Author: Marla Cichowski

At Davenport City Hall, phones have been ringing non-stop for the past few days.  The calls are from people around the country, voicing their opinions surrounding the city’s observance of  Good Friday.

It all started last Friday, when the city manager sent out a routine holiday closure notice to all city offices. The city manager says the notice accidentally referred to Good Friday, April 2, as “Spring holiday,” implying a name change for how the city observes the Christian holiday.

The words “Spring holiday” did not go unnoticed, prompting the local newspaper to report it over the weekend — right before the start of Holy Week.

Davenport City Council member Bill Edmond says no one on the city council had any warning about it… and was blindsided by the whole situation.

Edmond says his email inbox is jammed with emails from people from coast to coast, “some of them are saying, you’re a bunch of Communists for changing the name and we’re never going to visit Davenport. Others say we think that’s the right thing to do and most, 98% in the middle, saying thank God you went back to calling it Good Friday.”

Turns out the city never did or never plans to change the name Good Friday to be called anything else. Any change would first require a full vote by the city council. Davenport’s city manager, Craig Malin, takes full responsibility for the mess up calling it a “communication failure.”

So… how did this all start? Last May, Davenport’s Civil Rights Commission sent a letter to the city suggesting the city rename the “Good Friday” holiday to reflect the diversity of the community and because the Commission (a committee made up of 7 volunteers) felt it violated the separation of church and state. The city council never addressed it.

As the Easter weekend approaches, council member Bill Edmond says it’s time for everyone to move on, “I don’t want to see Davenport have their image tarnished over something that was obviously a mistake from the get go.”

Hear from both sides involved in the report below…. and watch our next report live from Davenport, Iowa at 1:45 pm EST, on Fox News Channel.

President Barack Obama visits Strongsville, Ohio this afternoon to push his health care reform plan. This will be President Obama’s sixth visit to Ohio since he took office. Obama is speaking at a recreation & senior center about 20 minutes south of Cleveland. People who have tickets to hear the President speak were lining up at a nearby Target store by 6am this morning.

One of the main reasons President Obama chose to come to Strongsville, Ohio to talk health care is because of a letter he received from breast cancer survivor, Natoma Canfield. The 50 year old woman wrote to the President to tell him about her ongoing struggle with health insurance while fighting cancer. Canfield continues to battle serious health problems and was recently diagnosed with leukemia, according to FOX 8 in Cleveland. Canfield’s health will prevent her from introducing the President at today’s event… she is currently undergoing treatment at the Cleveland Clinic. Canfield’s sister, Connie Anderson, is scheduled to fill in for her sister to introduce the President.

Pictures below show the line of people waiting for access to today’s event in Strongsville. The line stretched around the entire front entrance of a nearby Target store. Weather here today is not ideal. Misting and upper 30s.

The fierce competition for billions of dollars in federal funding to improve education…just got a little tougher.   At stake,  $4.35 billion from the US Department of Education. Today, the Department announced the 16 finalists who will compete for money in phase one of the ‘Race to the Top’ grant program.

‘Race to the Top’ was designed to “re-shape America’s educational system” and help prepare students “in a competitive 21st century economy and workplace,” according to the Department.

President Barack Obama unveiled the grant program late last year from a middle school in Madison, WI.  At the time, several state legislatures, including Wisconsin and Nevada, were  racing against the clock to change specific education laws dealing with teacher performance, in order to even qualify to apply for the program.   Neither Wisconsin or Nevada made the cut to become one of the 16 finalists.

Out of 40 states that applied for funding, Minnesota was also on the chopping block. Minnesota Governor ‘s Deputy Chief of Staff, Brian McClung,  issued the following statement criticizing the state’s teachers union for preventing Minnesota from qualifying for the federal funding.

“It’s hard to race to the top with an anchor tied to your leg.  For years the teachers union has fought against any meaningful education reforms. First they opposed charter schools and open enrollment and now they’re fighting tenure reform and meaningful performance pay for teachers.  If Minnesota is to have any chance of success in round two of this competition, the legislature must adopt these types of reforms immediately.”

Illinois is one of the 16 finalists to make the list. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D) said he hopes Illinois can secure $510 million for education reform efforts.

Next up, reps from each state will travel to Washington, DC  for a formal presentation. Winners are announced in early April.  States that did not make the cut this time around can reapply this summer to be considered for the second round of Race to the Top funding.

