In other news from Illinois, law enforcement officials have identified Congress member Jesse Jackson, Jr. as the unidentified “Senate Candidate Five” mentioned in the corruption-related indictment of Governor Rod Blagojevich. The indictment quotes Blagojevich describing an offer from a representative of Candidate Five offering half a million dollars in exchange for a selection to fill President-elect Obama’s vacant Senate seat. On Wednesday, Congress member Jackson denied authorizing anyone to make an offer on his behalf.

Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.: “I reject and denounce pay-to-play politics and have no involvement whatsoever in any wrongdoing. I did not initiate or authorize anyone at any time to promise anything to Governor Blagojevich on my behalf. I never sent a message or an emissary to the Governor to make an offer, to plead my case or to propose a deal about a US Senate seat, period.”

Blagojevich, meanwhile, is defying growing calls for his resignation. On Wednesday, President-elect Obama, as well as all fifty Democratic senators in Congress, urged Blagojevich to step down. But Blagojevich returned to work and says he will continue to carry out his duties as governor. In addition to trying to sell Obama’s Senate seat, he is also accused of trying to blackmail the Chicago Tribune into firing editorial writers that had criticized him and withholding state funds from a children’s hospital until its chief executive made a $50,000 donation.