The Larely Beagle – The Community Newspaper of Larely, California

San Jose, CA – As a result of the arrest of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, online auction giant eBay has decided to remove the Governor’s listing for an “Illinois Senate Seat”.

The senate seat, which was being auctioned off by eBay user Bla-get’n-rich had already received hundreds of bids and was currently at $455,000 when it was removed.

The listing, which carried the description, “You are bidding on a seat in the United States Senate.  This seat is extremely rare, as there are only 100 available spots in the entire country.  The position carries an annual salary of $169,300 and also carries federal employee health benefits, often called the best in the country.  The position also offers a retirement plan that will leave you fully vested after only five years of service.  The seat has heavy potential for upward movement, as its last holder has been promoted beginning January 20, 2009.  The buyer is responsible for initial travel costs to Washington, D.C., as well as the cost of a sport coat for inauguration.  Seller accepts PayPal as well as cashier’s check.  Happy Bidding!”

The high bidder at the time of the auction’s removal was reported to be Illinois Republican Jack Ryan, who ran for the seat in 2002 but was forced to drop out when a sex scandal broke out over details of his divorce from actress Jeri Ryan.

eBay CEO John Donahoe said he was initially very excited to see the listing on the site, but decided to remove the item in order to avoid any of the negative publicity currently being heaped on to Governor Blagojevich.  “This was going to be a huge step not just for eBay, but for the whole country.  As any history or government teacher would tell you, auctioning off a senate seat, where any American could bid on it… well that’s just democracy in action.  To find out that this process was highly illegal caught us all by surprise.  In fact, we’ve had our attorneys checking into the matter as we’re not entirely sure the FBI got this one right. ”

Blagojevich was arrested at his home on Tuesday morning and was subsequently charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and solicitation to commit bribery, which could carry up to 30 years in prison.  Wire taps have Blagojevich quoted as saying “I’ve got this thing and it’s (expletive) golden, and I’m just not giving it up for (expletive) nothing.  I’m not gonna do it.”