The Phase 1 finalists are (in alphabetical order):

*    Colorado
*    Delaware
*    District of Columbia
*    Florida
*    Georgia
*    Illinois
*    Kentucky
*    Louisiana
*    Massachusetts
*    New York
*    North Carolina
*    Ohio
*    Pennsylvania
*    Rhode Island
*    South Carolina
*    Tennessee

Read more from US Dept of Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, below.

“These states are an example for the country of what is possible when adults come together to do the right thing for children,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said.

“Everyone that applied for Race to the Top is charting a path for education reform in America,” Duncan continued. “I salute all of the applicants for their hard work. And I encourage non-finalists to reapply for Phase 2.”

The 16 finalists were chosen from among the 40 states and the District of Columbia that submitted applications for Phase 1. Winners for Phase 1 will be chosen from among the 16 finalists and announced in April. Applications for Phase 2 will be due on June 1 of this year, with finalists announced in August and winners in September. The only states prohibited from applying in Phase 2 are those that receive awards in Phase 1.

HOW FINALISTS WERE CHOSEN
Panels of five peer reviewers independently read and scored each state’s application. The panels then met in February to finalize their comments and submit scores. Each state’s score is the average of the five independent reviewers’ scores.

The Department arranged the applications in order from high to low scores and determined which applicants were the strongest competitors to invite back based on “natural breaks” – i.e. scoring gaps in the line-up. The top 16 applications were then selected as finalists.  All 41 applicants from Phase 1 will receive their peer reviewers’ comments and scores after the winners are announced in April.  The Department will post the scores and applications on its Web site (www.ed.gov).

CHOOSING WINNERS FROM AMONG THE FINALISTS
The finalists will be invited to Washington, D.C., in mid-March to present their proposals to the panel that reviewed their applications in depth during the initial stage, and to engage in Q&A discussions with the reviewers.

The purpose of the finalist stage is to allow reviewers to ensure that the state has the understanding, knowledge, capacity, and the will to truly deliver on what is proposed. The presentations will be videotaped and posted for viewing on the Department’s Web site at the end of Phase 1.

At the conclusion of the presentations, the reviewers will meet again to discuss each application, finalize scores and comments, and submit them to the Department.  Again, the final score for each application will be an average of the five peer reviewers’ scores. The scores will be arranged in order from high to low and presented to Secretary Duncan for final selection.

Evanston, IL

The man accused of orchestrating ‘pay to play’ political schemes and trying to sell Barack Obama’s Illinois Senate seat to the highest bidder… headlined a  discussion about “Ethics in Politics” at one of the country’s most prestigious universities .

Northwestern University’s  College Democrats invited former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to speak about, “Ethics in Politics.”  The student government group paid Blagojevich an undisclosed amount of money to appear.  The topic created quite a firestorm on campus, according to political science professor, Donald Gordon, who was part of the 3-professor panel to question Blagojevich Tuesday night.  “Some students thought it was a terrible idea bringing you (Blago) on campus because they thought having a conversation with you (Blago) about ethics was akin to bringing Tiger Woods here to talk about fidelity.”  That comment drew the first of many hearty laughs throughout the night.

Blagojevich kept his audience waiting, arriving almost 20 minutes late in a stretch limo,  with a small entourage. A few minutes later, an announcer appeared on stage to inform the crowd of 1,000 students that, “Elvis is in the building!”

After taking the stage, Blagojevich almost immediately quoted the King of Rock n’ Roll, saying “I’m innocent of all charges.”  He told the crowd, “Every allegation against me is false, they are all lies and when I have my day in court, I will prove that they are lies.”

The questions thrown at Blagojevich didn’t break any new ground in his federal corruption case.  When asked what his definition of political corruption is, he replied, “Doing anything against the law or illegal.”  Blagojevich said it time and time again, he believes he did not break the law in any way.

One of the loudest gasps of the night came after this question to Blagojevich from a Northwestern student….. “What advice on ethics would you give to someone taking office for first time?”  Blagojevich’s answer: “Surround yourself with good lawyers… and be careful of gotcha politics.”

When asked about his relationship with other corrupt Chicago politicians, including convicted political fundraiser, Tony Rezko, Blagojevich responded, “I misunderstood Rezko and misread him but so did President Obama.  I never knew he(Rezko) was the person he turned out to be – neither did Obama.”

