Cindi Canary in the News

ICPR Director Cindi Canary is in this week's Crain's Chicago Business with a discussion of Rod Blagojevich's recent book and how it relates to the way that campaign finance reform is playing out. A subscription is required, but here's the link.

And here's an excerpt:

With about 275,000 new book titles published annually in the United States, the odds were that, sooner or later, even Rod Blagojevich would find a publisher.

“The Governor” tells his side of the story, and I’m not buying it—either the book or his fairy tale about the zealous prosecutor out to get him.

Some might ask what Illinois has done to deserve the spectacle of Rod Blagojevich on the talk-show circuit and his wife on a jungle reality show.


And if you were listening to NPR over the weekend, yes, that was Cindi in a rebroadcast of This American Life. The show, which originally aired in 2000, includes a segment with Cindi discussing a situation where "The Fix is In." Download the free podcast here:

Blago Bio

Elizabeth Brackett's recent book on Rod Blagojevich's time as Governor, "Pay to Play -- How Rod Blagojevich Turned Political Corruption Into a National Sideshow," was the subject of a panel at the Printers Row Lit Fest over the weekend. Panel leader Eric Zorn has posted an mp3 of his conversation with Brackett on his blog. Give it a listen; it's 45 minutes well spent.

Now only 4 states have unregulated campaign finance systems

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson yesterday signed into law a bill creating campaign contribution limits. They get reform. Now there are 46 states that regulate campaign contributions, and just 4 that are wide open.

And what did Illinois get yesterday? More proof that we need reform.

If you're fed up with business as usual, if the indictment of Rod Blagojevich reads like a rehash of old news, if you're mad as hell and not going to take it anymore, then here's what you can do right now to make reform happen:

* Call 1-800-719-3020. This hotline, offered by CHANGE Illinois, will patch you through to your legislator's office, where you can voice your demand for reform of Illinois' political culture.

* Make plans to attend the rally at the James R. Thompson Center this Thursday, April 9 at 10 am.

ICPR AND SUNSHINE PROJECT REACT TO BLAGOJEVICH INDICTMENT

Cynthia Canary, Director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, issued the following statement:

“Rod Blagojevich was elected and then reelected governor based on the promise that he would reform and renew state government, but his government was more like an overloaded, malfunctioning sewage system. Now, it’s up to the elected leaders in Springfield to respond to the demands of the citizens of Illinois and clean up this mess. They should start by addressing the free flow of big campaign contributions from special interests. Limited campaign contributions and strong oversight of the campaign finance system would give the people of Illinois reason to believe their elected leaders are serious about changing the culture of corruption.”


Kent Redfield, Director of the Sunshine Project at the University of Illinois, issued the following statement:

“The political system in Illinois is broken and has been for decades. Removing Rod Blagojevich from office by impeachment and putting him on trial in a federal courtroom may teach him a lesson, but it will not reform Illinois. Major changes are required in the way Illinois polices lobbying and openness of government. But the first and most important change needed is to enact reasonable limits on the size of campaign contributions and strong enforcement of campaign finance laws.”

Time to Get to Work

Rod Blagojevich has been removed from office. Now, the real work can begin.

The waning days of the Blagojevich Administration became a circus, with a one-man carnival-barker/freak show in the center ring. But until the political system that allowed someone like that to assume the duties of governor is changed, the Era of Corruption will continue.

Rod Blagojevich was hardly an outlier in the state's list of governors. Three of his seven predecessors went to jail, and if he is convicted of the federal corruption charges now lodged against him, then Jon Stewart's observation -- that you are more likely to go to jail if you become governor of Illinois than if you commit murder -- will be proven true.

We welcome Governor Pat Quinn. Perhaps it is no coincidence that he has both a reputation for standing up to established power and a dismal record as a campaign fundraiser. But we also recognize that installing Pat Quinn will not end corruption in Illinois government. We have turned governors out of office before, only to wind up, again and again, right back at square one. Problems with any one officeholder are just symptoms of a much larger problem with our culture of politics.

Illinois' political culture is too loose to resist the next thuggish strongman who will exploit its weaknesses. Illinois provides its citizens with far too little information about the personal financial interests of public officials, about the activities of lobbyists, about the day-to-day operation of government. Our campaign laws make it far too easy for the entrenched to monopolize power, to limit ballot access, and to leverage incumbency into campaign resources.

