Illinois Governor Blagojevich shook down the Chicago Tribune

Among the federal charges against Gov Rod Blagojevich (D-IL) is that he threatened to withhold substantial state assistance to the Tribune Company in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field to pressure the Chicago Tribune into firing editorial board members sharply critical of him. Intercepted phone calls show that the Tribune Company, which owns the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Cubs, explored the possibility of obtaining assistance from the Illinois Finance Authority as part of the Tribune Company's efforts to sell the Cubs and the finance or sell Wrigley Field. In a Nov. 6 phone call, Blagojevich chief of staff John Harris explained to Blagojevich that the deal the Tribune Company was trying to get through the IFA was basically a tax mitigation scheme in which the IFA would own title to Wrigley Field and the Tribune would not have to pay capital gains tax, which Harris estimated would save the company approximately $100 million. Intercepted calls allegedly show that Blagojevich directed Harris to inform the Tribune and an associate, identified as Tribune Financial Advisor, that state financial assistance would be withheld unless members of the Chicago Tribune's editorial board were fired, primarily because Blagojevich viewed them as driving discussion of his possible impeachment.