NU law professor, Tonja Jacobi, asked Blagojevich, “when it comes to quid pro quo, what is OK for an elected official to ask for?”  Blagojevich didn’t directly answer the question, but eventually took a swing at it by pointing fingers at Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton during the 2008 Presidential race.  “Here’s a political deal that’s very normal and routine. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are fighting it out.  On the eve of  the  (Democratic National) Convention, Obama’s ahead so there’s a political deal. In exchange for her (Clinton) getting out of the race, he agrees to make her Secretary of State. And he agrees to raise her $10 million to retire her campaign debt.  That’s typical routine politics at the highest level and you should ask them whether or not you think that is appropriate.”

Regarding his desire to appear on reality tv (Blagojevich is a contestant on the upcoming ‘Apprentice’ on NBC and his wife, Patti, appeared on “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!”)  Blagojevich says  “it’s  not a strategy, it’s a necessity.” He maintains his family is suffering while trying to pay the mortgage on his north side Chicago home and the tuition to continue sending his two daughters to private school. “We have nothing,” he says.

The federal corruption charges against Blagojevich center around highly orchestrated ‘pay to play’ schemes.. including the allegation that Blagojevich tried to sell Barack Obama’s Illinois Senate seat to the highest bidder. Tuesday night Blagojevich told the panel his first choice for US senator was Lisa Madigan, who is currently Illinois Attorney General. Blagojevich says he struck a deal with Lisa’s father, Michael Madigan, who is  Illinois House Speaker & Chairman of the IL Democratic Party. The deal- Blagojevich would appoint Lisa Madigan to the Senate seat and   Michael Madigan would vow not raise taxes on people of Illinois. Blagojevich says the morning before he was arrested (Dec 2008) he directed his chief of staff to make the deal happen and had he not been arrested the deal would have gone thru. Blagojevich later said then-Congressman Rahm Emanuel, who is now President Obama’s Chief of Staff, was “one of the key guys to make this deal happen.”

Listen to highlights from Rod Blagojevich’s comments below.

Endeavour has completed its deorbit burn & begun the descent toward Kennedy Space Center. Watch 10:20pET landing live on Fox News Channel.

After poor weather conditions put tonight’s shuttle landing in question, NASA’s mission control just confirmed Endeavor is “a go” for landing tonight at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The shuttle’s deorbit burn will happen at approx 9:14EST…as Endeavor starts to come out of orbit. The scheduled landing will happen around 10:20EST. Here is the latest release from NASA’s media center.

Endeavour Go for Deorbit Burn

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 07:52:13 PM CST

Weather ended up being much more stable than originally forecast, so Endeavour has been given the go to deorbit.

The burn is set for 8:14 p.m. CST (9:14 Eastern) with touchdown scheduled for 9:20 (10:20 Eastern).

Crew return to Houston currently is Monday with a 4 p.m. CST welcome ceremony at Ellington’s Hangar 990.

Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

You could call it the calm before the storm.  At the Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Spa, media outlets from around the country and the world are getting in position for what tomorrow- Friday, February 19th – will bring.  That’s when  Tiger Woods will speak publicly in front of cameras for the first time since he crashed his car outside his Florida home, near Orlando, in late November, later admitting to having a series of extra marital affairs. When Tiger Woods speaks (11am EST) at the PGA Tour Headquarters (TPC Sawgrass Clubhouse) – he will be sitting about one mile away from the hundreds of journalists who have traveled to this ritzy Florida golfing community to hear his apology and find out what his future holds. At least 300 journalists are expected to fill two conference rooms inside the Sawgrass Resort’s convention center to watch Woods’ statement on a large movie screen. Tonight, resort staff worked late getting everything ready and setting up all the phone and internet lines inside the room. (see pics of the conference room below)

Security is tight. At least a half dozen sheriff deputy squad cars from St. John’s County are stationed around the Sawgrass Resort and the gated entrance to the TPC Players Club.  Several unmarked squad cars are also patrolling the premises, keeping a close watch.

Friday’s statement by Woods at the  Clubhouse is drawing loads of criticism for being a highly orchestrated, staged event. The limited number of press who can go inside the Clubhouse will be there by invitation only and no one is allowed to ask questions. Tonight, the Golf Writers Association of America, which was invited to be present when Woods speaks,  announced it will boycott his speech entirely… striking back against the extremely controlled environment surrounding the golf star’s event. The three wire reporters who will be in the room with Woods represent the Associated Press, Reuters and Bloomberg.

