denver rod blagojevich. courtside in a matter of hours behind the scenes. wgn news @ 9 wgn news @ 9 35 year veteran of chicago fire department a hero many times over fire commissioner robert hoff leaving his post immediately. top story around the country tonight during the replacement shows and why he is leaving not clear tracking details for us >> we do know he is stepping down we do not know why. was it personal? more to this? hoping to find out more tomorrow. you have seen this gentlemen on television and many robert hoff times fire the face of chicago fire department no longer overseeing this after year and a half on the job. appointed by mayor daley june 2010 robert hoff as you mentioned a third generation firefighter his father also of firefighter who died in the line of duty yester day marked 50 years since his death. robert hoff has been with department 35 years well liked by the rank-and-file today told me they were shocked to hear this afternoon of his departure. >> i did not expect this not today. preparing for the meeting tonight when i heard. i

outside the north side home tonight >> rod blagojevich family tucked inside tonight cold rainy evening. day before his wife interview talk-show host rosie o'donnell heirs of the own network tomorrow. patti blagojevich reduced to tears at the thought of preparing her daughters would be difficult goodbye to her father simply too much to bear >> cannot fathom what you are going through but to pretend that not want to happen >> talk-show host rosie o'donnell tried to get a tearful patti blagojevich to face the reality is fast approaching need to get ready to say goodbye after two trials constant claim of innocence rod blagojevich leading to serve 14 year prison sentence >> to have a child removed from their father calling to be devastating thing. and you can help them through patti blagojevich but he has to help you. >> interview with mrs. blagojevich stark contrast to the media blitz mr. blagojevich encountered in years. one highlight morning of the arrest six a m with everybody home when federal agents stormed the house in august daughter asleep in bed at the time of the call. >> i thoug

are yo >>, rod blagojevich has until thursday to turn himself into prison authorities.to 14 years. among the accusations that he attempted to trade or sell president obama's former senate seat. >> president obama will submit his budget for fiscal year 2013 to congress. the election-year proposal reflect his policies for cutting the deficit and raising revenues and will also include economic forecast. the budget is highly anticipated. >> looking ahead to tomorrow, the westminster dog show gets underway in new york city. it is being held monday and tuesday at madison square garden. >> romance will apparently be in the air this valentine's day. a new survey finds 4 million people expect to get engaged on a holiday. the american express survey finds up 14 million expect to take that step sometime this year. >> the first signs of spring. this week's spring training for major-league baseball gets underway. players will start reporting to various camps to prepare for the 2012 season. >> as the nationals get ready for their season, the capitals and wizards are still very busy.

former governor to the colorado federal correctional institution and littleton that is where rod blagojevichanted to go and since it is and the major metropolitan area it should be easier for his family to visit him his sentence begins march 15th. >>chicago is the most corrupt city in the country and illinois is the third most corrupt state according to a new study by the professors at the university of illinois the research shows chicago's history of corruption goes back more than one under 40 years >>robert jordan is live at city hall with more on this story ... >>that dubious distinction is embarrassing according to dick simpson professor of political science at the university of illinois ... he cites the recent convictions that sent politicians to prison ... >>1531 convictions here since 1976 >>some aldermen agree and say that the way of doing business in chicago politically needs to change >>there's definitely room for improvements ... you can't turn your back on the people. >>professor simpson says that the two seats of power in illinois the governor's office and the city council in ch

sun-times that annazette collins was the most unethical person in government almost on par with rod blagojevich.. he cited several examples of questionable actions that annazette collins has taken as a senator and he told wgn that there would be no forthcoming apology ... >>jesse white conceded that he could have used less inflammatory rhetoric ... annazette collins said that she is happy that he is reconsidering his position on the blagojevich statements. however lawsuit is not out of the question in a statement annazette collins says that she is still evaluating her legal options is spend more than a month since the last republican candidate debate tonight's debate in mesa arizona could be the most important one yet not only will arizona and michigan hold primaries next tuesday but tonight's debate is the last before super tuesday and marched in 10 states have primaries rick santorum overtook mitt romney and newt gingrich and polls after winning missouri minnesota and chicago now he is in a tight race with mitt romney and michigan the home state of the former gov. >>parents across chicago wer

