• February 11, 2012

Wonkette political symbolism operative “Nicole” informs us of this photograph from the liberal New York Times depicting Blaggy, dressed to the nines, leaving prison after his best friend Barack Obama posted bail. We have a hunch that the very artistic NYT photographer was “going for something” by including this haunting poster of a common Chicago street rat in the foreground. It is a true fact that these posters are on every wall and telephone wire pole in Chicago, near the actual rats. [NYT]

{ 86 comments }

hockeymom December 9, 2008 at 5:08 pm

I love that he wore a jogging suit to court.
Is it too much to hope that it was velour?

SayItWithWookies December 9, 2008 at 5:11 pm

Only $4500 bond? Either his crimes weren’t that serious, or the judge personally knows Blaggy’s almost broke. Hmmm…

4tehlulz December 9, 2008 at 5:12 pm

lol. photo of the year right there.

obfuscator December 9, 2008 at 5:12 pm

Sorry Governor, I didn’t know this party was Members Only.

Monsieur Grumpe' December 9, 2008 at 5:13 pm

To the Rat Pole Blaggy!

shortsshortsshorts December 9, 2008 at 5:13 pm

[re=195005]SayItWithWookies[/re]: Betcha betcha that Blaggy appointed the Judge after offering it to the highest bidder.

actor212 December 9, 2008 at 5:13 pm

Sure htey aren’t warning the rats to stay away from Blaggypants?

pondscum December 9, 2008 at 5:13 pm

Considering Blago’s rat-like features that poster has serious double meaning.

Uncle Al December 9, 2008 at 5:13 pm

Has anyone already said he should get 10 years in prison just for his hair?

magic titty December 9, 2008 at 5:16 pm

$4500?

azw88 December 9, 2008 at 5:17 pm

The no rats sign obviously doesn’t apply to Rahm, and thus he dropped dime on Blago

Diremutt December 9, 2008 at 5:21 pm

The rats are very irritated with waht this guy is doing to their reputation.

SayItWithWookies December 9, 2008 at 5:21 pm

[re=195009]shortsshortsshorts[/re]: Hey, at least he had a contingency plan. Dumb as he is, that still makes him smarter than the Flounderer-in-Chief.

NoWireHangers December 9, 2008 at 5:23 pm

I saw this on the NYT Page and immediately sent the link to my college roommate. Back in the day, we had one of these posted on our dorm room door. Yes, Chicago is filled with filthy red-eyed rats that eat dog shit and spread disease. Those signs are terrifying and hilarious. They’re usually posted in alleys behind the places that sell delicious Chicago hot dogs/burritos/polish sausage/pizza/pizza puffs/tacos/hamburgers to fat Chicagoans. Which means they’re everywhere. Damn California and its healthy eating! Now I really want a cheese dog.

Aurelio December 9, 2008 at 5:23 pm

[re=195004]hockeymom[/re]: The FBI picked him up at 6:15 a.m. They “gave him time to dress,” but not enough to indulge in sartorial splendor. In other words, they said, “Get your ass dressed, Blaggy, and hurry up!”

Borat December 9, 2008 at 5:25 pm

[re=195004]hockeymom[/re]: I thought the blagger was wearing a stonewashed jeans jacket (this is the midwest afterall). But you’re right velour is much much better

jagorev December 9, 2008 at 5:25 pm

Buncha pussies in Chicago. Here in New York, we don’t bother posting signs about the rats, because they are everywhere, and our corrupt governor doesn’t go to jail.

rocktonsammy December 9, 2008 at 5:25 pm

In Illinois our crime is organized, do you want it unorganized for shits sake.

Borat December 9, 2008 at 5:27 pm

Any odds before the mob (or some other semi-interested party, including his wife) offs this guy? I’d say 1 in 5 he makes it to his next court appearance? Any higher? (Don’t forget the US is the 3rd world now)

actor212 December 9, 2008 at 5:27 pm

[re=195033]jagorev[/re]: Justice, like our governor, is blind, Jag.

That’s how tough Noo Yawk is. We elected a blind man just to make fun of him.

queeraselvis v 2.0 December 9, 2008 at 5:28 pm

I’m sure some enterprising prisoner will find a new and novel way to introduce Blaggy to the joys of having a rat inserted into his sphincter.