Drew Peterson Pretrial Heresay Hearing – PM Update

Prosecutors plan to call Fox News Contributor, Dr. Michael Baden, a well known forensic pathologist, to testify Friday morning at the pretrial hearing for Drew Peterson.   Peterson’s defense team only called two witnesses today, including a forensic pathologist expert from the University of Michigan’s School of Medicine, who believes Kathleen Savio’s death in 2004 was an accident. (read more about Dr. Jentzen’s testimony below)

Will County State Attorney, James Glasgow, told the judge the prosecution plans to call one rebuttal witness, Dr. Michael Baden, before closing arguments begin Friday.

Dr. Baden is the former chief medical examiner of New York City and contributes regularly to various programs on Fox News Channel.  After Kathleen Savio’s body was exhumed in 2007, Dr. Baden performed an autopsy, at the request of Savio’s family. Based on his own exam and evaluation of past evidence, Dr. Baden determined Savio’s death was a homicide. Savio’s death was initially ruled an accidental drowning by the Will County Coroners Office in 2004.

This is week three for the pretrial hearing in the case of Drew Peterson, accused of killing his third wife, Kathleen Savio. The evidentiary hearing is being held to determine what – if any – hearsay testimony regarding statements Kathleen Savio made to friends or relatives about Peterson can be used at Peterson’s upcoming trial. Nearly 70 witnesses have testified for the prosecution. Today Peterson’s defense team’s called two witnesses.

Forensic pathologist, Dr. Jeffrey Jentzen, from University of Michigan, testified for more than two hours about the medical examiner’s report related to Kathleen Savio’s death in 2004. Dr. Jentzen maintains Savio died from blunt head trauma, most likely caused by hitting her head after she slipped and fell in her bathtub.  “All injuries she sustained could’ve been sustained by a simple fall,” Jentzen testified. Savio’s death was originally ruled an accidental drowning in 2004. Savio’s body was exhumed in 2007 after  Peterson’s fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, disappeared. Police named Peterson the main suspect in Stacy’s disappearance.

Dr. Jentzen also testified Savio had an irregular heart beat that could have caused heart failure, but there was no evidence of cardiac arrest in the autopsy report after her death.  During cross examination, Dr. Jentzen said,  When asked if an adult can drown in a bathtub, Dr. Jentzen replied, “Yes.”  He added, an adult can drown in a very small amount of water, “in some cases less than an inch.”  When asked if it was possible Savio’s death was the result of a homicide, Dr. Jentzen replied, “Homicides in a bathtub are very rare. It’s extremely rare…in my opinion it’s an accidental death.”  Jentzen went on to say, “it’s possible, but unlikely. There’s not enough evidence to determine it was (a homicide).” Dr. Jentzen also referred to the gold necklace Savio was wearing at the time she was found in the bathtub. The necklace was still in tact, which he says is not typical during a “hostile struggle.”

After court broke for lunch, Drew Peterson’s attorney, Andrew Abood, spoke about Dr. Jentzen’s testimony. “Everything he (Jentzen) said was convincing. He examined the case objectively The prosecutor (John Connor) tried to beat him up and in end he (Jentzen) walked away standing. They (prosecutors) don’t have any evidence she (Savio) didn’t die by accidental cause. We are stuck in this case with accidental death.”

Abood believes the hearsay ruling by the judge in this hearing will not be an endorsement for either side in this case. Once the judge issues a ruling regarding hearsay testimony, it’s likely it will be placed under seal – meaning only the judge and the attorneys in the case will know the ruling.  An actual trial date for Drew Peterson’s case is not set yet.

Across the country 35 million people live in places where they do not have adequate access to a family doctor.  Health care experts call it a “crisis” that’s only getting worse.  To help fix the problem, the federal government advised medical schools to increase their enrollment by 30 percent, a strategy that’s easier said than done as states slash budgets for public universities.  Now, more and more medical schools are teaming up with hospitals to tackle the problem together.

In Terre Haute, Indiana, the Richard G. Lugar Center for Rural Health focuses on increasing health care access to people in rural areas by creating a rural medical training program for med students at Indiana University’s School of Medicine’s Terre Haute campus.

