"Obama’s election raised hopes and brought large numbers of people to the polls. Millions hope that it will turn the page on the corruption at all levels of government. The Blagojevich scandal is a reality check, a reminder of how widespread corruption has become. Obama’s link to Blagojevich threatens to revive a sense of hopelessness."

Are Blagojevich and Jesse Jackson Jr.'s Money Dealings with Chicago's Indian Community Tied to the Corruption Charges?

Long before the current Blagojevich scandal broke, investigative reporter Evelyn Pringle published a series of articles that detailed the links between Obama, Blagojevich, Rezko, Daley, and others in the Chicago political machine.

Read the articles: Curtain Time For Barack Obama - Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Final Chapter

"The fact is, in addition to being his real estate fairy for the $2 million mansion, Rezko is Obama's political Godfather. His career in politics was launched on July 31, 1995, with contributions of $2,000 from Rezko for the Illinois senate campaign. Obama only raised about $100,000 for that race, with roughly $15,000 coming from Rezko."

"After Rezko was indicted in October 2006, Obama claimed Rezko only raised $50,000 or $60,000 over his political career. This is the story he gave in the media for more than a year. But the total amount revealed during interviews with the Chicago Sun-Times and Tribune on March 14, 2008, added up to a quarter million."

"Several of the people who led Obama's corrupt finance committee for the US senate race with Rezko, and collected all the contributions from the people involved in the pay-to-play schemes, are now running the show for his presidential campaign."

Source: Curtain Time for Barack Obama - Evelyn Pringle

Rod Blagojevich – Illinois Governor, arrested for corruption and facing impeachment for auctioning Obama's senate seat to the highest bidder, is the center of the current firestorm. Like Obama, a longstanding associate and “business partner” of Tony Rezko, investigation into the two could potentially lead to an expansion of the corruption charges that takes down Mayor Richard Daley, Jr. and other parts of the Chicago machine, entangling the President.

David Axelrod - Obama's campaign manager and senior advisor, Axelrod worked for Blagojevich's previous political campaigns and his son interned for Blagojevich in Washington when he served in Congress. Initially Axelrod said Obama had spoken with the Governor about the Senate candidacy, then retracted his statement when the scandal broke. A long-time inside player in the Chicago political scene.

Jesse Jackson Jr. - "Senate Candidate Number 5" in the Blagojevich transcripts, Jesse Jackson Jr. has served as a Congressman from Chicago since 1995. It is claimed that two of his associates offered to raise over $1.5 million for Blagojevich in exchange for him being named to Obama's senate seat, charges which Triple J denies. National co-chairman of Obama's election campaign, included on a list of four candidates Emanuel passed to Blagojevich for consideration.

Rahm Emanuel - Part of the Clinton Administration in charge of spin control in the impeachment proceedings, Emanuel was Obama's first cabinet choice and named as Chief of Staff. Currently serving as Congressman in the seat that Blagojevich once occupied, Emanuel is said to have been the middleman between Obama and the Governor in the discussions over the Senate seat. Made millions in the banking sector between political appointments, including sitting on the board at Freddie Mac.

Richard Daley - Mayor of Chicago since 1989 and heir to the Chicago party machine, his father was known as "last of the big city bosses". Fitzgerald's transfer to Illinois was widely considered a sign that the Daley administration would be under investigation, according to the New York Times "corruption shadows his every step". Obama's wife Michelle turned down partnership at a prestigious law firm to work as an assistant in his office.

Tony Rezko - Major fundraiser for both Blagojevich and Obama, Rezko was convicted on 16 corruption charges in Illinois, essentially for demanding "kickbacks" from businesses who were soliciting contracts with the state, and funneling the money into political campaigns and private pockets. One of Obama's first campaign contributors and linked to a real estate deal with the President in Chicago, it remains an open question whether he will be cooperating with authorities to receive a reduced sentence in his trial.

While US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has insisted there are no charges being leveled against Obama in the current cases against Blagojevich and Rezko, it seems certain that the corruption allegations swirling around Chicago politics will continue to follow him to the White House and throughout his term as President. The question remains as to what further evidence will emerge and what consequences it will have for his Administration, as well as how it will be spun, ignored by the public and MSM, or seized upon by his political opponents. With a trillion dollar public works stimulus package on the way, everyone is hoping for "change we can believe in".