Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is expected to address his impeachment trial Thursday. Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press
SPRINGFIELD -- After making the rounds of every national broadcast outlet (HIGHLIGHTS) that would let him in the door, Gov. Rod Blagojevich will make an appearance to the one venue that had offered an invite in the first place.
Blagojevich is expected to appear at his impeachment trial in Springfield Tuesday, even though whether he'll be able to give a closing statement has yet to be decided.
During his media tour early in the week, he as much as admitted to Fox's Greta Van Susteren that he'd be out of a job by the end of the week.
So why spend all that time pleading his case?
Because Blagojevich knows his real foe is the criminal trial. His TV pitch wasn't directed to Springfield at all, but to every potential juror who may be watching.
And it could turn out to be his shrewdest political move ever. Despite being ridiculed as his own parody, Blagojevich is building his case of reasonable doubt.
If Blagojevich were a television drama, rules wouldn’t apply. But in a court of law, very specific rules apply.
Here's what the governor's gamble:
-- Rahm Emanuel: Blagojevich's ace is President Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emmanuel. In the Obama transition team's rush to distance the president elect from the controversy, they launched a quick investigation and determined that any discussions that the Blagojevich camp had with Emanuel didn't include anything improper. (Read report HERE.)
-- Context: This remains to be seen, but Blagojevich apparently believes there is more than one way to interpret the words on the tapes. Remember Bill Clinton's painful testimony to the grand jury in the Lewinsky affair when he debated what the definition of "is" is?
-- The indictment: Although Blagojevich was arrested on charges based on a criminal complaint, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has yet to hand down a criminal indictment.
U.S. Chief District Court Judge James Holderman agreed to extend the deadline for the indictment to April 7, according to the court docket in the Blagojevich case. If this truly was a slam-dunk case, why is it taking so long?
If Blagojevich does walk, it's because a jury couldn't find what he did criminal. That doesn't however, acquit him of being sleazy.
For the difference between a criminal complaint and indictment, click HERE.
Illinois Congressman Donald Manzullo was one of seven Illinois Republican House members to vote against the economic stimulus bill Feb. 1.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- All seven Illinois Republican House members voted thumbs down on the economic stimulus bill Wednesday, despite President Barack Obama's personal visit to Capitol Hill Monday.
So did the new president waste his time trying to court bipartisan support?
Both liberal and conservative pundits say yes, for different reasons, but in a town where expediency is rule of the day, Obama's way of doing business is taking a while to set it.
Surely, the new president knew he didn't need the Republicans to pass this stimulus package, but somewhere down the road, he knows he'll need them.
Don't forget, Obama ran on the idea bringing the Democrats and Republicans together.
But Congress have heard that line before.
Remember, George W. Bush rode into the capital as a "uniter, not a divider," but quickly became "The Decider."
Veterans of the political trenches find it hard to believe that Obama really wants to get everyone on the same page.
In fact, that's what House members spent much of Wednesday arguing about.
Democrats say they've included Republicans by listening to their arguments. Republicans say they haven't been included because there ideas haven't been incorporated.
As usual, the truth falls somewhere in between.
The tax cuts in the stimulus package are surely far more generous than Democrats would have proposed on their own, and the White House pressured Democrats to tone down some spending provisions most offensive to Republicans.
In any case, don't expect Obama to give up on his outreach offensive any time soon.
By the time the final vote comes on this package, it will be far more bipartisan than it started.
Here's how Illinois' Congressional delegation voted:
It turns out Barack Obama was in Lake Geneva a few years back, but my guess is few would have recognized him.
Obama's trip to Lake Geneva was revealed recently in a Chicago Sun Times interview.
Barack and Michelle were guests of Chicago businessman Antoin "Tony" Rezko, 52, a political fundraiser who counted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich among his friends.
Rezko was convicted on federal corruption charges last month in a trial that exposed Illinois' crooked political culture.
In the interview, Obama, still an Illinois legislator at the time, said he spent a day as a guest at Rezko's Lake Geneva summer home.
I took a quick look at the Walworth County online tax records indicate which showed that Rezko has a condo in Lake Geneva's historic Stone Manor.
