News Coverage: Federal Bureau of Investigation

Raghuveer Nayak — a former campaign fund-raiser for U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) who was also a key figure in the Rod Blagojevich scandal — was arrested by the FBI Wednesday morning at his home in the west suburbs.

Two of the most powerful legislators in Springfield ran their private businesses out of the offices of a crooked government contractor. State Rep. Edward Acevedo and state Sen. Tony Munoz won’t say why they had desks and computers for their businesses in the Southwest Side offices of Azteca Supply Co., whose owner and her husband await sentencing in a minority-contract fraud scheme.

It was with great amusement that I read a piece in today's New York Times on an FBI investigation of police corruption in Baltimore. 

"What the investigation revealed was startling: a bribery racket suspected to involve kickbacks to dozens of Baltimore police officers," the article says. " The sheer number of officers involved stunned department veterans and civilians alike." Read more...

The Illinois Senate today voted to abolish the legislature's scholarship program amid an increased focus on lawmakers who had used it to provide the children of campaign donors with a free ride to the state's universities.

The House has already approved a similar bill, and the Senate version now heads to the lower house for a vote, say the Sun-Times.

Derrick Smith

The Illinois House committee weighing sanctions against indicted state Rep. Derrick Smith won't be hearing from a key source: U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.

The House Special Investigating Committee looking into sanctions against Smith had hoped Fitzgerald would let them know if the legislative investigation would interfere with the criminal probe. Legislators were also hoping for a look at the evidence the feds have developed against Smith, says the Sun-Times.  Read more...