Believe it or not, last night's speaker was Illinois' ex-governor, Rod Blagojevich. Chicago's ABC News affiliate reports:

The former Illinois governor facing federal corruption charges addressed Northwestern University students Tuesday night on the subject of ethics.

"If I did all the things they said I did, I wouldn't be anywhere near this event," said Blagojevich.

In his opening statements, Blagojevich proclaimed his innocence, accused the federal prosecutor of unethical behavior, and accused legislative leaders Mike Madigan and John Cullerton of practicing what Blagojevich defines as corruption.

Last year, Blagojevich had hoped to travel to Costa Rica so he could be filmed in a TV reality show. But a judge denied his request to leave the country. The people of Illinois probably feel they have already endured one reality show too many from Blagojevich.

Today, federal prosecutors re-indicted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Why? Prosecutors are reportedly trying to avoid having their case against the ex-governor dismantled by an anticipated U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

In the coming weeks, many observers believe the high court may declare a law key to the original indictment to be unconstitutional. This law is often called the "honest services" fraud law. When this case was argued before the Supreme Court in December, several justices expressed concerns about the law's scope.

Last April, Blagojevich was charged with 17 counts of fraud, racketeering and other criminal activity. Reuters reports:

"The new charges ... are based on the same underlying criminal conduct," said Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, in a court filing accompanying the new grand jury indictment in Chicago.

The Illinois legislature impeached and removed Blagojevich, a Democrat, from office in January 2009, during his second term. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is scheduled to go on trial in Chicago in June.

Because of the ethics scandal that resulted in the impeachment of the state's Governor, there was real hope for real ethics reform in Illinois this year.  But, that's not quite what happened:

Patrick Collins knows a thing or two about corruption in Illinois. He was the lead federal prosecutor of George Ryan, the former Republican governor now serving a six-year prison term. He has prosecuted corrupt Chicago aldermen, city, state and county workers, as well as government contractors.

Collins says every case has one thing in common. "Each major public corruption investigation I was involved in had, at its core, a campaign finance problem."

So when Collins, now in private practice, was appointed by Quinn to lead a commission to suggest reforms for Illinois' wayward politics, he and other commissioners zeroed in on the state's almost regulation-free system of campaign finance. They proposed contribution limits to mirror federal regulations and several other restrictions.

"Suffice it to say, what came out of the legislative process did not reflect our core proposals," Collins says.

And that's putting it mildly.

The Illinois General Assembly did approve contribution limits in its campaign finance bill, but set them thousands of dollars higher than Collins' commission recommended. Plus, Collins and other reform advocates say, the limits are riddled with gaping loopholes.

We're learning of another guilty plea with an accompanying commitment to cooperate with federal authorities.  This time, it's the former chief of staff to the impeached Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich:

John Harris, the last chief of staff to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, pleaded guilty today to a single count of wire fraud in federal court -- and agreed to cooperate in the federal probe against his former boss in return for a recommended prison term of just under 3 years.

Harris was accused of aiding some of the former governor's efforts to leverage the powers of his office in exchange for favors and campaign contributions.  Among the accusations against Blagojevich is that he attempted to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama.

(Read the guilty plea here)

Harris entered the plea after Assistant U.S. Atty. Carrie Hamilton detailed discussions in which Harris talked with Blagojevich about how the then-governor could personally benefit from naming a successor to Obama in the Senate.

One of former Governor Rod Blagojevich's former political aides, Christopher G. Kelly, has been sentenced to jail. It's not the only criminal charge in the pipeline against Kelly.  He's also a co-defendant with the ex-Governor.  This appears designed, at least in part, to flip Kelly to the government's side in the case against Blago:

A former top campaign fund-raiser for ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sentenced today to more than three years in prison for tax fraud — a sentence that puts more pressure on him to cooperate in the criminal case against Blagojevich.

Christopher G. Kelly, who turns 51 this week, stood silently as U.S. District Court Judge Elaine Bucklo handed down his 37-month prison term and ordered him to pay $601,468 in restitution.

The silver-haired businessman from Burr Ridge and his attorneys left the downtown federal courthouse without commenting as television cameras rolled and reporters shouted questions about whether Kelly plans to testify against Blagojevich.

Kelly pleaded guilty in January for failing to report $1.5 million in personal income and under-reporting by $633,658 the income of his main business, BCI Commercial Roofing. He also admitted he used money from his business to pay gambling debts and buy and furnish his home.