Borat December 9, 2008 at 5:29 pm

[re=195020]magic titty[/re]: yeah, $4500, there goes 3 months of blow for him.

glamourdammerung December 9, 2008 at 5:30 pm

[re=195005]SayItWithWookies[/re]: I kind of doubt the sitting governor is too much of a flight risk or that hard for the feds to track down at any given time.

ogradybt December 9, 2008 at 5:31 pm

“And if I don’t get what I want and I’m not satisfied with it, then I’ll just take the track suit and the rats myself.”

“I’ll just put the fucking rats in the senate before I give fucking Senate Candidate 1 my fucking track suit and I don’t even get time to wash my hair.”

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/blagojevich/1321610,blagojevich-calls-obama-expletive-120908.article

Tra December 9, 2008 at 5:31 pm

Is anyone here from Chicago? What the hell kind of warning poster can you put up about rats? Try not to get bitten by the rats, jobless person, as you fight with them over discarded crusts? Don’t put the poisoned rats in your hobo stew? I’m fascinated and intrigued.

loquaciousmusic December 9, 2008 at 5:32 pm

Palin/Blagojevich ’12!

shortsshortsshorts December 9, 2008 at 5:33 pm

[re=195042]Tra[/re]: PROUD ex-Chicagoan. PROUD because I don’t have to live their, ever again.

Rush December 9, 2008 at 5:34 pm

Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage.

wickedlittledoll December 9, 2008 at 5:37 pm

I hear Gov. George Ryan saved Blago a prime spot in the cell next to him:
http://democralypsenow.blogspot.com/

sati demise December 9, 2008 at 5:43 pm

[re=195042]Tra[/re]: In Phoenix there is a special kind of rat called a ‘pack rat’ or a ‘roof rat’.
They are huge.
And yes, there are signs. Harvest the fruit off your trees before the word gets out on the rat twitter!

ToeCramps December 9, 2008 at 5:44 pm

Live in Chicago and that rat poster should replace our state bird!

ToeCramps December 9, 2008 at 5:45 pm

Did “The Hair” have to post bond too?

GoesToTwelve December 9, 2008 at 5:49 pm

Chicago! My Town! I Love it. Really. We do, it must be said, understand the usefulness of ‘an acceptable level of corruption’ to get things done. Name another Rust belt city that survived the 70′s and 80′s as well.

The rat warnings are for people.

And, BTW, it’s ‘Blago’ not ‘Blaggy’

http://goestotwelve.blogspot.com/

anabellum December 9, 2008 at 5:56 pm

brag all you want…rats in New Orleans carry guns..

they want dog food, you give ‘em dog food…don’t be stupid..

what’s corruption?…

Urbanachiever December 9, 2008 at 5:59 pm

[re=195054]GoesToTwelve[/re]: Thank you (re: Blago)! I was JUST coming to post that!

RomanTotale December 9, 2008 at 6:01 pm

[re=195042]Tra[/re]: You can’t really tell from the picture, but the poster mostly has information about the last time the area was swept for rats/poision laid out/etc. So not so much warning posters as informational for city workers on rat patrol.

tank this December 9, 2008 at 6:04 pm

@Tra I’m in Chicago–where politics is always a fun sport–and the signs are in many alleys. They basically say that rats have been sighted in that area so close the trash bins and don’t throw food in the street. I mean, I think that’s what they say. In 10 years of living here I’ve never actually read one of the damn signs.
They gave him time to dress-he must have known he’d be on every tv/camera in the country. you’d think he’d have taken the time to put on a bleepin tie.

Juice-IL December 9, 2008 at 6:08 pm

Rod’s attorney just released a statement saying that he did nothing wrong and that he’s not going to resign.

He will probably appoint our new Senator before dawn.

Hans_Christian_Henderson December 9, 2008 at 6:09 pm

So Obama has had no contact and Lt. Gov Quinn hasn’t had
a lengthy discussion with the Gov since 2007?

Weird.

Hans_Christian_Henderson December 9, 2008 at 6:11 pm
wheelie December 9, 2008 at 6:12 pm

[re=195021]azw88[/re]: Rezko could be the biggest rat of them all.

S.Luggo December 9, 2008 at 6:13 pm

Mr. Fitzgerald, leggo my Blago.

Hans_Christian_Henderson December 9, 2008 at 6:13 pm

[re=195072]Juice-IL[/re]: Just curious.

Dawn who?