white called state senator annazette collins most unethical person in government said almost put rod blagojevich beside her. jesse white appeared on set this morning saw reasons what he was going to say was not born to be taken back down the pedigree is there and i think i could have stopped in my statement but not go to apologize. >> all state senator annazette collins so on the morning show said jesse white might have turned against her because she did not give out state college scholarships to students he was trying to help. state senator annazette collins is happy backing away from our original comments so far says no plan to file a lawsuit. illinois governor pat quinn budget proposal tomorrow already opposition tonight crossroads adult transition center for inmates of the chopping block receives $5 million a year from the state the money helps 700 prisoners transition into the real world head of the program says it's essential for public safety crossroads remain open. >> we recognize the state is in dire straits going to have to find a way to make the state holds with respect to the budget

aerial capital and reportedly has ties not only to tony russo, but also disgraced former governor rod blagojevicht wait to hear how they spin that one. joining me now, the co-host of the five, sheÑi keeps it all together, the voice of reason, sanity, comedy, you are the calm. you are the adult in the room. >> whenever i'm going to steal myself before i get angry, i do a one nostril sniff she said. and i realize that's right. >> and bob just snorts and throws his hands up and goes are you going to come to me? >> we love it, though. >> forget the super pac issue because i think he will have money. i think he will have a billion dollars. >> it is kind of funny they could only raise $59,000 in january. that's pretty good. >> and if the election were held today, the poll asked who would you most likely vote for. >> obama 49, rick santorum, 48. tied has turned? >> i think the tied has turn. last couple months president obama has been looking better in the policy but the tied has now turned. now the president has to deal with debt. that's been on the headlines recently, and more importantly, the price o

. >> congress is running about neck and neck with enron and rod blagojevich. >> so if the president runsstrategy? >> i think that's part of the strategy. he also has an incredibly winning message in terms of income disparity and the poor and the working class. these are things stlat been bubbling in american society. these are trend lines that emerge. have been coming to the fore over the course of the last 30 years. finally through confluence of events, occupy wall street and the white house strategy center, it's now the president's message. i think it's incredibly effective, and i think it will be a really good message for him going forward, provided the economy stays strong. there are a lot of variables there. we haven't talked about foreign policy. that could be something that undermines things. >> europe, iran, everything else up in the air. alex wagner, dana milbank, thank you for joining me tonight. and you can see alex's show. dana and i watch it every day. now with alex wagner at high noon. >> high noon. >> high noon here on msnbc. >> thanks, rev. >>> still ahead, new poll numbe

. >>> and tonight's the first feud with rod blagojevich's wife, patty, and she talks about how the fbi took her husband and how her family is coping. >>> on this final day of black history month, hattie mcdaniel became the first african-american woman to win an oscar. she was in 400 films, but playing mamie in "gone with the wind" was her iconic role. she never apologized for her choices, and among her fiesty quotes, i have played everything but a harp. oh! [ baby crying ] ♪ what started as a whisper ♪ every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing. ♪ slowly turned to a scream ♪ there's an insurance company that does that, too. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? ♪ amen, omen >>> it used to upset me and now it makes me sad to see people use patriotism and the troops as a pawn in their political argument. because i know personally growing up in a military family the sacrifice that is made on a daily basis. the troops are not red and blue. they are not black and white. they are not male and female. they are americans. when they put their uniforms on,

what joe is referring to is the day that rod blagojevich was arrested happened to be the day that thenack obama, president-elect barack obama got his first full intelligence briefing in chicago by people running the cia at national security agency. they put the briefing on the table, the soon to be president looked at it and went holy -- >> yeah. >> donny, where were you the day that in 1979 that the students stormed the embassy and took the americans hostage? >> i was in college, at the university of pennsylvania. >> in college. >> and once again, just to pick up on this -- >> no, i want to stay here for one second. i was in high school picking up the newspaper reading it. do you remember where you were, reverend al? >> i was probably in brooklyn college. >> membership point here is that when i was explaining this to somebody from the middle east yesterday, that still a scar. the iranians need to understand if they think that even a country exhausted by a decade of dumb wars is going to flinch from doing what we have to do to go into iran, they have no idea what we think about them, w