Since that plea, federal authorities have indicted Kelly in two other cases. In February, prosecutors alleged he was part of a kickback scheme to win roofing contracts at O’Hare Airport. Then, in April, they made him a co-defendant in the wide-ranging public corruption case against Blagojevich.

Harsh, but warranted, editorial in today's Washington Post aimed at Senator Roland Burris (D-IL) and his ties to former Governor Rod Blagojevich. The first and last paragraphs paint the picture:

WE DON'T know where to begin with the latest mess that has ensnared Sen. Roland W. Burris (D-Ill.). No, "ensnared" isn't the right word. That would imply that he's blameless for his troubles, which isn't the case. Phone conversations taped by federal prosecutors that were released May 26 between Mr. Burris and the brother of then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich belie the senator's repeated assertions that there was no quid pro quo for his appointment to the seat vacated by President Obama...

...We warned that anyone who accepted the appointment from Mr. Blagojevich to fill Mr. Obama's Senate seat would be suspect. With each passing month, Mr. Burris proves us right. He proves why the power to fill Senate vacancies should rest with voters at the ballot box in a special election. And he proves why he should resign.

Campaign contributions were discussed, we learn via the newly released transcripts:

A month before his appointment to the U.S. Senate, Roland Burris agonized with the brother of then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich about how to raise campaign cash for the governor without creating the perception he was buying his way into Congress, according to a federal wiretap unveiled Tuesday.

Burris said he would make a personal donation but worried that both he and the governor could eventually "catch hell" for any campaign help Burris gave as he lobbied for Blagojevich to choose him.

"And if I do get appointed, that means I bought it," Burris was recorded telling Robert Blagojevich, the governor's brother and chief fundraiser, in a Nov. 13 call captured during the federal probe that led to Rod Blagojevich's December arrest on corruption charges.

Burris even mentioned having his attorney make the donation -- a notion that could have violated state election law against hiding donations. Burris' attorney said he advised against such a move, and Burris never made such a donation and held no fundraisers for Rod Blagojevich.

We knew that the Senate Ethics Committee had opened an investigation of Senator Roland Burris (D-IL) over his role in the scandal that resulted in the impeachment of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.  And, we knew that Senate Democratic Leaders Harry Reid and Dick Durbin had testified before that committee.  Today, we learned that the Senate Ethics Committee can have access to the wiretapped conversations between Burris and the brother of the former Governor:

A federal judge in Chicago said today that the Senate ethics committee can review secretly recorded conversations between Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) and the brother of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich (D), who was removed from office earlier this year amid a corruption investigation.

District Court Judge James F. Holderman ruled that federal prosecutors could release recorded conversations between Burris and businessman Robert Blagojevich, who headed the Friends of Rod Blagojevich campaign fund. The recordings are believed to involve conservations about fundraising. Prosecutors are pursuing a case against Rod Blagojevich that has not yet gone to trial.

A spokeswoman for Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), the chairman of the Senate ethics committee, declined comment on the judge's decision, citing a committee policy against speaking about ongoing investigations. The committee is looking into the circumstances surrounding Burris's appointment to the Senate seat vacated by President Obama.

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich pleaded not guilty this morning to 16 charges of criminal corruption including racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud.

His brother, Robert, a fundraiser for his campaigns, also pleaded not guilty to similar charges.

The former governor remained free on bond after the 10-minute hearing in which his lawyer Sheldon Sorosky did most of the talking for him.

"Mr. Rod Blagojevich would waive reading of the indictment and enter a plea of not guilty," the lawyer said. U.S. District Judge James Zagel asked the former governor a series of questions, including one about his schooling.

"Um, I have a degree from law school," Blagojevich replied.

Today's Chicago Sun-Times has yet another revelation in the unfolding controversy surrounding Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and the vacant U.S. Senate seat in Illinois.  We already know that the House Office of Congressional Ethics has begun an initial investigation into Jackson's role in this scandal.  Now, we're learning that fundraisers for Jackson may have offered to raise significant sums for Blagojevich if Jackson got the Senate seat:

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s camp was told last year that U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) would raise up to $5 million in campaign cash for the ex-governor if he was appointed to President Obama’s U.S. Senate seat, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.

The overture came from at least two members of the local Indian community who approached the Blagojevich fund-raising team last fall, sources say.

Besides the $5 million to be raised by Jackson, the proposal also included another $1 million for Blagojevich’s campaign fund that would come from Indian donors, sources say.

This is the first revelation that a proposal for the Jackson appointment involved an alleged promise that he’d raise campaign cash for the ex-governor.

Also, the amount of money allegedly offered to Blagojevich is significantly higher than what’s been reported so far.