This is not news. The problems we face are well known and well documented, as are the solutions. What is needed now is not recognition but resolution, not further deliberation but deliberate action. The new Governor and the General Assembly should enact limits on campaign contributions and bring Illinois in line with nearly all other states and the federal system. We've seen what happens when special interests can give unlimited amounts of money to political campaigns; let's see how elections in Illinois work when held to the same standards that prevail in most other states. Gov. Quinn and the members of the House and Senate should come to terms on a system of public financing, to let candidates run for office without having to kowtow to the small group of people who now control the purse strings.

It's past time to improve the culture of politics in Illinois. We know what we need to do. Now we must do it.

For more information, go to ilcampaign.org.

Illinois Residents See Broad Corruption in State Government and Seek Action for Change

A majority of Illinoisans (58%) believe Governor Rod Blagojevich’s alleged corrupt behavior is common among public officials in Illinois, and an even larger percentage believes a series of reforms, including limits on campaign contributions, would make a difference and lead to better government. The findings are contained in a new statewide poll released Thursday by the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR) and are available at www.ilcampaign.org. The poll itself is here (PDF) and the analysis is here (PDF).

About three-quarters of Illinois residents say an overhaul of Illinois’ weak system of campaign regulation would help make state government work better. According to the survey, 78% of residents say a ban on campaign contributions by corporations will make a difference, and 76% say a similar ban on labor union contributions would make a difference.

Similar sentiment (74%) was expressed for setting limits on the amount of contributions that could be given by individuals.

“The Blagojevich scandal and the other cases of corruption in state and local governments have taken their toll on voter confidence in public officials,” said Cynthia Canary, Director of ICPR. “Changing governors will not be enough to fix the system and restore the public’s faith in government.

“Illinois should join the federal government and 46 other states that limit the size of contributions, and our campaign finance, lobbying and ethics laws should be strictly enforced,” she said. “The public does not have much faith in state government, but voters do believe reform efforts are worthwhile. Legislators should give the public the change it deserves.”

Opinions of the state legislature have sharply worsened in recent months (49% of residents now believe the legislature is doing a “poor” job compared to 26% who said so in April-May 2008). Concerns about corruption and the influence of money in politics are deeper than the current scandal and are likely to continue even if the governor is removed.

“These survey results transcend political parties and all regions of the state,” stated Sheila Simon, a professor at the Southern Illinois University School of Law and a member of the ICPR Board. “Illinois residents are united in their views that our political system must be reformed.”

Even during tough economic times, Illinoisans are sending some strongly negative messages to officeholders across the state. Two-thirds support the creation of a new state agency to vigorously enforce Illinois’ campaign finance laws (66% support) and spending more tax dollars on stronger enforcement of laws to keep money out of politics (65%).

Underscoring the strong views of residents is another key finding: six in ten (61%) Illinois residents are “extremely” concerned about corruption in state government and more than half (54%) about the influence of money in state politics. Concerns of corruption exceed concerns over the economy (50%), jobs (45%), and the state budget (46%).

Other findings of the poll included:

• 71% of Illinois residents support a law limiting the amount of campaign money party leaders of the legislature are allowed to contribute to other legislative candidates;
• 89% of registered voters say their legislator’s support for legislation to reduce money in politics would be important to their decision to re-elect their legislator with half (50%) saying it would be “very important;”
• Eight in ten Illinois residents (78%) say the state is on the wrong track, an increase from the 68% who thought so in April-May 2008.

The poll was conducted by Belden, Russonello & Stewart (BRS), an independent
research firm located in Washington, DC. A random telephone survey of 802 adults in Illinois on attitudes toward government and political reform was conducted January 8 – 11, 2009. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points at the 95% level of tolerance. Some questions in the survey track attitudes from BRS surveys on political reform conducted in 2006 and 2008. The survey was commissioned and funded by The Joyce Foundation.

Rod Blagojevich: Alone with his Money?

Today's New York Times includes a profile of Gov. Blagojevich that describes him as "isolated" and "alone." Blago has always raised more money than anyone else and, with his list of campaign contributors, you'd think he'd never be lonely.

But a look at donations to his fund in the last half of 2008, released this week by the House Special Investigative Committee on impeachment, shows that many of his donors are walking away from him. These records are likely incomplete, but they suggest that people who gave to the governor in the past are toning down their support, significantly reducing their donations to his campaign fund.

Consider the utilities. Exelon kicked in $15K during the fall of of '07, but just $3.5K in the fall of '08. Ameren gave $12.5K in the fall of 2007, while fall of 2008 saw just $2K. People's Gas gave $10K in fall '08; half of what they gave a year earlier.