NoWireHangers December 9, 2008 at 6:15 pm

[re=195042]Tra[/re]: The poster basically says don’t leave trash and shit around b/c rats will eat it and overrun the city.

Juice-IL December 9, 2008 at 6:19 pm

[re=195079]Hans_Christian_Henderson[/re]: I meant in the morning

S.Luggo December 9, 2008 at 6:19 pm

BTW, (a) does Governor Rod know that his phones are still tapped and (b) in his first call after he made bail, did Blago call the judge a fucking asshole (or something less polite)?

S.Luggo December 9, 2008 at 6:21 pm
azw88 December 9, 2008 at 6:22 pm

[re=195077]wheelie[/re]: Indeed, his name even sounds like a scandal… he was predestined to be a fuckup!

BadMFer December 9, 2008 at 6:24 pm

[re=195039]Borat[/re]: $4500, that’s more like a week’s blow, unless you live in Columbia

bitchincamaro December 9, 2008 at 6:26 pm

There is no God. Otherwise why would she have all this cool shit happen during my most demanding work week in months. Couldn’t have waited ’til after the fucking hols, HEENNGGHH?

I have no more time to comment, so I’ll spend what little time I have reading your comments, so they’d better be STELLAR111!!!!111!!!111

4tehlulz December 9, 2008 at 6:28 pm

[re=195086]S.Luggo[/re]: No, just no. I just recovered from the last time I made the mistake of going to Politico.

bago December 9, 2008 at 6:28 pm

If anyone is bored here’s another website that needs your truck nutz.

Hans_Christian_Henderson December 9, 2008 at 6:28 pm

[re=195083]Juice-IL[/re]: Oh.

Sorry.

Hans_Christian_Henderson December 9, 2008 at 6:29 pm

[re=195094]bago[/re]: Why would you think any of us are bored?

bago December 9, 2008 at 6:36 pm

2 posts. 2 minutes.

shortsshortsshorts December 9, 2008 at 6:40 pm

[re=195099]bago[/re]: THANK YOU FOR THAT WE MUST GET WORD OUT THAT OBAMA IS IN FACT BRITISH HAWAIIAN INDONESIAN AND IS NOT CHRISTIAN LIKE EVREYBODY ELSE.

bago December 9, 2008 at 6:46 pm

[re=195102]shortsshortsshorts[/re]: And his font got serifs goddam

bitchincamaro December 9, 2008 at 6:51 pm

[re=195033]jagorev[/re]: I once saw a rat in the Union Sq. station posting a picture of Spitzer on the platform. True story.

And, FUCK WORK! This is more fun.

[re=195102]shortsshortsshorts[/re]: Soon we’ll have your first name, too! Hahaha.

slinkimalinki December 9, 2008 at 7:07 pm

[re=195094]bago[/re]: quick, someone tell me a zip code that matches a state. damn petition is kind of anal about that.

slinkimalinki December 9, 2008 at 7:08 pm

[re=195130]slinkimalinki[/re]: oh, forget it, i only need that to send a letter to congress.

IonaTrailer December 9, 2008 at 7:25 pm

[re=195044]shortsshortsshorts[/re]: Ditto of the glad I don’t live there anymore – and I grew up in Hyde Park! Me and Hopey would have been like dis, (imaginary fingers crossed), only he’s young and handsome and I’m an old washed up terrorist.

IonaTrailer December 9, 2008 at 7:29 pm

Also – on the rat front… my mother loved to tell the story of the old man who had a push cart on Maxwell Street during WWII. (Can you tell where this is going?) When he died thousands of animal bones were found in his nasty-ass apartment…. including lots of little ratties.

Mmmm-mmm – I loves me some Chicago style Italian beef!

bago December 9, 2008 at 7:31 pm

Nuts. It doesn’t display your full last name. T. Rucknutz is now known by the much less funny name of T.R.

ogradybt December 9, 2008 at 7:37 pm

[re=195042]Tra[/re]: Those rat signs also say you shouldn’t let your dog shit here because rats eat dog shit. But, yeah, nobody reads those signs. The rats here are pretty brazen. They’ll just scamper out inches in front of you while you’re walking down the street, telling you they’re going to block the sale of your sports team unless you fire your op-ed editors, feeding on trash, etc.

IonaTrailer December 9, 2008 at 7:41 pm

[re=195094]bago[/re]: If anyone is bored here’s another website that needs your truck nutz.

