A former chief of staff to Rod Blagojevich pleaded guilty Wednesday to taking part in a scheme to use President Barack Obama's Senate seat as leverage to get the then-governor into a high-paying job. John Harris, 47, also promised that he would ...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The former chief of staff for ousted Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich pleaded guilty on Wednesday and agreed to testify about attempts to cash in on the governor's power to fill a vacant U.S. Senate post. John Harris, 47, became the first of six defendants indicted in the corruption case against Blagojevich to reach a plea agreement ...

Rahm Emanuel wanted answers. Funds from a $2 million state grant to a school in his congressional district had not arrived, so he went straight to the man in charge: Gov. Rod Blagojevich. For four successive days in 2006, then-Rep. Emanuel called for Blagojevich, with one ...