Latest news with #Blagomania
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Today in Chicago History: Two White Sox pitchers throw no-hitters — 104 years apart
Today in Chicago History: Two White Sox pitchers throw no-hitters — 104 years apart Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on April 14, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) Advertisement High temperature: 85 degrees (2003) Low temperature: 23 degrees (1943) Precipitation: 1.21 inches (1949) Snowfall: 5.4 inches (2019) 1917: Chicago White Sox pitcher Eddie Cicotte threw a no-hitter in his first start of the season. White Sox pitchers have thrown more no-hitters than any other American League team. The sad final years of famed architect Louis Sullivan 1924: After spending his final years living in the Hotel Warner at 33rd Street and Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago, penniless and in rapidly declining health, architect Louis Sullivan died. 1925: WGN-AM radio announcer Quinn Ryan was perched on the roof of the grandstand at Cubs Park to deliver the first broadcast of the regular season — and the first Cubs game ever carried on radio. The Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-2. Advertisement Almost exactly 23 years later, WGN-Ch. 9 broadcast its first Cubs game on television. 1994: The Blackhawks finished a 65-year run in Chicago Stadium by losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-4 in their last regular-season game there. 2009: Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich entered a not guilty plea in his corruption case at a hearing that lasted just minutes. Rod Blagojevich saga: From arrest to Donald Trump's pardon But his first appearance since his stunning arrest more than four months prior unleashed 'Blagomania' on the sidewalk outside the courthouse. 2021: Carlos Rodón threw the 20th no-hitter in White Sox history, striking out seven in an 8-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians in front of 7,148 at Guaranteed Rate Field. He was perfect through 8 innings before hitting Roberto Pérez with a pitch. Advertisement Chicago White Sox pitchers have thrown 20 no-hitters since 1902 — including 3 perfect games. Relive them all here. Want more vintage Chicago? Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago's past. Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@ and mmather@
Chicago Tribune
14-04-2025
- Climate
- Chicago Tribune
Today in Chicago History: Two White Sox pitchers throw no-hitters — 104 years apart
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on April 14, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) High temperature: 85 degrees (2003) Low temperature: 23 degrees (1943) Precipitation: 1.21 inches (1949) Snowfall: 5.4 inches (2019) 1917: Chicago White Sox pitcher Eddie Cicotte threw a no-hitter in his first start of the season. White Sox pitchers have thrown more no-hitters than any other American League team. 1924: After spending his final years living in the Hotel Warner at 33rd Street and Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago, penniless and in rapidly declining health, architect Louis Sullivan died. 1925: WGN-AM radio announcer Quinn Ryan was perched on the roof of the grandstand at Cubs Park to deliver the first broadcast of the regular season — and the first Cubs game ever carried on radio. The Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-2. Almost exactly 23 years later, WGN-Ch. 9 broadcast its first Cubs game on television. 1994: The Blackhawks finished a 65-year run in Chicago Stadium by losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-4 in their last regular-season game there. 2009: Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich entered a not guilty plea in his corruption case at a hearing that lasted just minutes. Rod Blagojevich saga: From arrest to Donald Trump's pardon But his first appearance since his stunning arrest more than four months prior unleashed 'Blagomania' on the sidewalk outside the courthouse. 2021: Carlos Rodón threw the 20th no-hitter in White Sox history, striking out seven in an 8-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians in front of 7,148 at Guaranteed Rate Field. He was perfect through 8 innings before hitting Roberto Pérez with a pitch. Want more vintage Chicago?