Hahhahahahah – some hilarious shit ovah there

lawrenceofthedesert December 9, 2008 at 7:51 pm

Gosh, I wish you guys would stop it about Chicago. We natives have such delicate, Proustian sensibilities about our native haunts, and Chicago is such a fragile orchid of a city.

brighidg December 9, 2008 at 8:18 pm

[re=195042]Tra[/re]: The signs just remind people to tie their garbage bags/close their garbage cans so rats can’t get in.

Madeline December 9, 2008 at 8:35 pm

[re=195173]lawrenceofthedesert[/re]: I know, right? Yesterday it was all smack talk about O’Hare and today it’s “Hey, Chicago is rat central”. Also, I think there’s an implication being made that our politicians are corrupt. Oh, wait…

Tra December 9, 2008 at 9:35 pm

[re=195065]RomanTotale[/re]: [re=195068]tank this[/re]: [re=195159]ogradybt[/re]:

No one has the same story. I think you’re all from Iowa.

(Seriously, thanks for assuaging my curiosity. I am going to pretend they say, “Don’t feed the rats,” in the way that tourist-area signs ask you to please not feed the seagulls or pigeons or rapidly increasing homeless population.)

One Yield Regular December 9, 2008 at 10:08 pm

Kudos to that photographer, sure, but MAJOR props to that captioneer for cleverly inserting the gratuitous “, right,” so that viewers would, um, know which one was Blagojevich.

sati demise December 9, 2008 at 10:35 pm

[re=195200]Madeline[/re]: yea, but no one mentioned the airport LSD tunnel has been broken all year. No more Swedish techno music in sync with the light show on the jetson sidewalk.

Larry McAwful December 9, 2008 at 11:38 pm

[re=195061]anabellum[/re]: Big deal. Everyone in the South carries guns.

Larry McAwful December 9, 2008 at 11:48 pm

[re=195094]bago[/re]: Cool! I’m unhappy about how it truncates the last name, though. How will anyone know it was signed by Phil McCracken?

Larry McAwful December 9, 2008 at 11:51 pm

[re=195130]slinkimalinki[/re]: That thing also wants an address. You can use the Houston Astrodome if you want. It’s at 8400 Kirby Drive, Houston, TX 77054.

bonsai pajamas December 10, 2008 at 1:34 am

I doubt rats obey the no rats signs.

bonsai pajamas December 10, 2008 at 1:43 am

[re=195012]Uncle Al[/re]: You are so right my friend. This is our fault anyway. There shoulda been laws banning people who grow hair on their foreheads from holding public office years ago!

bonsai pajamas December 10, 2008 at 1:49 am

I didn’t read any of the posts here hardly but did somebody say the petition is back in action? I need me some petition!

bonsai pajamas December 10, 2008 at 1:53 am

It is? Quick! I’m too lazy to look for the link! Somebody post it!

Bearbloke December 10, 2008 at 2:23 am

Hey, don’t Chicago rats come with tomatoes, celery seeds & that weird emerald-green relish?

bonsai pajamas December 10, 2008 at 2:23 am

Nevermind the link. It’s gettin near dawn in the east and the Wkette “reporters” will soon be up injecting steroids into their typing fingers. I’d have to look for the link anyway

WAY DOWN HERE

That and there is no more Scotck.

bonsai pajamas December 10, 2008 at 2:24 am

scotch

bonsai pajamas December 10, 2008 at 2:42 am

scrotch

bonsai pajamas December 10, 2008 at 2:44 am

[re=195297]Bearbloke[/re]: Naw, that’s how they eat dog. Rats come skewered and served nekkid on toasted italian bread with garlic butter.

plowman December 10, 2008 at 7:56 am

So, he’s bailed out so, like, there’s still a chance that my offer of three hundred bucks cash money and a really clean eight-ball will get me Barry’s old job? Jeeze, that’s almost as much as what a job driving a garbage truck costs!

Tra December 10, 2008 at 10:29 am

[re=195304]bonsai pajamas[/re]: I hear rats are only good with ketchup.

Mrs. Bigglesworth December 10, 2008 at 2:49 pm

Why all the Chicago haters? I challenge you to eat any of our Chicago hot dogs/burritos (TBK)/polish sausage/pizza/gyros/tacos/hamburgers/Italian beef and not shed a tear of joy. Those rats may be invincible, but they’re citizens of our grand city just the same.

Comments on this entry are closed.

Previous post:

Next post: