Santa came dressed in nubuck with tickets for Blagojeviches

Because wiretapping is illegal without a court order, we can only imagine the phone call between Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Sen. James DeLeo (D-Ticketmaster).

Blagojevich: "Jimmy, it's Rod."

Deleo: "Howyadooin'?"

Blagojevich: "Lookin' for some tickets."

DeLeo: "What, you didn't have enough Blackhawks the other night?"

Blagojevich: "I don't want hockey tickets Jimmy."

DeLeo: "What then, Bulls? Bears-Packers? 'Christmas Carol'?"

Blagojevich: "Hannah Montana."

DeLeo: "For Chrissake Rod, Hannah Montana? They may call me the Scalper of Springfield, but those things sold out before they were even on sale."

Blagojevich: "Jimmy. Who ya talkin' to here? My daughters really wanna see her show."

DeLeo: "OK. All right. Let me see what I can do. But this'll cost ya."

Blagojevich: "Jimmy, you da man."

The man, Sen. James DeLeo from Chicago's Northwest side, is the governor's Major Domo in the Senate. DeLeo's official title is assistant majority leader. But unofficially he has been known for years as the ticket agent of the Illinois General Assembly. He gets more calls for tickets than Oprah's doorman.

So of course when Blagojevich heard that Miley Cyrus, the star of the hit Disney TV show "Hannah Montana," was to appear in Rosemont, he did what any Illinois governor with two young daughters would do.

He talked to Sen. DeLeo.

"The first family went as guests of Sen. DeLeo," said Abby Ottenhoff, Gov. Blagojevich's press secretary.

I don't know how DeLeo obtained the tickets because he did not return my calls to his offices in Chicago or Springfield and his e-mail address didn't work.

I do know that the Hannah Montana show at the Allstate Arena sold out just as quickly as it had in other cities across the country. There are now investigations in several states to determine whether brokers cleaned out most of the tickets before most people could even finish dialing to place an order.

The frenzy also resulted in a class-action lawsuit by some members of Cyrus' fan club who lost out on tickets. The lawsuit claims they paid to join the fan club based on a promise that members would be more likely to get tickets.

So, from California to Kansas City and now Chicago, there is a trail of angry moms and dads surrounded by broken young hearts. Some parents, distraught over not being able to get tickets for their youngsters, resorted to scalpers or the Internet and paid thousands of dollars to get in.

Not, though, the governor, his wife and their daughters.

"Sen. DeLeo invited the governor and his family and provided their four tickets," Blagojevich's Chief of Staff Sheila Nix told me.

Ms. Nix also was on the concert scene that night but not to run interference in case an angry mob wanted to know how the governor scored some concert seats.

"I was also a guest of Sen. DeLeo," she admitted.

So let's get this straight, I said to Nix. DeLeo provided a grand total of five tickets to the governor and you? Or were there more?

"Gov and family: 4. Me/daughter: 2," she wrote back in an e-mail.

That's six.

And the governor's entourage also included his state police bodyguards. But I guess when you talk into your clenched hand and carry a 9 mm pistol, you don't need a ticket.

It was quite a memorable scene when the motorcade pulled up in front of the arena in Rosemont. The big, black Blagojevich Chevy suburban led the procession and stopped right in the middle of the street. The governor and his family piled out of the car, and the first words out of his mouth were, "Where's Jimmy?"

Sen. Jimmy was there waiting, envelope in hand, all spruced up in a nice nubuck shirt-jacket and Rosemont's more traditional garb of black shirt and black slacks.

The governor and the senator gave each other two warm kisses on each cheek, which is also a fine Rosemont custom popularized by the late Rosemont Mayor Donald E. Stephens.

Blagojevich made nice with ABC7 reporter Ben Bradley, saying that Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana is "a wholesome young girl who sings real well." The governor, keenly aware that Bradley works for Disney, quickly added that Cyrus "has a great show on the Disney Channel." He said that he has watched every episode on TV.

With that, First Lady Patti Blagojevich tried to move the family inside. "Hey Jimmy!" she yelled to Sen. DeLeo, who was still clutching the envelope of prized tickets. "We're goin' over this way …"

So they all went in a door marked "Exit." And with his back to the TV cameras, the governor consummated the great ticket deal with DeLeo, who no longer had possession of the envelope.

So, Christmas came early in the Blagojevich home. Santa wasn't dressed in red velour. He came in nubuck.

But just like for Santa, the New Year will bring no rest for Sen. James DeLeo (D-Ticketmaster).

Hannah Montana already has announced another Chicago appearance -- Jan. 14.

It sold out Saturday in about an hour.

I can almost hear the phone ringing now.

"Jimmy, it's Rod."