Other previous big donors to the governor appear to be similarly scaling back. Long-time Democratic donors Development Specialists gave $5K in fall 2008; down from $25K in fall 2007. Government Navigation Group, a lobbying firm, gave $500 in fall '08; Paul Rosenfeld, a principal at the firm, gave $5K in fall '07. Mr. & Mrs. James McDonough gave $1K in fall of '08; McDonough's company, state contractor McDonough & Assoc., gave $20K in the fall of '07. Sen. James Deleo's campaign fund gave $5K in fall '08; down from $20K in fall '07.

Even the laborers unions seem to have cut back. In the fall of 2007, three different regional laborers unions combined for $105K to Blago's fund. In the fall of 2008, just one regional, the Southern Central League, gave at all, and its giving totaled only $35K.

It seems that many gave to the governor because they thought he could deliver something. Impeached and facing federal corruption charges, his ability deliver has declined, and his receipts reflect that.

To join the comments on the contents of the list of donors, please visit yesterday's post, here.

Who would give Rod Blagojevich $617,643?

The answer is, 241 donations did. And, apparently, no one gave after November 25.

One of the subpoenas issued by the House Special Investigative Committee on impeachment was to the Friends of Blagojevich campaign fund seeking the names, dates, and amounts of donations to the fund between July 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008. Astute readers will recognize those dates as the start and end of the Semi-Annual Disclosure Period for the second half of 2008. State law requires that those donations be reported by January 20 (next Tuesday) but the subpoena trumped state law.

Friends of Blagojevich, through their lawyers at Hinshaw and Culberston, responded to the subpoena, and the Special Investigative Committee has posted the reply to their website. The response is just what was asked for -- names, amounts, and dates, without addresses, occupation, or employer. It also seems likely that it does not include in-kind donations.

But it does include some big donations, including a bunch from state contractors (natch), $34,000 from the laborers, and $50,000 from "Dream World Inc." All told, it adds up to $617K. The report is available here (PDF).

Give it a good read and post if you see anything interesting!

ICPR HELPS ILLINOISANS BOOT BLAGO

REMOVE THE GOVERNOR AND ENACT MAJOR REFORMS

Illinoisans who want to give Gov. Rod Blagojevich the boot out of office can go to www.BootBlago.org for the latest information on the Blagojevich scandal and advice how they can help change the state’s political system.

“Like his predecessor George Ryan – aka Federal Inmate Number 16627424 – Rod Blagojevich is an embarrassment to the state of Illinois,” said Cynthia Canary, Director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR). “The arrest of Gov. Blagojevich on a variety of corruption charges has lit a fire under taxpayers. If he’s not going to resign, they want to boot him out of office.”

The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR) is redoubling its efforts to enact meaningful campaign finance reforms, and ICPR will help Illinoisans become advocates of the Governor Blagojevich's impeachment.

“Removing Gov. Blagojevich from office is not all that is needed to end the culture of corruption,” Canary said. “We have to reform the laws that now allow special interests to give unlimited amounts of money to campaigns, and we need to bring much more sunshine into the operations of state and local governments.

The fight can begin with a visit to www.BootBlago.org.

ICPR created the website as a tool to help Illinoisans unfamiliar with lobbying legislators and curious about the impeachment process.

Visitors to the website can write letters to Gov. Rod Blagojevich urging him to resign and can send letters to Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn suggesting ways to improve the system. Visitors also can learn more about the reforms needed to make state politics and government more fair and honest and can link to ICPR’s website with a searchable database of campaign contributions to the governor, legislators and other candidates.

The reforms advocated by ICPR include limiting the size of campaign contributions, banning contributions by corporations and unions, prohibiting large transfers of campaign cash by legislative leaders to candidates, creating a system of voluntary campaign financing of judges, taking politics out of legislative redistricting, strengthening the State Board of Elections, toughening lobbyist regulation, requiring state officials to report more detail personal financial information concerning debts and investments, and making it easier to access public records through the Freedom of Information Act.

Warm, coal-fueled holidays

Lest anyone worried that our current governor would be ignored at the holidays, CNN reports that he is the politician most deserving of... coal in the stocking. It's not golden, but, hey, it's something.

From CNN.com:

Asked which political figure deserved a lump of coal this Christmas, the scandal-scarred Blagojevich was picked by more Americans than the other two candidates combined.

Number 2 in the nation? Or Number 3?