You can bet if Obama makes a return visit to Lake Geneva, he won't be able to get in and out quite as discreetly. ooo
George Carlin's first and last show in Lake Geneva
Dan Plutchak/Editor
George Carlin, the stand-up comedian who made legal history with his trademark seven dirty words, died last Sunday at the age of 71.
But those seven words weren't the only ones that got him in trouble during his long career, according to Fontana resident Jerry Pawlak.
Pawlak was the maitre d' at Lake Geneva's Playboy Club, now the Grand Geneva Resort and Spa, when Carlin was nearly thrown out of town after a show.
It was Nov. 27, 1970, when the 32-year-old comedian was hired to perform in the Penthouse Room.
Carlin was still a relatively unknown comic, and as the story goes, he made a string of jokes about the Vietnam War that were not going over well with the predominantly conservative crowd.
Pawlak says he wasn't really paying attention to the act when someone came up and told him the audience wasn't responding well to the show.
Pawlak says he turned around just in time to see Carlin flip off the group and leave the stage.
"I've only had three people walk off stage on me," Pawlak said. "Joan Rivers, Buddy Rich and Carlin."
It got really nasty, Pawlak remembers. He says there was a Marine who wanted to go back stage after Carlin. Pawlak had to intervene to settle the serviceman down.
That night, Pawlak says, Playboy fired Carlin and he was never hired to play a Playboy Club again.
"It was terrible," Pawlak said. "We had to comp everyone for the show."
During its heyday in the 1970s, the Playboy Club's Penthouse Room hosted performers from Bob Hope to Sonny and Cher.
Pawlak, who is originally from Milwaukee, got his first job at the Playboy Club in 1968 as a bartender.
He worked his way up to become maitre d' of the Penthouse Room where he would make sure the right people got the 'ringside seats" to the stage show.
After leaving the Playboy Club, Pawlak worked at the Abbey for a while.
Now retired, he helps beautify Fontana by planting flowers.
Carlin's famous monologue, "The Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television," led to a 1978 Supreme Court case that affirmed the government's right to regulate indecent material on public airwaves.
Carlin's underground comedy eventually thrust him into the mainstream.
In later years, he was known for such gems as when he wondered,"If the black box in an airplane always survives a crash, why don't they make the whole thing out of the same material?"
Or, "What was the best thing before sliced bread?"
For his part, Pawlak says he doesn't like to speak ill of the dead, but he was no fan of Carlin's that night over 30 years ago. But he does wonder who else in the packed Penthouse Room remembers the show.
If you were there, add your recollection as a comment below
For the Chicago crowd looking for a summer home that's close to home, here's some good news: Prices in Linn Township along the shores of Geneva Lake (The cozy resort community an hour's drive north into Wisconsin), have seen the greatest percentage drop in price in the area.
The bad news is that the average price is still well over $1 million.
Good deal if you've got that kind of loose change for a weekend getaway.
Granted, homes in these exclusive neighborhoods go to an exclusive group of buyers.
Everyone likes a deal, but price isn't necessarily what brings the wealthy to Geneva Lake.
"It's important for potential buyers to examine what ranks high on their own list of priorities before they begin the house hunting process," says Sharon Seguin.
She's a broker/manager for Lake Geneva Area Realty. "In that way, they'll have a clear idea of what amenities and services are available in the community they want to join."
Geneva Lake has been the one-day-getaway for Chicago's success-minted crowd since the Great Chicago Fire made some of them think it was time to get out of the city for a few days.
It's our own little Hampton's--without the celebrities.
Long before the shore were lined with million dollar homes, the Chicago Tribune gave away lake lots in the area with a paid subscription to the paper.
Somebody tell Sam Zell it was a great way to boost circulation. Maybe he'll try it again.
In fact, there are still a few undeveloped lots on Geneva Lake. Keefe Real Estate lists a 2.2 acre parcel off Blackpoint Road for over $6 million. That would by a lot of copies of the Trib.
Falling prices for lake homes mirror the trend in the rest of the county.
In May, sales were down 33.8 percent and new home construction was down 8.1 percent, according to Mike VanderBunt, Executive for the Lakes Area Realtors Association.
The median price in Walworth County for a home dropped 2.7 percent to $188,000 in the first quarter.
