Among the more interesting tidbits in today’s indictment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich (and there were many) was the governor’s ploy to use the Wrigley Field sale as a tactic to get select editors of the Chicago Tribune fired.
Now, if you live in Illinois you probably figured it was only a matter of time before the authorities came looking for Lightning Rod, and you probably just kind of shook your head and said something to the effect of “This is exactly why people make fun of Illinois.”
ESPN’s Lester Munson reports:
If the Cubs wanted IFA financing for the sale of Wrigley Field or grants for remodeling of the ballpark, the Tribune must, Blagojevich said on the phone, “fire all those [expletive] people, get ’em the [expletive] out of there, and get us some editorial support.
On the surface, this doesn’t sound THAT bad, considering the guy was trying to sell a senate seat to the highest bidder (Jesse Jr.? Emil Jones?) – but you have to remember:
- The Tribune allegedly bowed out of commenting on the Wrigley deal around the time this alleged shakedown began.
- The state already made its play for Wrigley Field – and lost – so what boon could IFA money really give? Wouldn’t anyone in a position to buy an entire franchise also be in a position to secure financing to repair the place where that team plays?
- The Cubs and related properties (including Wrigley) were already exempt from the Tribune’s bankruptcy proceedings, as were Zell’s personal holdings, meaning the team could finance anything it wanted without municipal backing anyway.
- Wrigley Field has been paid off for several decades, meaning Zell and the Tribune Co. already had room to negotiate rehab costs off the sale price of the ballpark.
- With the deal for the Cubs so far in motion, Zell wouldn’t be the one paying for the repairs anyway – so what could advance buyers know about this as well? How about Major League Baseball? Not to get too tin-foil happy here, but there’s a chance this tangential anecdote in the indictment goes farther than we’re hearing.
So what do we really have? We have a billionaire who doesn’t need the money talking about a state-financed stadium deal that was allegedly off the table to a guy who ought to know he’s being watched.
All together now: what the hell is going on here?
oh come on andrew, you knew the deal for wrigley was too sweet a pot for the dems downstate to keep their paws out of.
You have got to love the Illinois Governors. You can get whatever you want, as long as you pay for it.
My favorite part of the whole thing has to be Blagojevich’s “reform” platform. Then again, he never put the wheels in motion for children to get killed on the road, so I suppose mere defrauding of the entire state and putting a “for sale” sign on the U.S. Senate is a step up.