What a year it's been! The long presidential election, the financial upheavals, the continuing crisis in Iraq and Afghanistan - so much to remember. The Washington Post took a look back at the biggest scandals of the year and concluded that Gov. Rod Blagojevich's alleged effort to sell the Senate seat ranked as the second biggest scandal of the year. #1 went to Bernard Madoff, whose Ponzi scheme defrauded investors of as much as $50 billion. #3 on the Washington Post list: Elliot Spitzer. Also-rans include former US Senator Ted Stephens of Alaska, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and AIG, which spent $400,000 on an executive retreat the weekend after getting a $124 billion bailout from the US Government. That's tough competition, but our governor beat them all, nearly.

The Pew Center for the Public and the Press recently updated their list of the most-followed political scandals in America. Their ranking asks Americans if they are aware of stories in the news, and how closely they are following the story. The Blagojevich corruption story ranked third, behind #1 congressional check bouncing (April, 1992) and #2, the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky story (March, 1998). Our current governor's arrest ranks ahead of the Gary Hart/Donna Rice story (September, 1987) and the Elliot Spitzer prostitute story (March, 2008). To date, there are no allegations of sex in the Blagojevich story, but even so, it's already #3 of all time.

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann also put out a list, looking at the top 25 most corrupt American politicians of all time. Illinois is well-represented on the list, with Gov. George Ryan at #23, US Rep. Dan Rostenkowski at #21, and Gov. Otto Kerner at #13. And while it's early yet and the full details have yet to come out, based on the record so far, Olbermann is confident enough in Illinois to put Rod Blagojevich at #3 on the all time list of corrupt American politicians. Of course, Rod is still in office, so there's time for him to improve his ranking. #2, Charles Forbes, who ran the Veteran's Bureau for President Warren G. Harding and managed to embezzle nearly a quarter of his $1.3 billion budget; and #1, New York City's Boss Tweed, might want to watch their backs.

All kidding aside, let's hope that 2009 brings a new culture to Illinois politics.

December 9 in Retrospect

It was one week ago today that federal agents appeared on the governor's doorstep to take him into custody. That event, so shocking and yet in many ways so anticipated, has plunged Illinois simultaneously into new levels of paralysis and fervent action. In the blinding glare of national attention, our path to the future is temporarily harder to see.

But before we move too far ahead, we should also note two other reasons for commemorating December 9. It was five years earlier, on December 9, 2003, that the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act was signed into law. The 2003 Ethics Act, as it is commonly known, was enacted, like the 2008 Pay-to-Play law, by the legislature over the governor's veto. The signing ceremony on December 9, 2003 was for an enhancement crafted after a storm of public opinion overcame Senate reluctance, resulting in a law that formed the apparatus of ethics enforcement: the Executive and Legislative Ethics Commissions, the Inspectors General, routine ethics training, and a host of other internal changes designed to ferret out corruption before it reached the scale and scope that typified George Ryan's tenure in public office. Rod Blagojevich signed the new law, the strongest in a generation, on December 9, 2003, five years to the day before he himself was arrested.

The other reason to note December 9 is that on that day, also in 2003, ICPR's co-founder Paul Simon passed away. Though Paul Simon is no longer here with us, his legacy of inspiration continues to guide many who believe that government can be ethical, responsible, and above board.

Now we have a third, far tawdrier, reason to recall December 9. We hope that the date will be remembered mostly not as another step in the final demise of one governor, but in Illinois' forward progress toward a more responsible government. If we in Illinois learn anything from history, it should be that removing one actor from the system will do little to change that system. The events of December 9, 2008, confirmed for many that Rod Blagojevich must go before Illinois' government can right itself. But removing the governor is only one step among many. Until we deal with the culture that embraces unlimited campaign contributions, that allows lobbyists to hide their relationships with clients and officials, that tolerates scorn for FOIA and economic interest disclosure, we as a state will be counting the days until the next Rod Blagojevich comes along.

Had enough?

The arrest of Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the numerous acts of corruption and abuse of power spelled out in the federal prosecutor’s 76-page complaint should be enough to light a fire under the Illinois General Assembly.

Yes, Gov. Blagojevich should resign. But because that would be the honorable thing for him to do, a resignation is not expected.

If he does not resign, the General Assembly should pass a law stripping him of the power to appoint Barack Obama’s replacement in the U.S. Senate.

But that is not enough. The Illinois House should immediately move forward with impeachment proceedings. Illinois cannot function in these troubled times under the leadership of a man who has lost the trust and confidence of the public.