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rod Blagojevich saga: From arrest to Donald Trump's pardon
Rod Blagojevich was freed from a federal prison in Colorado in February 2020, 16 months after former President Donald Trump commuted the 14-year sentence of the former Illinois Gov. Nearly five years later, Trump granted a full pardon to the disgraced former governor. Here is how Blagojevich's saga unfolded — from arrest, through impeachment proceedings and the justice system. At 6:15 a.m., Gov. Rod Blagojevich is roused from his Ravenswood Manor home, arrested, handcuffed and hauled before a federal magistrate on sweeping charges that he conspired to sell his office many times over — including putting a price on the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. 'I intend to stay on the job, and I will fight this thing every step of the way. I will fight. I will fight. I will fight until I take my last breath. I have done nothing wrong,' Blagojevich says on Dec. 19, 2008, in his first news conference after his arrest. In a historic display of anger and frustration, the Illinois House votes 114-1 to impeach Blagojevich and send him to trial in the Senate with the aim of removing the state's 40th chief executive from public office forever. The Illinois Senate votes 59-0 to remove Blagojevich, who walks out of the silent chamber after delivering an impassioned plea for mercy, saying he 'never, ever intended to violate the law.' Within hours they applaud his former running mate and lieutenant governor, Pat Quinn, who is sworn in as the state's 41st governor. A federal grand jury indicts Blagojevich on 16 counts, including racketeering, fraud and extortion. Also indicted are his brother, Robert (his charges are later dropped); a close friend and fundraiser, Chris Kelly; his chief of staff, John Harris; and a former chief of staff, Alonzo Monk. The former governor is in the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse for a routine arraignment, entering a not guilty plea in his corruption case at a hearing that lasts just minutes. But his first appearance since his stunning arrest more than four months prior unleashes 'Blagomania' on the sidewalk outside the courthouse. Blagojevich hears himself described as naive, shallow, lacking in judgment and deeply insecure — and that was from his lawyer, Sam Adam Jr. But his defense strategy, as laid out by Adam, appears designed to portray Blagojevich as a victim of greedy and unprincipled schemers he had unwittingly surrounded himself with as Illinois governor. Prosecutors paint a far different image of Blagojevich. Time and again, Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Hamilton says, Blagojevich put his own interests ahead of the people he was supposed to represent, adopting a mantra of 'What about me?' and demanding campaign cash and other favors in exchange for official acts. After 14 days of deliberations, the six-man, six-woman jury convicted Blagojevich on just one of the 24 felony counts he faced — a charge that he had lied to FBI agents about his intense involvement in campaign fundraising. Prosecutors make it clear they intend to quickly retry Blagojevich on the 23 counts on which the jury deadlocked. U.S. District Judge James Zagel declares a mistrial on the 23 disputed counts, including sweeping racketeering and conspiracy charges that accused him of running the state as a criminal enterprise. Blagojevich's new corruption trial bumps into the old one, which received an avalanche of publicity, as many prospective jurors express disdain for politicians in general and the former governor in particular. And Blagojevich has done his own bit to ratchet up publicity about the case, declaring himself the victim of a prosecution run amok in a series of media interviews that prosecutors have contended were aimed at swaying the jury pool. In its 10th day of deliberations, the 11-woman, one-man jury convicts Blagojevich of several shakedown attempts, including allegations that he brazenly tried to sell President Barack Obama's old U.S. Senate seat in 2008. 'I, frankly, am stunned,' said Blagojevich, who was barred after the verdict from traveling outside northern Illinois without court permission. 'There's not much left to say other than we want to get home to our little girls and talk to them and explain things to them and try to sort things out.' A contrite Blagojevich is sentenced to 14 years in federal prison — the second-longest term ever delivered in federal court in Chicago for a public corruption case. U.S. District Judge James Zagel made it clear that the former governor's position and the relentless history of corruption in Illinois demanded a harsh message. 'When it is the governor who goes bad, the fabric of Illinois is torn and disfigured and not easily repaired,' the judge lectured Blagojevich. 