A Great Rod Blagojevitch and Elvis Story

Blago got his prison term commuted today.  I think you will really like this repeat of a post from June 2011.

You have probably seen the news that former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was convicted Monday of a wide range of corruption charges, including trying to sell President Obama’s Senate seat.  Experts say he could get ten to fifteen years in jail.

Blago is now the poster boy for scumbag politicians, but he does have one good quality.  He is a real Elvis fan.  After the verdict was announced, he faced reporters outside the courthouse.  When asked how he felt, Blago replied, “My hands are shakin’ and my knees are weak, I can’t even stand on my own two feet.”  You good Elvis fans know these lines are from “All Shook Up.”  

ElvisBlog has mentioned Blago twice before, once to show this very poor Photoshop picture of him in the outfit from the Jailhouse Rock dance scene.  Maybe it isn’t Photoshop.  It looks like a cut-and-paste job using scissors and glue.

When the scandal broke in 2009, two Chicago newspaper reporters were aware of Blago’s fondness for Elvis.  They thought it would be fun to see how many Elvis song titles they could list that made reference to Blago’s troubles.  They came up with: “A Fool Such As I,” “Put the Blame on Me,” “Suspicious Minds,” “T-R-O-U-B-L-E,” “There Goes My Everything,” and “Heartbreak Hotel.”  How in the world did they ever leave out “Jailhouse Rock?”

It may be hard to believe, but there is another interesting Blago/Elvis connection.  Check out the picture below.  This is a shot showing the area directly behind Blago’s desk when he was Governor of Illinois.  Backed by a bright window and framed by the lush drapes is an outstanding statue of Elvis.

Look at the detail work on this thing.  You can imagine it cost some big bucks.

We can also assume it is still among his prized possessions, wherever he moved it to after leaving the Governor’s mansion.

However, Blago has been stretched financially by legal fees, etc., and he got behind on payments for some storage units last year.  The owners of the storage company also knew Blago was a big Elvis fan.  When Blago got a full year behind, they decided to apply a little Chicago-style persuasion on him.  They threatened to auction off his other statue of Elvis Presley, a life-sized one.

Actually, they announced they would auction all of Blago’s belongings in seven wooden storage boxes to cover the back rent.  But, his Elvis statue was the only thing they dragged out to get Blago’s attention.  I guess he came up with the cash, because there was no follow up news of the auction actually happening.

One thing for sure, Rod Blagovetich won’t have either of his Elvis statues with him in that prison cell.  Maybe he’ll end up with a big ugly cellmate who thinks Blago’s stylish hairdo is really cute. That ought to make his hands shake and his knees get weak.

That was one of my favorite posts, so I’m glad I had a reason to repeat it here at the end.

Coming this weekend:  The Movie Kisses — Part 2.

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