For several decades, the men and women elected to the General Assembly and other statewide offices have not done enough to end the culture of corruption in state government and too many local governments.

At a minimum, state legislators – Democrats and Republicans – have been enablers of government corruption. George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich came to power in a system energized by money from people buying access, contracts, tax breaks and other benefits.

None of them have done enough to change the system. Passing legislation to take away Gov. Blagojevich’s power to name the state’s next U.S. Senator and removing him from office are not enough.

The General Assembly must pass laws directly addressing the culture of politics that allows people like Rod Blagojevich to become political leaders. It is time for the General Assembly to pass tough new laws limiting the size of campaign contributions, banning contributions by corporations and unions, prohibiting large transfers of campaign cash by legislative leaders to candidates, creating a system of voluntary campaign financing of judges, taking politics out of legislative redistricting, strengthening the State Board of Elections, toughening lobbyist regulation and making it easier for the public to access public records through the Freedom of Information Act.

The General Assembly also should make certain the recent pay-to-play legislation, which will take effect Jan. 1, is enforced and that the State Board of Elections has the funding and determination to carry out its responsibilities under the new law.

Voters, too, share some responsibility.

Enough is enough. It is time for action.

Zero Plus Four is a Problem for Illinois

A new Rasmussen poll cited in today's subscriber-only Capitol Fax apparently finds voters extraordinarily dissatisfied with our governor. Zero percent of respondents rated Gov. Blagojevich's job in office as "excellent" and 4% rated him "good." That's a combined 4% in the good or better department, which pollsters commonly equate with approval ratings when they don’t ask specifically about approval. And the margin of error is likely +/- 4.5%. In contrast, 29% of respondents rated the governor "fair" and 65%, nearly two out of three Illinoisans polled, rated him "poor."

Another Rasmussen survey a few months ago put the governor's approval rating at 13%. Not easy to go down from 13%, you might think. But this governor can do what no one else thinks is possible. He can unite Democrats and Republicans behind a common theme. So kudos for that.

A 2000 General Election exit survey I found on-line suggests that 32% Illinois voters held a favorable view of then-Gov. George Ryan, which was after the first two dozen Operation Safe Roads convictions but still nearly three years before he was indicted and four years before his conviction. It would seem that George Ryan was 8 times as popular as Gov. Blagojevich.

Kidding aside, this governor has got to recognize that he has a serious problem on his hands. He has no credibility on reform issues. None. Zilch. Zero. And no degree of finger pointing, no amount of pounding the bully pulpit, no number of press releases will change that. Drop the "my way or the highway" approach. Forget about "are you with us or against us". Stop using "reform" proposals as vehicles for your own private vendettas. Focus more on the good of the state and less on the ego of the office holder.

Step by step, Illinois' political culture will improve. Gov. Blagojevich wants to be the poster child for reform. Right now, he's the leading example for why Illinois needs reform. At 4%, can he turn that around?

Dr. Blagojevich, you’ve created a monster!

Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been called a lot of things, but The Peoria Journal Star may be the first to equate him with the mad scientist Dr. Victor Frankenstein.

In a September 4th editorial headlined “Governor creates monster of an ethics bill,” The Journal Star says the General Assembly should override the governor’s amendatory veto of House Bill 824, which would prohibit everyone with large state contracts from making campaign contributions to the officeholder awarding the contract.

The editorial criticized “Dr. Blagojevich” for proposing major changes that should be debated but not forced on the General Assembly. “When he was done doctoring HB 824, it looked nothing like the original – instead becoming an amalgam of extra parts. Basically, Blagojevich stitched together the Frankenstein of ethics reform. Now he’s unleashed his clumsy creation on Springfield.”

The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform agrees. This monster needs to be killed with an override by the House and Senate. If this creature isn’t killed, it could destroy the negotiated agreement to discourage pay-to-play contracting.

The editorial is timely because the House will be back in session next week to consider leasing the State Lottery as a funding mechanism for a multibillion-dollar construction program, and the amendatory veto of HB 824 also may be called for a vote. Before the General Assembly agrees to any new capital plan, it should make certain that the pay-to-play safeguards of HB 824 are in statute.

The Peoria Journal Star is one of many newspapers calling for an override of the veto of HB 824.

Although the others didn’t compare Gov. Blagojevich to Dr. Frankenstein, most were just as blunt in describing his veto and his executive order to extend the contribution ban to the legislative branch, state political parties and any officeholder, regardless of what office awarded the contract,

Here’s a sampling.