'You did that damage.' Blagojevich, center, walks with attorneys as he arrives at the Federal Correctional Institution-Englewood on March 15, 2012, in Littleton, Colo., where he began serving his 14-year sentence for corruption. (Ed Andrieski/AP) After signing autographs and posing for photos at O'Hare International Airport, Blagojevich lands in Denver then hops into a black SUV with two of his attorneys to report to Federal Correctional Institution-Englewood — with a camera-toting helicopter tracking his movement and the image streamed live on TV websites. Lawyers for Blagojevich appealed his conviction, arguing that U.S. District Judge James Zagel's 'one-sided evidentiary rulings' favored prosecutors and that the stiff sentence he imposed was based on vague and speculative evidence. In one of the testiest exchanges of the hourlong hearing, Judge Frank Easterbrook pressed a federal prosecutor on how Blagojevich's conduct differed from a famous political deal supposedly struck more than 60 years earlier: President Dwight Eisenhower's nomination of Earl Warren to the U.S. Supreme Court in exchange for the California governor's support in the 1952 election. A federal appeals court in Chicago throws out five of the 18 counts against Blagojevich and orders his sentence vacated. The three-judge panel tempered the small legal victory by calling the evidence against Blagojevich 'overwhelming' and making it clear he will likely remain locked up for years to come. The same judge who imposed the original sentence — a frequent target of the defense for his alleged unfairness — will still decide his punishment. While the justices' succinct denial is disappointing for Blagojevich, it's not the end of his long legal road. Saying Blagojevich's corruption diminished the public's 'already taxed faith' in its elected leaders, U.S. District Judge James Zagel puts an emphatic point on the end of the case by imposing the same sentence he had in 2011. The judge did so even though Blagojevich apologized for his 'mistakes,' claiming to be a changed man and model prisoner. The terse, six-page opinion by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals effectively slams the door on Blagojevich's last real chance of either winning a new trial or reducing his time behind bars. The announcement marks the end of the decadelong legal road and virtually guarantees Blagojevich will remain in prison until 2024 barring a presidential pardon or commutation. President Donald Trump tells reporters aboard Air Force One he is considering commuting Blagojevich's 14-year prison sentence, which he describes as an overly harsh penalty for what essentially amounted to a 'foolish statement.' The request for executive clemency was filed with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Pardon Attorney, which oversees official pardon and commutation requests. There is no timetable for President Trump to act on the request, but if he decides to grant the commutation, Blagojevich could be released within days or even hours from the minimum-security facility outside Denver where he has served just more than six years. If the president denies the request, Blagojevich, 61, would not be due for release until May 2024. Speaking to reporters after making visits to Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, following mass shootings in those cities over the weekend, Trump says he thinks the former Democratic governor had been mistreated. After Trump commuted his 14-year sentence, Blagojevich is released from a prison in Colorado. Though free, the ex-governor is still a felon. Outside his Northwest Side home with his wife, Patti, and two daughters, Blagojevich shook hands and hugged well-wishers. He repeatedly dabbed at his chin with a white handkercheif and explained that he cut himself while shaving with a real razor blade for the first time in nearly eight years. In a so-called homecoming address that sounded more like a campaign stump speech, the former Illinois governor painted himself as a public servant persecuted for trying to help people. He insisted he did nothing wrong and did not profit off his office. A federal judge on granted Blagojevich an early end to his two-year period of supervised release, marking an official end to a criminal case that rocked Illinois when the FBI rousted the governor from bed 12 1/2 years ago. Nearly five years after commuting Blagojevich's federal prison sentence, President Trump granted a full pardon to the disgraced former governor who was convicted more than 13 years ago on an array of corruption charges, including fundraising schemes and attempting to sell a U.S. Senate seat for his personal benefit. How many presidential pardons or sentence commutations have been granted to people from Illinois?
Chicago Tribune
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Rod Blagojevich saga: From arrest to Donald Trump's pardon
Rod Blagojevich was freed from a federal prison in Colorado in February 2020, 16 months after former President Donald Trump commuted the 14-year sentence of the former Illinois Gov. Nearly five years later, Trump granted a full pardon to the disgraced former governor. Here is how Blagojevich's saga unfolded — from arrest, through impeachment proceedings and the justice system. Dec. 9, 2008: An early morning arrest At 6:15 a.m., Gov. Rod Blagojevich is roused from his Ravenswood Manor home, arrested, handcuffed and hauled before a federal magistrate on sweeping charges that he conspired to sell his office many times over — including putting a price on the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. 