©2011 Galesburg Broadcasting Co.
| The Reality for Blago: No Reality Show |
Hoping a federal judge would grant his request to participate in a reality TV show, ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich appeared in court Tuesday.
Blagojevich's lawyer, Sheldon Sorosky, filed a motion to enlarge bail in order to let Blagojevich travel to Costa Rica in June to film the reality show "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here" for NBC.
While federal prosecutors cited possible problems with extradition if Blagojevich refused to return to the United States, Judge James B. Zagel denied the bond increase because Blagojevich "has to participate in looking over" court documents, including thousands of documents soon to be submitted by the prosecution.
Zagel worried that the timing was "too soon" and that Blagojevich "couldn't fully understand the position he is in" until after going through those documents. He added that only after Blagojevich went over those documents that he would understand the "jeopardy" he is in and make a well thought-out decision.
According to the motion, Blagojevich would have earned $59,500 per episode and would have been placed in "harsh and unpleasant circumstances" and would be required to "combat the elements" and work with other participants.
Blagojevich has been out of work since his January removal from office and has received only $21,000 since for a book deal. With Blagojevich's wife also out of work, Sorosky argued that a denial of the motion would be an "extreme economic hardship" on Blagojevich and his family.
Meanwhile, Sorosky made some progress when requesting the use of Blagojevich's campaign fund to help pay for Blagojevich’s defense. Zagel said it would be possible to release funds to be used but only if it didn't violate state and federal laws. He added another stipulation, which would require an outside person to have control of the fund to make sure it was used only for the purpose of paying for Blagojevich's defense.
The issue will likely be resolved during a hearing on May 1.
(Illinois Radio Network) |
|
| 04 21 09 by Newsroom |
Click here for the WGIL News Archive
Click here for national news
The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.