The Rockford Register-Star: “Legislators have vowed to override the Blagojevich veto. They should do so, and quickly. No more shams from the Flimflam Man!”

The Southern Illinoisan: “The governor blew it. He could have affixed his signature and shared in the credit for a change for the better in Illinois.”

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “With a 60 percent vote in both houses, the General Assembly can override an amendatory veto and pass the original bill. Legislators should do so promptly. The people of Illinois are tired of crooked government.”

The State Journal-Register: “In the first half of 2008 alone, Blagojevich received $238,500 in campaign contributions from businesses or employees of businesses that have contracts worth more than $50,000 with agencies under the governor’s control, according to the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. 
So forgive us if we take the governor’s sudden reform movement — and his impulse to author radically new ethics and fundraising legislation — with a grain of salt the size of Lincoln’s Tomb. We hope the legislature does the same this fall and restores the ethics and campaign finance bills to their original form.”

The Decatur Herald & Review: “. . . the governor's action shows he's really not interested in ethics reform.”

The Moline Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus: “The amendatory veto message he signed last week dripped with hypocrisy. This is, after all, the governor who spent months enriching his campaign chest with money from state contractors. Now he wants to ban such contributions?”

The Chicago Sun-Times: “Being governor, it turns out, doesn't give anyone the right to rule by fiat. That's especially true when you risk constitutional challenges that can force the state back to square one.”

The Chicago Tribune: “It's not a perfect bill, but it's a solid bill that this page has repeatedly urged the governor to sign. Just as we now urge legislators to override his veto of it. As is, the people of Illinois stand confronted with more of the Blagojevichian antics that have made him so untrustworthy. Rather than push legislators to write his "improvements" into law, he'd rather grandstand for the cameras, make noise about reform, and hope that—with public attention focused on the Democratic National Convention in Denver—nobody is paying much attention to the culture of political sleaze back home in Illinois.”



Well said.

WellPaying Contributor to Blagojevich Back in the News

A couple of years ago, reports in the Tribune, Crain's, and the State Journal Register linked five bundled donations to Gov. Blagojevich's campaign with the All Kids health insurance program and the contract to manage it. New reports out today suggest that pattern may be repeating itself, this time in Florida.

Today's news report indicates that WellCare is "the biggest campaign contributor to Republican state House candidate Will Pruitt " and that "Pruitt received 20 separate $500 contributions, the limit for individual contributions, from WellCare Health Plans Inc. and its subsidiaries: WCG Health Management, Comprehensive Logistics, Comprehensive Health and Healthease."

If that sounds familiar, it should. On Nov. 21, 2005, WellCare made 5 separate $20,000 donations to Gov. Blagojevich's campaign. Those donations, made through subsidiaries including WellCare Health Plans Inc and WCG Health Management, came less than a week after the Governor signed into law his All Kids insurance program.

WellCare also hired Blagojevich protégé John Wyma in August of 2005; in January, 2006, another WellCare subsidiary, Harmony Health Care, hired Wyma, and has retained Wyma ever since.

At the time they hired Wyma and made the $100K in donations to the governor's campaign fund, Harmony Health Care held a $99M contract with the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. That contract grew to $110M n FY07, $150M in FY08, and $162M in the current fiscal year. That's almost a two-thirds increase in their contract value in just three short years.

There may be more. According to Forbes, WellCare is under investigation by the FBI for possible Medicare fraud in Florida and Illinois. The company has acknowledged errors in both states.

Is there a pattern of bundling donations through subsidiaries to win state contracts? Either way, it's time to cut the connection between campaign money and state contracts.

Blagojevich's Lost Fundraiser

October 24, 2007, was a busy day in Illinois. The newspapers were full of stories about Comptroller Dan Hynes' new Open Book website making it easy to track campaign contributions AND state contracts. The U.S. 7th Circuit Court ruled against former Gov. George Ryan's appeal of his criminal conviction. And it appears that Gov. Rod Blagojevich held a campaign fundraiser. It was a big fundraiser, apparently; so big that maybe in all of the excitement he just forgot about some of the donations.

Last Monday, Friends of Blagojevich filed an amendment to its disclosure report for the last half of 2007. The amendment cleaned up some of the listings and reshuffled some of the donations. It also disclosed for the first time six donations that had been left off the earlier report.