The Rural Health Center’s Medical Director, Dr. James Turner, says Indiana currently needs roughly 2,000 family physicians to meet patient demand, but it takes essentially 11 years of schooling (undergrad, med school and medical residency) to become a practicing physician. “When a local mayor calls us and says do you have someone ( for us, you say, ‘Mayor I’m sorry 11 years from now is the best we can do.’ There’s definitely a challenge to recruit and retain people in rural areas.”

For med students in Terre Haute, the application process for the rural training program includes a 2 page written essay about why they want to practice rural medicine.  Each applicant is also interviewed by a panel of people who are leaders from local communities, with no ties to medicine. “We bring in local mayors, farm bureau people, etc. It’s really an opportunity to be interviewed and understand their (applicants) personality and wonder whether they want to practice in rural Indiana and if they have the right personality for that type of practice,” says Dr. Turner.

He also points out, every primary care doctor hired in a small town has a direct impact on the town’s economy. “Some studies show a rural health physician brings about 22 jobs into a community when they come … and adds $1.5 million into the local economy and puts about $2 million into a local hospital each year.”  Dr. Turner estimates, the 21 medical students currently enrolled in the rural training program will probably bring about 500 jobs and 35 million dollars into rural Indiana, once they become family doctors. “This program brings highly educated people back into the rural community to help people grow for a long time.” 

Wherever impeached Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich goes these days, there is a usually a media frenzy that follows.  Today was no exception. Blagojevich appeared in federal court for the first time in almost a year to enter his plea to a new revised federal indictment against him.   Blagojevich pleaded not guilty specifically telling Judge James Zagel, “I enter a plea of innocent on each and every charge.”  The only other time Blagojevich spoke during court was when the judge asked him if he was taking any medications, Blagojevich said he was not.

The new revised indictment, filed more than a week ago, adds 8 new charges against Blagojevich: racketeering (1) attempted extortion(2) and bribery (2), bribery conspiracy (2) and extortion conspiracy (1).  This new superseding indictment is federal prosecutors way of enhancing the corruption charges against Blagojevich.  Blagojevich is accused of trying to sell President Barack Obama’s US Senate seat to the highest bidder, among other alleged pay to play schemes.

On his way into the federal building today, Blagojevich, dressed in a dark suit and blue tie, shook a few hands before going through security with his attorneys. He reached out to hug one woman in the lobby after she told the former Governor, “I’m praying for you, praying for you.”

Before his arraignment started, Blagojevich could be seen chatting up his defense team and joking around with one of his three attorneys.  The arraignment lasted less than 10 minutes, afterwards, Blagojevich made a prepared statement to reporters downstairs in what’s known as the  “bull pen” area of the lobby, the only place where cameras are allowed in the building.

Blago’s statement to the media is below. He did not entertain questions but maintains (as he has since he was arrested in December 2008 )he is innocent and has nothing to hide. His trial is scheduled to start June 3rd.

The following is a statement from Rod Blagojevich following his arraignment in federal court where he plead ‘innocent’ to the charges.  This statement also was made after this lawyers file a petition with the court so that all the secretly recorded tapes are played.

“Today I’m throwing down the gauntlet. I know I have a constitutional right to try to suppress these tapes.  And as a former prosecutor I believe there’s a good chance that it would probably be granted. Here’s what I’m not going to do: I’m not going to hide behind my lawyers, nor will I hide behind technicalities in the law to try to block these tapes from being heard. Instead, I’ve instructed my lawyers to petition the court so that every second, every minute and every hour that the government secretly taped me is provided to both sides to be played in court. And I challenge the government if you’re on the side of truth and justice like you say you are and if this is a crime spree like you claim it was, then don’t hide behind technicalities. Play the tapes.  Play the truth, and play the whole truth.

“I’m not just talking the talk here. I’m also going to walk the walk, which is right up to the witness stand. And when I take the stand, I’ll testify and swear on the Holy Bible to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I expect and, more importantly, I believe the people of Illinois expect and deserve that the government does the same.

“Play the truth, and play the whole truth. Play nothing but the truth. Play the tapes.”

Illinois’ Senior Senator, Dick Durbin, said he believes Alexi Giannoulias, 33, who is running as the Democratic candidate for US Senate will have to come clean about the latest controversy surrounding Broadway Bank, his family’s community bank in Chicago. On Sunday, Sen. Durbin announced he will chair Giannoulias’ Senate campaign in Illinois. Giannoulias is running against Republican US Congressman, Mark Kirk.

