Graffiti is more than just a hobby for Chicago-based graffiti artist Ray Noland; it’s a way of life. He has a penchant for creating works of street art inspired by political figures. Back during the 2008 election season, Noland helped contribute to Barack Obama’s grassroots campaign by creating mesmerizing stencil graffiti pieces. More recently, Noland has unleashed two new pieces onto the streets of Chicago: “Run Blago Run” and “Survivor Blago.”

The first piece illustrates the former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich as he was often seen by paparazzi - in his black tracksuit jogging around the neighborhood. His original designs included a running Blagojevich escaping from Barack Obama, Blagojevich holding ferocious attack dogs, and Blagojevich casually chatting on his cell phone. The second shows just what could have been: Blagojevich trying to start a fire as a contestant on a new Survivor-like reality show entitled I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! In case you were unaware, the former Governor was trying to head down to the Costa Rican jungle to partake in this show while his team lawyers sorted out the array of charges filed against him. Many officials, including the FBI, were afraid that he would use the opportunity of being outside the US to skip out on his trial, so they made sure a judge denied his request to leave the country.

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