What did they forget? A $10K check from Destefano & Partners. A Destefano Partners had a contract with the Capital Development Board for $3.5M in FY08. That's up from $520 (yes, that's five hundred and twenty dollars) in FY07 (Destefano Partners has a contract worth $1.6M in FY09. FY07 was an unusual year for the firm, which had about $500K per year the previous three years).

Friends of Blagojevich also forgot a $5K check from the Capitol Avenue PAC. The PAC is associated with the principals at Government Consulting Solutions, a lobbying firm whose offices are on West Capitol Avenue in Springfield and whose lobbying activities involved the Office of the Governor, IDOT, DNR, DCEO, and the Liquor Control Board, in addition to the General Assembly.

The Governor's PAC also forgot a $5K check from Eight LP, a $500 check from Heritage Builders, a $5K check from 315 W. North Ave LP, and $10K check from Parsons. All of these checks were received on October 24. That same day, Friends of Blagojevich received another 40 or so donations that were reported on the original disclosure form, including a separate $1,000 check from Capitol Avenue PAC.

Friends of Blagojevich also forgot to report a $1K check from Boeing, received on September 7. But I can't see that anything interesting happened that day.

Maybe when you're raising money as fast as the Governor, some things just get lost.

State contractors continue contributing to Gov. Blagojevich

It is still business as usual for Gov. Blagojevich, the only statewide officeholder taking campaign contributions from companies with state-paid contracts awarded by his office or agencies under his control.

Yesterday, the Blagojevich campaign committee filed campaign disclosure reports for the first half of 2008, and we have found dozens of contributions from people and businesses connected to state contracts. In a preliminary look through his report, we found 70 that appear, on their face, to be from businesses or employees of businesses that have FY09 contracts from agencies under his control worth more than $50,000. Those donations total $238,500. That's about 22% of his itemized individual donations, or 12.6% of all the contributions to his campaign.

We did not look too closely for parent, sibling, or subsidiary businesses with contracts, or for people for whom the campaign did not provide occupation and employer information, so the numbers with contracts could be higher.

Of course, we're interested in these contributions by contractors because House Bill 824 awaits action by the Governor. If signed into law, HB 824 would prohibit large state contractors from making contributions to the political committee of the officeholder awarding the contract. Passed without any dissent by the General Assembly, HB 824 would limit pay-to-play opportunities in state contracting.

If you want to do your own searching, we recommend the Comptrollers' contractor search site. (http://www.wh1.ioc.state.il.us/QuickTake/Contracts/index.cfm). Its Open Book service is terrific. But because new campaign reports were just filed with the State Board of Elections, it may be a bit out of date today. Give it a week or so go catch up. The contractor search page is updated daily, and covers most of the statewide officers (some agencies, like the Illinois Finance Authority, are not included, but most are).

Here are some of the highlights of what we found:

Alfred Benesch and Company has $17M in FY09 contracts, up from $7.5M in FY08. That includes $12.4M with the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority and $4.6M with IDOT. The company gave a single $5K check on June 27 and employees gave another $19,500 over the course of the six month disclosure period.

Burns + McDonnell Engineering has $14.4M in FY 09 contracts, up from $5.1M in FY08. That includes $12M with ISTHA and $2M with IDOT. The company gave $15K on June 4.

Civiltech Engineering has $7.5M in FY09 contracts, up from $5.1M in FY08. That includes $4.6M in ISTHA and $2.8M in IDOT. The company wrote a $10K check on June 17.

V3 Companies of Illinois has $9.5M in FY09 contracts, up from $4.9M in FY08. Nearly all of the money is with ISTHA. The company wrote two checks: one for $4K on April 7 and a second for $10K on June 17.

Entran has $1.9M in FY09 contracts, down from $2.4M in FY08. Nearly all the FY09 contracts are with IDOT. The company wrote one check for $13,750 on June 20.

Let us know what you see!

Chris Kelly's Campaign Contributions

Most of the search for meaning in yesterday's Chris Kelly indictment on income tax evasion charges has rightly focused on his close personal relationship with Gov. Blagojevich. As we noted in yesterday's post, the indictment calls into question how the governor vetted advisors; who was bending his ear is worth examining, and the facts alleged in the indictment, if true, suggest that Kelly should not have been a Special Government Agent on behalf of the governor in internal meetings at the Gaming Board.

As a sidebar, the indictment also appears to be a jumping off point to revisit Kelly's campaign donations to the governor. For consistency's sake, here's our accounting of campaign donations from Kelly and associated entities, based on reports filed with the State Board of Elections and included in the Sunshine Database.