This morning, Sen. Durbin spoke at a bakery in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood detailing President Barack Obama’s plan to help small businesses secure loans enabling them to grow their workforce by putting more people to work.  Now that Durbin is chairing Giannoulias’ campaign, I asked Durbin if would he would encourage Giannoulias to come forward about questions surrounding Broadway Bank’s troubled finances and investment deals. The most recently filing with the FDIC showed Broadway Bank hemorrhaged 75 million in 2009. Up until now, Giannoulias, who worked as a Vice President and senior loan officer at the bank, has refused to give specific answers to questions surrounding the bank’s financial problems, at one point saying “if I’m fortunate enough to make it out of the primary (2/2/10) we can have that conversation.”  Giannoulias sealed his victory in last week’s Illinois primary, with about just under 40% of the vote.

Today Sen. Durbin had this to say: “I believe he(Alexi) will be more forthcoming. There are some things we do know and should acknowledge. He (Alexi) has not been involved with his family bank for four years.The current portfolio  of that bank, only 9 % of those loans reflect loans that were on the books when he(Alexi) left the bank 4 years ago, so the loan package out there now at that bank is substantially different. I think he should come forward. He’s talked to me about it what happened there, he’s very proud his father started this bank and built it up from nothing. The controversy there whether it reflects on Alexi himself personally or the banking practices remains to be seen, but I’ve encouraged him to answer all the questions.”

For more info about Giannoulias’ connections to Broadway Bank click the link below.

http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/02/01/giannoulias-family-bank-problems-continue/

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich got dealt another blow this week from federal prosecutors.  A revised corruption indictment filed in federal court adds eight new criminal charges against Blagojevich, including racketeering, attempted extortion and bribery. The new charges are in addition to the original indictment filed in January, accusing Blagojevich of trying to sell Barack Obama’s IL US Senate seat to the  highest bidder and other “pay to play” schemes.

Blagojevich released this statement late Thursday night via his publicists. “Prosecutors overreached and brought charges they can’t prove. So now they’re reworking the charges and backpeddling. They’re more interested in saving face than doing justice.”

Blago’s defense attorneys told reporters the superseding indictment is like “the same old soup re-warmed under different legal theories” and has “no affect on the case.”  Attorney Sheldon Sorosky referred to the charges in the indictment as “political dealings” not “criminal conduct” and maintains his client is innocent and did nothing wrong. The trial is scheduled to start June 3rd. Sheldon Sorosky and Aaron Goldstein spoke to reporters about the charges in the latest indictment. Watch the news conference here.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn – who narrowly won Tuesday’s gubernatorial democratic primary – says his new running mate, Democrat, Scott Lee Cohen, should now “step aside.”  Cohen is under fire for a domestic abuse charge filed in 2005, accusing him of attacking his then 24 year old girlfriend, a prostitute who worked at a massage parlor. Scott Lee Cohen denies the allegations. The case was later dropped after his former girlfriend failed to show up for a court date. At a press conference earlier today in Chicago, Gov. Pat Quinn said the people of Illinois deserve to know everything that is relevant to the accusations against Scott Lee Cohen. Quinn said if the allegations are accurate Cohen should “do the right thing for the people of Illinois and step aside” in the race for Lt. Governor.

Cohen’s campaign spokesman issued this statement from candidate Scott Lee Cohen.  “I have no intention of stepping down or stepping aside. When the facts come to light, after my ex-wife and ex-girlfriend speak, the people of Illinois can decide, and I will listen to them directly. I am asking my ex-wife and ex-girlfriend to come forward and to talk with the media. There are questions, and I will provide all answers honestly and openly. I only ask for time to do the interviews. 2005 was a difficult time in my life. I was going through a divorce, and I started running with a fast group. I was in a tumultuous relationship with the woman I was dating. We had a fight, but I never touched her. She called the police, however, she never came to court, and the charges were dismissed. I realized this relationship was not healthy, I ended it, and we parted amicably.” – Scott Lee Cohen

Cohen’s PR firm sent out an additional statement this afternoon:

“I tried to tell everyone about this early on. I wanted to talk about all of these issues, but everyone wrote me off, and said I didn’t have a chance to win. Now that I’m the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor, the day after the election, there are questions. I am happy to answer any and all questions; I just need time to do so.” – Scott Lee Cohen

