Labor leader Tom Balanoff told the jury this afternoon about a racist crack Rod Blagojevich made during a Nov. 12, 2008 conversation in which he explained why he would not appoint the white U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky to the Senate.
“He told me if she had any ancestors that came over on slave ships, she would be fine,” Balanoff, the head of the SEIU Illinois Council, testified.
Prior to that, Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid Schar played a tape of a telephone conversation between Balanoff and Blagojevich. On it, Blagojevich tells Balanoff that Rahm Emanuel had called John Harris and told him that Valerie Jarrett was going to work for the administration and the president had four preferred candidates: Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., Tammy Duckworth, Dan Hynes and Schakowsky.
Blagojevich said on the call that Emanuel asserted he – and not Balanoff – is the only one authorized to speak for Obama on the matter of the Senate seat. Balanoff said he would try to confirm if that was in fact the case. He also said he would call Jarrett and make certain that she was no longer interested in the seat.
Blagojevich then briefed Balanoff on his plans to create an advocacy organization focused on children’s healthcare, among other progressive causes. Blagojevich said he would out someone he “trusted” in charge of the foundation until he could run it after leaving office. Blagojevich explained to Balanoff his idea that wealthy Democratic-leaning fundraisers would support the foundation and that he hoped to establish it “overnight.”
“And we could help our new Senator Valerie Jarrett go out and push that,” Blagojevich is heard saying on the call. Balanoff testified that he had no plans to present this idea to anyone. After that conversation, Balanoff told the jury he called Jarrett and left a message, but never heard back.
It was then, he said, that he reached out to Alexi Giannoulias to see if Jarrett was still interested in Senate. In the course of that conversation, Balanoff said Giannoulias floated his own name for consideration.