'I intend to stay on the job, and I will fight this thing every step of the way. I will fight. I will fight. I will fight until I take my last breath. I have done nothing wrong,' Blagojevich says on Dec. 19, 2008, in his first news conference after his arrest. Jan. 9, 2009: Impeached In a historic display of anger and frustration, the Illinois House votes 114-1 to impeach Blagojevich and send him to trial in the Senate with the aim of removing the state's 40th chief executive from public office forever. Jan. 29, 2009: Removed from office The Illinois Senate votes 59-0 to remove Blagojevich, who walks out of the silent chamber after delivering an impassioned plea for mercy, saying he 'never, ever intended to violate the law.' Within hours they applaud his former running mate and lieutenant governor, Pat Quinn, who is sworn in as the state's 41st governor. April 2, 2009: Charged with racketeering, fraud and extortion A federal grand jury indicts Blagojevich on 16 counts, including racketeering, fraud and extortion. Also indicted are his brother, Robert (his charges are later dropped); a close friend and fundraiser, Chris Kelly; his chief of staff, John Harris; and a former chief of staff, Alonzo Monk. April 14, 2009: Pleads not guilty The former governor is in the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse for a routine arraignment, entering a not guilty plea in his corruption case at a hearing that lasts just minutes. But his first appearance since his stunning arrest more than four months prior unleashes 'Blagomania' on the sidewalk outside the courthouse. June 8, 2010: Trial begins Blagojevich hears himself described as naive, shallow, lacking in judgment and deeply insecure — and that was from his lawyer, Sam Adam Jr. But his defense strategy, as laid out by Adam, appears designed to portray Blagojevich as a victim of greedy and unprincipled schemers he had unwittingly surrounded himself with as Illinois governor. Prosecutors paint a far different image of Blagojevich. Time and again, Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Hamilton says, Blagojevich put his own interests ahead of the people he was supposed to represent, adopting a mantra of 'What about me?' and demanding campaign cash and other favors in exchange for official acts. Aug. 17, 2010: Jury deadlocked on most counts After 14 days of deliberations, the six-man, six-woman jury convicted Blagojevich on just one of the 24 felony counts he faced — a charge that he had lied to FBI agents about his intense involvement in campaign fundraising. Prosecutors make it clear they intend to quickly retry Blagojevich on the 23 counts on which the jury deadlocked. U.S. District Judge James Zagel declares a mistrial on the 23 disputed counts, including sweeping racketeering and conspiracy charges that accused him of running the state as a criminal enterprise. April 21, 2011: Retrial begins Blagojevich's new corruption trial bumps into the old one, which received an avalanche of publicity, as many prospective jurors express disdain for politicians in general and the former governor in particular. And Blagojevich has done his own bit to ratchet up publicity about the case, declaring himself the victim of a prosecution run amok in a series of media interviews that prosecutors have contended were aimed at swaying the jury pool. June 27, 2011: Guilty on 17 of 20 counts In its 10th day of deliberations, the 11-woman, one-man jury convicts Blagojevich of several shakedown attempts, including allegations that he brazenly tried to sell President Barack Obama's old U.S. Senate seat in 2008. 'I, frankly, am stunned,' said Blagojevich, who was barred after the verdict from traveling outside northern Illinois without court permission. 'There's not much left to say other than we want to get home to our little girls and talk to them and explain things to them and try to sort things out.' Dec. 7, 2011: Sentenced to 14 years A contrite Blagojevich is sentenced to 14 years in federal prison — the second-longest term ever delivered in federal court in Chicago for a public corruption case. U.S. District Judge James Zagel made it clear that the former governor's position and the relentless history of corruption in Illinois demanded a harsh message. 'When it is the governor who goes bad, the fabric of Illinois is torn and disfigured and not easily repaired,' the judge lectured Blagojevich. 'You did that damage.' March 15, 2012: Reports to prison in Colorado Blagojevich, center, walks with attorneys as he arrives at the Federal Correctional Institution-Englewood on March 15, 2012, in Littleton, Colo., where he began serving his 14-year sentence for corruption. (Ed Andrieski/AP) After signing autographs and posing for photos at O'Hare International Airport, Blagojevich lands in Denver then hops into a black SUV with two of his attorneys to report to Federal Correctional Institution-Englewood — with a camera-toting helicopter tracking his movement and the image streamed live on TV websites. It's outrageous that Blagojevich goes to jail for 14 years when killers and sex offenders are out walking the (cont) — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 15, 2012 Dec. 13, 2013: 7th Circuit hears appeal arguments Lawyers for Blagojevich appealed his conviction, arguing that U.S. District Judge James Zagel's 'one-sided evidentiary rulings' favored prosecutors