Fox News filed a Freedom of  Information Request with the Chicago Police Department to obtain a copy of the police report related to fight between Cohen and his girlfriend on Oct, 14, 2005.
According to the Chicago Tribune, records show Cohen’s girlfriend accused him of threatening her with a knife to her throat and pushing her against a wall.  The  report noted police observed “mild abrasions from knife wound” on her neck. They also noted “minor scars on her hand from her trying to defend herself against the arrestee swinging the knife at her.” The report notes the woman was seen by ambulance personnel but not taken to a hospital. (Chicago Tribune, February 4, 2010)

The Fairmont Hotel in the heart of downtown Chicago is one of the city’s top rated hotels. It’s where select VIP spend their nights while visiting Chicago for very important business. It’s also where one of the International Olympic Committee advisory panels stayed while evaluating Chicago for the 2016 Summer Olympics. On a good night the hotel will cost you just over $200, for a room. Tonight the Fairmont is playing host to the man who wants to become Illinois’ next US Senator.

The soundtrack for tonight’s rock star reception, includes the latest hit music from Lady Gaga, “Let’s Dance” and Black Eyed Peas, “Tonight’s Gonna Be A Good Night.” Music that is no doubt trying to pump up the the mood for a victory celebration here tonight.

More than two hours since the polls closed in Illinois, the ballroom in the basement of the Fairmont is finally getting crowded. Roughly several hundred Alexi Giannoulias supporters, many in their 20s and 30s who have volunteered for the campaign. Outside the ballroom there are stacks of t-shirts for sale, that read 20ALEXI10, for $20. Bumper stickers and buttons are selling for $2. Front and center in the ballroom is the stage and screen plastered with the words “Jobs. The BIG Issue.”  A message Giannoulias clearly plans to use to strike a chord with voters, if he wins tonight’s primary.

While the booze is flowing freely in the ballroom, Giannoulias remains upstairs keeping a close eye on tonight’s election results  from a private suite on the 37th floor of the hotel,with his fiance, Tara Flocco, who works for a public relations firm in Chicago.

Democratic US Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias, 33, has been the noted frontrunner in the democratic primary campaign since he announced he would run for Barack Obama’s old senate seat.  Giannoulias currently serves as  State Treasurer, elected in 2006. Before that he worked as the VP and senior loan officer for Broadway Bank, his family owned community bank in Chicago.  A bank that has come under the fire  in recent weeks for mismanaging millions in bad real estate investments. The latest records filed with the FDIC show the bank lost 75 million dollars in 2009, while paying out close to the same amount in dividends.   Regardless of his family’s banking problems Giannoulias remains popular enough with democrats. He also happens to be basketball buddies with President Barack Obama who he friended during Obama’s earlier days in Illinois politics.

The polls are now closed and the man responsible for making sure voting in Chicago goes smoothly calls today’s voter turnout “very low” and “very quiet.”  Chicago Board of Election Chairman, Langdon Neal, predicts voter turnout in the city will be in the 25-30% range. “We are headed for very low turnout today, we’ll be lucky to get 30 percent,” Neal told reporters during a conference call this evening. As of 8pm CDT, the Board of Election’s website is reporting voter turnout hovering around 22 percent.

Neal said he doesn’t think today’s snowy weather throughout the Chicago area had a huge impact on the light turnout at the polls. He says the bigger factor is Illinois’ first in the nation primary date, February 2.  “The early date did play a role here and perhaps there was some voter fatigue with this election cycle, ” Neal said.

Langdon admitted if voter turnout does not reach at least 30% in Chicago it would be “embarrassing ” and “very very unfortunate.”  There are approximately 1.4 million registered voters in the city.

Downstate, voter turnout in a handful of counties was reported to be as low as 13 to 15 percent. Neal said that was “pretty consistent with four years ago,” during the primary election in 2006.

On top of voters choosing to not show up at the polls, the Chicago’s Board of Election had to deal with a few drunk election workers. Neal says three election judges were removed from their jobs for showing up drunk to the polls this morning. “There were three separate incidents in the city.” Neal said two of the workers disappeared at one point during the morning hours and when they reappeared they were “disruptive and agitated.” All three were sent home.

When a reporter on the conference call asked Neal, “Maybe they (the drunk election workers) were bored?” (due to light turnout) the Chairman chuckled and said “Yeah, well, maybe.”

Less than 24 hours before election day in Illinois, the front runner for the U.S. Senate Democratic primary is facing more negative press surrounding his family’s bank.

