Remember back to last year on this same day. Then governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested by federal prosecutors. As reported by The Quad, the former govoner was arrested in early December on federal corruption charges. He was officially impeached in early January, and was officially replaced later that month. It’s been a fun year for Illinois politics, but the questions about Blago still remain. He’ll get his chance to speak at his federal corruption trial in June.

John Kass of the Chicago Tribune writes this as he reflects upon this anniversary:

Throughout the year, Blagojevich has amused many of us, me included. His wife, Patti, showed up on reality TV, eating jungle bugs and blubbering that her husband is not a crook, with the bugs still on the back of her teeth.

Rod plays the jester. All that’s missing are the curly-toed boots, and Rod holding a wooden rattle carved in his own likeness, a smirk on the tiny Rod head, as Rod himself waves his arms, gesturing at the unfairness of it all.

It’s all so amusing, so droll. But the joke’s not on him.

It’s on us. On every man, woman and child in the state of Illinois.

Christopher Willis of the Associated Press thinks that Blago has caused a shift in Illinois politics:

The scandal could have a national impact by tipping a U.S. Senate seat — the one previously held by President Barack Obama — into Republican hands. The GOP also hopes to reclaim the governor’s office, and they could be helped if Blagojevich stays in the spotlight with a role on “Celebrity Apprentice” next year and a federal trial during election season.

What do you think about our former governor?

Blagojevich’s legacy no joke – Chicago Tribune

Holy mackerel! 1 year since Blagojevich arrest – Associated Press

Today marks the 40th Anniversary of the first broadcast of Sesame Street. The PBS show is the longest running children’s show on US television. It has been widely praised from the start, and is considered to be a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard.

In honor of this celebration, I’d like to bring you back to your youth. Here’s a little Sesame Street classic for your enjoyment:

Congratulations Sesame Street!

Sesame Street – Wikipedia
SesameStreet.org 
PBS Kids: Official Site

The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) celebrates its 30th Anniversary today, September 7, 2009. ESPN is known as the international standard for sports news and was the first 24-hour sports programming network.

Connecticut native Bill Rasmussen, a former sportscaster and public relations director for the Hartford Whalers, began working on a new start-up venture in the late 1970s. Along with his son Scott, Rasmussen hoped to establish a statewide satellite cable sports network that would feature University of Connecticut and Whalers events. When Rasmussen learned it wouldn’t cost him any more to use the satellite transponder for national distribution, he created ESPN.

What launched with a single cable network on September 7, 1979 is now ESPN, Inc., The Worldwide Leader in Sports, a leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring the broadest portfolio of multimedia sports assets, including six domestic networks, 45 international networks and more than 50 business entities.

Today, ESPN delivers sports programming to more than 190 countries and territories on all seven continents across a variety of platforms — television, wireless, interactive, print, radio, broadband, event management and consumer products – all with the hopes of fulfilling its original mission of serving sports fans.

ESPN 30th Anniversary Official Site

Forty years ago today, a Saturn V rocket took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida and started a three day journey to the moon. The mission’s sole objective was to land a human on the moon. That objective was met on July 20th, 1969 when Neil Armstrong first set foot on the lunar surface. Buzz Aldrin later followed Neil and the two of them performed multiple activities on the surface during their two hour and 46 minute spacewalk.

The astronauts left a plaque at the landing site that read: “Here Men From The Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We Came in Peace For All Mankind.”

This event ended what was known as the Space Race between the U.S. and the then called Soviet Union. It also accomplished the challenge set by former President John F. Kennedy: “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.”

This event had a huge significance in the political world, showing in a time of great turmoil, that the U.S. had outstanding technological capabilities and a superior power in space. The significance in science and technology is beyond definition. Spin-offs of all sorts were produced in the development of the Apollo vehicles and countless discoveries have been made following the lunar surface experiments conducted throughout the program.

To celebrate the anniversary, NASA has created a number of interactive features on their website to explore the landing site, look through vintage photographs, and listen to real-time mission audio to name a few. They have even released newly reformatted video and photos from the mission. The JFK library has also produced a website for the anniversary that allows you to follow along in real-time with the mission as if it were 1969.

The importance and significance of the Apollo 11 mission cannot be fully grasp by this article. I encourage you to check out these links, read more, and relive the excitement of this monumental mission.

NASA – Apollo 11 40th Anniversary

JFK Presidential Library – Apollo 11 Site

Boston Globe – Apollo Photos

NASA – Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal

This is the 500th post for The Quad. We’ve been sharing the good news of the University of Illinois for over two years since our first post on May 15th, 2007. We’ve seen the removal of Chief Illiniwek, an Illinois Football Rose Bowl visit, multiple Facebook redesigns, an impeached Governor, and one of the most historic presidential elections in modern history Through it all, we’ve been here, with you. We’d like to thank you, our readers, for suporting us throughout the years.

At this time, it is our pleasure to announce that The Quad has recently become an official Registered Student Organization (RSO) at the University of Illinois. It is our hope, as an organization, to bring new writers, editors, and designers to our team. We’d like to create a news source that spans the many disciplines and lifestyles of Illinois’ students.

Nothing you see here will change dramatically, we will still be providing you with the latest Illinois news. Any changes will only be an improvement. Our coverage will improve as we add more writers and editors from all walks of life. We will be on the ground running during the Fall 2009 semester.

Please continue to stay tuned and look out on campus for more information on our new endeavers.

Thanks again for the support, and Go Illini!