Public Affairs - Kwame Raoul

Senator Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago, 13th Dist.), debates and discusses the issues with show host and executive legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz. Senator Raoul was appointed in late 2004 to the State Senate seat previously held for eight years by now President-Elect Barack Obama.




Senator Raoul, whose parents were Haitian-born immigrants, attended the University of Chicago Lab School, DePaul University for his undergraduate degree and received his law degree from Chicago-Kent in 1993. He has been an Assistant State's Attorney (Cook County), practiced law in the private sector and was the chief internal negotiator for the City Colleges of New York. Senator Raoul was appointed to do consulting work for the City Colleges of Chicago in 2007 on workforce development and making Chicago a corporate destination. You can read more about Senator Raoul at www.KwameRaoul.com




Topics discussed on the show include whether certain communications between Team Blagojevich and team Obama about the U. S. Senate Appointment would rise to the level of a criminal offense; did the arrest of Gov. Blagojevich ignite the impeachment proceedings and why; is the relationship between Speaker Mike Madigan and Governor Blagojevich a hateful one and has that been the case for the last six years; why did Speaker Mike and Mayor Daley co-chair Blagojevich's re-election campaign in 2006; why did the Democrats not support the un-Blago, i.e., Edwin Eisendrath in the 2006 Dem primary for Governor; is impeachment a good alternative to "recall;"

Additional topics discussed include the counts of the articles of impeachment issued against Gov. Blagojevich: plotting to obtain something of value for the U. S. Senate Appointment, plotting to condition the IFA assistance to the Tribune on the Tribune's firing editorial board members who were critical of Gov. Blagojevich, plotting to trade official gubernatorial acts for campaign contributions, violating the constitutional separation of powers, disregarding state and federal laws, and using the gubernatorial patronage office to pressure state agencies to make political hires and fires. Are some of the impeachment counts penny ante? Was it appropriate to have Majority Leader in the House, Barbara Flynn Currie, a non-lawyer, chair the House Select Committee on impeachment? Will Gov. Blagojevich be impeached? Should Senator Raoul not read the articles of impeachment until they are officially presented to the House?
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29:05




This Program was taped on January 11, 2009.
Public Affairs w/Jeff Berkowitz, Copyright 2009

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News & Politics

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