Democratic candidate, Alexi Giannoulias, worked as Vice President and senior loan officer at Broadway Bank, founded by his late father, prior to getting elected State Treasurer in 2006.

New documents filed with the FDIC reveal Broadway Bank lost more than $75 million dollars in the past year. Just last week banking regulators ordered the bank to raise capitol and set aside more money for bad loans.  Over the years the bank was heavily invested in real estate development deals. When the country’s housing market took a dive so did the bank’s finances.   The community bank went from making more than $49 million in 2007 to losing $13 million dollar in 2008.  Records show from 2007-2009 the bank also paid out dividends totaling $86 million. The Giannoulias campaign maintains the correct amount is $70 million.

When asked if the campaign would respond to the latest FDIC report,  Giannoulias spokesperson, Kati Phillips, had no comment. In an email Phillips wrote, “No statement. All questions should go to Broadway Bank.”

The public relations firm representing Broadway Bank issued this statement: “The economic difficulties facing so many families, small businesses and communities have also affected the bank.  In the fourth quarter, the bank wrote down a number of assets, which is reflected in our FDIC filings.  We believe this is the last of the write downs and are confident that our capital will grow as we move forward.”

Last Thursday Giannoulias addressed the issue in front of reporters at his campaign headquarters in downtown Chicago by saying, “this isn’t something we were shocked by or surprised by. We knew it would be tough for a lot of people. We’ve been as transparent as we can be.” Giannoulias added, “I haven’t been there (the bank) for four years. I’m not involved in the management or the operation of the bank. When I left there it was a highly performing financial institution. But again it’s easy for me to look back four, five years ago and say I was there during the better days.”

Tuesday’s Primary Election in Illinois is not expected to draw a very high turnout. Average turnout for a primary election is typically around 35 percent. The latest polls show  more than a third of likely democratic primary voters backing Giannoulias. His biggest threat is candidate David Hoffman – Chicago’s former Inspector General – who is closing the gap at 23 percent.

The defense team for former Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich has a message for the federal prosecutors trying Blagojevich: “Play ‘em all”.    Defense attorney Sam Adam Jr says he wants all 500 hours of taped phone conversations, collected by FBI wiretaps, to be played at Blagojevich’s criminal trial scheduled to start in June.   Adam says, “We are very interested in getting the tapes played before a jury.”  He also says the defense team meets with Blagojevich four to five times a week to go over every minute of the audio tapes that will be presented as evidence at trial.

At least one or two of those phone conversations were between Blagojevich and then Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel, now White House Chief of Staff to President Obama. Another Blagojevich  defense attorney characterized the conversations between Blagojevich and Emanuel as “not damaging stuff, “ but the attorney does expect Emanuel to be called to testify as a witness for the government during the trial. The defense has no plans to subpoena President Obama to testify, but it did file a motion recently asking the government to turn over statements made to the FBI by Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama and others in the Obama Administration, surrounding any contact with Blagojevich regarding his pay to play schemes. Sam Adam Jr. told reporters, “They (the US Attorneys Office) have no reason not to give it to us. We are trying to do what’s right for my client. The Governor is being treated like Tony Soprano. The government’s response to our motion said they fear intimidation of witnesses. There will be no intimidation of witnesses. That’s just another way of saying we have the stuff you want but we are not going to give it to you.”  The government is required to release all discovery to the defense, in order for the defense team to prepare for trial. One of Blago’s defense attorneys said typically the government would turn over discovery two to three weeks prior to the trial, and they are putting up a fight to release it any earlier.  Today Judge James Zagel said he will issue a ruling on the defense’s motion regarding discovery early next week.

Assistant US Attorney Reid Schar said today he expects a grand jury to vote by the end of next week to return a new indictment against Blagojevich.  The new indictment will likely look similar to the current corruption charges against Blagojevich.  If Blagojevich is re-indicted on newer charges he would appear in federal court on February 10^th, to enter a new plea in the case. With another indictment looming, Blagojevich’s lawyers maintain their client is innocent and has nothing to hide, “the Governor has been very clear. He wants everything out in the open,” says Sam Adam Jr.  The June 3^rd start date for the Blagojevich trial all hinges on the US Supreme Court.  The high court is reviewing the honest services fraud law. Much of the government’s case against Blagojevich is based on allegations that he deprived Illinois citizens of  honest services.  An opinion from the Supreme Court is likely to come in May.