Top Gov. Blagojevich advisor and fundraiser indicted in kickback scheme

Are the feds closing the ring on Blagojevich? Other than a hypothetical Blago comment such as "It's an indictment, not a conviction," Gov. Blagojevich will have trouble spinning himself out of this one.

Will this news finally put the Illinois governor's office into play for the GOP and its candidate, Judy Baar Topinka?

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Businessman Antoin Rezko, a member of Gov. Blagojevich’s inner circle, and GOP insider Stuart Levine shook down investment firms for millions of dollars in kickbacks looking to do business with a state teachers pension fund, according to a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday.
While Levine had been charged in the case before and is cooperating with the feds, the indictment marks the first time Rezko has been charged and represents the closest federal investigators have come to Blagojevich’s inner circle.

Rezko, 51, of Wilmette, is implicated in crooked deals with more than half a dozen investment firms.

Rezko and Levine are also accused of shaking down a $1 million kickback to get state approval for a corporation to build a hospital in Crystal Lake.

UPDATE 2:10PM CDT:Cal Skinner at the McHenry County has a copy of the indictment press release on his blog.
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