond reproach.

How stupid is this guy? He knows the FBI is all over him and picking Obama's replacement is a national media story. But he still thinks he can get away with selling it. I get that picking a senator is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but still...

I'm not familiar with Pat Quinn. But the general rule in Illinois is the less you know about your public officials the more likely they are to be clean. I don't think a lot of knew Obama was in our legislature until The Speech in 04.

We really ought to set up a pool for number and speed of pundits who thought Patrick Fitzgerald was out of control and overreaching when pursuing Scooter Libby and now hail him for honesty, diligence, dedication, and wisdom.

By the way, give an honorable mention to Obama's predecessor, Peter Fitzgerald, who put Patrick F in Illinois to calm things down a bit.

I just hope Patrick Fitzgerald doesn't have a thing for call-girls.

Patrick Fitzgerald is in the Top Ten Most Eligible Bachelor list for People Magazine ( I think).

He's single. He can have pre-arranged escorts.

Who was he negotiating with?

Himself and his own advisors, best I can tell from the complaint. Given that he is quoted as calling Obama a "mother-f-ker" who would only give Blag his "appreciation" in exchange for naming his favored candidate, doesn't sound like there was any real bargaining going on.

Blago is a dirty guy. I agree with Allen Snyder@10.02a who says anybody picked by Blago would be tainted. I recently moved from the Chicago 'burbs to Santa Fe but I've been following the Illinois politics pretty closely since I moved.

The only voters stupider than those who voted for Bush in 2004 are those Illinois voters - me included - who voted to reelect Blago in 2006.

I'll also add that I always voted for Republican Jim Thompson for governor in the '70's and '80's
because he was doing a good job and the Democratic opponents were always dreadful.

oh man what a Christmas gift to this young arrogant governor, he think he will never be caught , why politician can't do honest job in serving AMERCA, it is a wonderful country deserve honest people to do the write job. and why Illinois have on government after another with corruption , it hear to much to see some one heart America, i am Naturalized citizen and i would die for America before The Governor of Illinois can say and do that , nether Republican or Democrats are good for this office it need a good down to earth some one who love America, God Bless America

Oh man what a Christmas gift to this young arrogant governor, he think he will never be caught , why politician can't do honest job in serving AMERCA, it is a wonderful country deserve honest people to do the write job. and why Illinois have on government after another with corruption , it hear to much to see some one heart America, i am Naturalized citizen and i would die for America before The Governor of Illinois can say and do that , nether Republican or Democrats are good for this office it need a good down to earth some one who love America, God Bless America

As an Illinois Democrat, I am thrilled that this has happened ( Blago is an embarrassment, corrupt, and not so good policy-wise; at least Ryan was okay that way, cf the death penalty moratorium) and that it happened so long before the 2010 election season, so that Quinn, or whomever, will be less encumbered.

Hey, great news! Blago is such a prick that I couldn't bring myself to vote for him in 2006 - couldn't vote for the Republican either, of course (she was just as bad), so for once I voted for a minor-party candidate, though I can't remember which one.

Being a public representative should add to this crime. I can't miss a credit card payment without bringing down the wrath of God yet this guy can commit a crime of this nature. Throw his butt in a cold, dark hole in the ground and fill it in! No mercy....I never get any!

Looks like Illinois has successfully embraced the Louisanna political model, or vice versa. And if someone thinks one party is more legitimate than the other, think again. Just keep rotating your politicians (term limits).

Oh, you really think that Republicans are the only party that is going to have corrupt officials? You are so ignorant.

thats our gov't!

Come on Illinois residents; let your voices be heard. Let your representatives know you are fed up with dishonesty and corruption in Illinois. Don't stand for it. Reject this embarassment. NO MORE DIRTY POLITICS.
Illinois is presently an embarassment to all.
Crush the filth. Zero tolerance. NO MORE!!!

It's good that Blagojevich was arrested so that he may further be investigated. But we shouldn't conclude right away. We should wait for the final investigation results so that he would later pay for his wrongdoings.

Now that he's busting Dems, how long til the Right Wing starts up a Patrick Fiztgerald Fan Club?

And what's the over/under on their use of "Fitzmas?"