But Linn Township is a horse of a different color. Curled along stretches of both the north and south sides of Geneva Lake, these grand estates belong to the likes of the Wrigley family and Chicago financier Richard Dreihaus.
Most people's $188,000 won't get them a counter offer on the gatehouse.
But for those not worried about the extra mortgage, good deals are available on some exotic real estate.
In our three-decade history, we've seen many changes. As we head into thirty-first year, change is upon us again.
On Tuesday, Bliss Communications, which publishes The Week in Walworth County, Wis., announced that it has acquired Community Shoppers Inc. and its family of free distribution publications.
CSI's Walworth County Shopper Advertiser and Walworth County Sunday, owned by Steve and Cindy Karstaedt, have a long history in Walworth County.
So as the company's attention turns towards these established papers, The Week will cease publication in August.
Many of our readers' favorite features of The Week will be rolled into the Shopper Advertiser and Walworth County Sunday, however as part of the consolidation, most positions at The Week will be eliminated.
Sunday marks the thirtieth anniversary of the paper's debut.
"These community newspapers and shoppers have served a large number of readers and advertisers throughout southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois for many years, providing them with great information and proven results," said Sidney H. "Skip" Bliss, president of Bliss Communications and a lifelong Fontana, Wis., resident.
"We are proud to welcome them into our fine family of publications."
CSI employs more than 100 people, a majority of whom will join the Bliss operation. Dan Pyfer, CSI's former general manager, has been named vice president and general manager of the renamed company, CSI Media.
The deal includes CSI's printing and inserting facility in Delavan, Wis., which Bliss said has capabilities that are different from those of the company's new $22 million printing and distribution center on Janesville's east side.
The Delavan plant will give Bliss more options in securing commercial printing business, he said.
In addition to The Janesville Gazette, Bliss operates radio stations WCLO and WJVL in Janesville. It publishes daily newspapers in Monroe, Marinette and Ironwood, Mich., as well as the Freeport Shopping News in Freeport, Ill.
The company, which this year will mark 125 years of Bliss family ownership, also operates AM and FM radio stations in West Bend and Racine.
Most of my inspiration is really imitation in disguise. I suspect I'm no different from most editors.
I'm always looking for new ways to better communicate with our readers. When we find something in the media that impresses us, we'll quickly find a way to modify it to how we do things at The Week.
One of my sources of inspiration takes places each year when the editor's of The Week's sister newspapers gather in Steven's Points for two days of brainstorming, learning and just plain catching up.
In one of this year's sessions, each paper will give a tour of their Web site, talking about what works, what doesn't and what challenges the Web presents.
A free publication has both benefits and drawbacks for our Web site. Because we're a free weekly, we don't pick up any readers who want content without paying for it.
Our readership is lower, compared to sites run by paid dailies, but the when readers do visit our site, they have very specific needs that we need to satisfy efficiently.
Interactivity
We're only limited by time and ideas. Election coverage is a good area for interactivity. We've done a Google mash up of candidate districts, video of candidate forums and Hot Topic sections for reader interaction
Package big news stories: Because we don't use a Merlin type archiving system, we make sure to package big news story coverage. It helps readers as stories develop, as well as helping staff with background. Examples: Elections Delavan shootings County board downsizing
Photography
We don't' overlook the power of good photography. Just like good writing, it can draw readers in.
We make sure photo galleries are presented prominently and easy to find.
In breaking news situations, a photograph is often the quickest content to get on the Web. We try to think about it as live coverage.
Video
We're always looking for good stories that will tell well in video. We're also ready with video for breaking news. For feature stories, reporters often use video instead of their recorders.
We post our videos to YouTube. On one occasion, a video from a school bus crash was picked up by a TV station.
News feeds
We keep a Topix.net news feed on our headline page. It's a good way to find out about local people in the news elsewhere. We digest the feeds into the almanac on print and brief stories online. If you need proof that short stories have as much impact as long ones, keep an eye on these.
Productivity
Reader services: We have a small staff, but large circulation with large circulation expectations. Whenever we have regular request for service, we add that function to the Web site. For example, reader and advertiser services. Downloadable press release forms are one of our biggest time savers.
If you have suggestions about how to improve the user experience on our Web site, let us know.
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is expected to address his impeachment trial Thursday. Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press