The governor's campaign fund reports $688,500 in donations and loans from Kelly affiliates These include $337K from CGK Consulting, including $250K in loans; $125K from BCI Roofing; $109K from Castle Construction, including a $2,500 donation from Anthony Blum, an employee; and $117,500 from MBB, including $100K in loans. All of those were reported in 2000-2002. In 2004, Blagojevich's campaign fund repaid the $250K loan from CGK, and in 2005, they repaid the $100K loan from MBB. Net of those loan repayments, Friends of Blagojevich reports $338.5K in receipts from entities affiliated with Chris Kelly.

Friends of Blagojevich also hired Castle Construction to do work on the Blagojevich campaign headquarters at a cost of $236K during the 2004-2005 winter. But that was payment for actual services, not debt service.

Kelly's affiliates haven't given much lately. The great bulk of their giving was to Blagojevich, and all of that was during 2000-2002. Other top recipients include Chicago Alderman Patrick Levar (including $9,540 directly and $5,600 to the 45th Ward Regular Democrats), Country Club Hills Mayor Dwight Welch ($11K, all in 2006 and 2007), and former Attorney General candidate John Schmidt. Smaller receipts were reported by legislators ($3K by Lee Daniels, $500 each by Jay Hoffman and Susan Mendoza), Chicago Aldermen ($9K by Ed Burke or the 14th Ward Ad Book Committee, $3K by Danny Solis, $2K by William JP Banks, $1.5K by Carrie Austin, $500 by Patrick O'Connor) and other assorted officials ($2K by Tom Dart, $1.5K by Richard M Daley, $1K by Dan Hynes) and some others.

That John Schmidt contribution was made in December, 1997; it was the second reported donation from a Kelly-affiliate. The first reported contribution by a Kelly-affiliate was a $400 donation from BCI in May, 1997 to then-Secretary of State George Ryan.

Chris Kelly Indicted

News stories are cropping up faster than we can track them. As context, below are comments from an interview between Gov. Blagojevich and the Daily Southtown Editorial Board in Ocober, 2006, and statements from Kelly's Statement of Economic Interest.

The interview, published October 13, 2006, took place the same week that Blagojevich fundraiser Tony Rezko was indicted for taking kickbacks from firms seeking state business. At one point in the interview, the Editorial Board asked the governor his thoughts about Chris Kelly. Here's the exchange:


In Blagojevich's words

October 13, 2006

Excerpts from Gov. Rod Blagojevich's interview with the Daily Southtown editorial board Thursday afternoon:

[snip]

Q: Are you confident that Chris Kelly is not going to be indicted?

A: Yeah. Yes. They're two different people, by the way, and it's a different relationship. Chris and I are much closer. Chris is the head of my political campaign. That's someone I talk to a lot more frequently. I'm confident, yes.

Q: What happened five months ago that you had this final, last conversation with Tony Rezko? What was the last conversation and why was it the last one?

A: It was four or five months ago; could have been at an event somewhere that I saw him. It was fine.

Q: Were you starting to distance yourself from him at that point?

A: Not all. I think I need to explain the extent of the relationship. He's not an exclusive friend of mine. He was a supporter of mine. He doesn't have a formal position in our campaign. He never did. He made some recommendations during the transition and during the first year we were building an administration, but for the most part, that's it. I think some of the talk that he's this big adviser is frankly overblown.

It's different with Chris. I'd be shocked. I'm very confident in Chris.

[snip]


To be fair, Chris Kelly today was not indicted on public corruption charges. The feds allege that Kelly failed to report personal income from gambling, along with personal subsidies from his businesses to cover gambling debts.

Perhaps the governor did not know the extent of Kelly's gambling. After all, why would the governor appoint someone who gambled to this extent as his Special Government Agent to the Illinois Gaming Board, to represent the governor on gambling issues?

The indictment also brings up Kelly's Statement of Economic Interest for 2004 and 2005, filed when he served as Blagojevich's Special Government Agent. Asked to list "the name of any entity from which a gift or gifts … valued singly or in the aggregate in excess of $500, was received during the previous year." Kelly's answer in 2004 and again in 2005 (the year before Rezko was indicted) was, in its entirety: "gifts of personal friendship received by person filing this statement [ie, Kelly] from Tony Rezko and Rod Blagojevich (person filing this statement provides similar gifts of personal friendship to such individuals)." No other gift givers are mentioned; for 2003 and 2004, this particular gift exchange was limited to three people, two of whom have now been indicted.

The governor has some explaining to do.