and that the stiff sentence he imposed was based on vague and speculative evidence. In one of the testiest exchanges of the hourlong hearing, Judge Frank Easterbrook pressed a federal prosecutor on how Blagojevich's conduct differed from a famous political deal supposedly struck more than 60 years earlier: President Dwight Eisenhower's nomination of Earl Warren to the U.S. Supreme Court in exchange for the California governor's support in the 1952 election. July 21, 2015: 5 counts thrown out A federal appeals court in Chicago throws out five of the 18 counts against Blagojevich and orders his sentence vacated. The three-judge panel tempered the small legal victory by calling the evidence against Blagojevich 'overwhelming' and making it clear he will likely remain locked up for years to come. The same judge who imposed the original sentence — a frequent target of the defense for his alleged unfairness — will still decide his punishment. March 28, 2016: U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear case While the justices' succinct denial is disappointing for Blagojevich, it's not the end of his long legal road. Aug. 9, 2016: Zagel resentences Blagojevich to 14 years Saying Blagojevich's corruption diminished the public's 'already taxed faith' in its elected leaders, U.S. District Judge James Zagel puts an emphatic point on the end of the case by imposing the same sentence he had in 2011. The judge did so even though Blagojevich apologized for his 'mistakes,' claiming to be a changed man and model prisoner. April 21, 2017: 7th Circuit upholds the resentence The terse, six-page opinion by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals effectively slams the door on Blagojevich's last real chance of either winning a new trial or reducing his time behind bars. April 16, 2018: U.S. Supreme Court again declines to hear case The announcement marks the end of the decadelong legal road and virtually guarantees Blagojevich will remain in prison until 2024 barring a presidential pardon or commutation. May 31, 2018: Trump considers commuting Blagojevich's sentence President Donald Trump tells reporters aboard Air Force One he is considering commuting Blagojevich's 14-year prison sentence, which he describes as an overly harsh penalty for what essentially amounted to a 'foolish statement.' June 5, 2018: Lawyers file request to commute sentence The request for executive clemency was filed with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Pardon Attorney, which oversees official pardon and commutation requests. There is no timetable for President Trump to act on the request, but if he decides to grant the commutation, Blagojevich could be released within days or even hours from the minimum-security facility outside Denver where he has served just more than six years. If the president denies the request, Blagojevich, 61, would not be due for release until May 2024. Aug. 7, 2019: Trump 'very strongly' considering commutation Speaking to reporters after making visits to Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, following mass shootings in those cities over the weekend, Trump says he thinks the former Democratic governor had been mistreated. Rod Blagojevich, the former Governor of Illinois, was sentenced to 14 years in prison. He has served 7 years. Many people have asked that I study the possibility of commuting his sentence in that it was a very severe one. White House staff is continuing the review of this matter. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 8, 2019 Feb. 18, 2020: Blagojevich freed from prison After Trump commuted his 14-year sentence, Blagojevich is released from a prison in Colorado. Though free, the ex-governor is still a felon. — ABC News (@ABC) February 18, 2020 Feb. 19, 2020: Addresses the media Outside his Northwest Side home with his wife, Patti, and two daughters, Blagojevich shook hands and hugged well-wishers. He repeatedly dabbed at his chin with a white handkercheif and explained that he cut himself while shaving with a real razor blade for the first time in nearly eight years. In a so-called homecoming address that sounded more like a campaign stump speech, the former Illinois governor painted himself as a public servant persecuted for trying to help people. He insisted he did nothing wrong and did not profit off his office. Rod Blagojevich did not sell the Senate seat. He served 8 years in prison, with many remaining. He paid a big price. Another Comey and gang deal! Thank you to @LisaMarieBoothe who really 'gets' what's going on! @FoxNews — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2020 June 1, 2021: Supervised release ends A federal judge on granted Blagojevich an early end to his two-year period of supervised release, marking an official end to a criminal case that rocked Illinois when the FBI rousted the governor from bed 12 1/2 years ago. Feb. 10, 2025: Pardoned Nearly five years after commuting Blagojevich's federal prison sentence, President Trump granted a full pardon to the disgraced former governor who was convicted more than 13 years ago on an array of corruption charges, including fundraising schemes and attempting to sell a U.S. Senate seat for his personal benefit. Originally Published: February 14, 2025 at 11:05 AM CST
