Blagojevich banks on big-ticket fundraiser

Gov. Rod Blagojevich is revving up the fundraising machine that gave him a huge advantage in his two campaigns for governor but also has been a flashpoint for allegations that he favors donors with state jobs and contracts.

The Democrat is looking to pump big bucks back into a campaign chest that was depleted in last year's election with a Thursday fundraiser that costs $1,000 for two tickets and up to $20,000 for a "co-chair."

Blagojevich doesn't face another campaign until 2010, if he runs again. But he also uses the fund to pay legal bills, which have grown as federal investigators dissect how the administration hands out jobs. Prosecutors also have snared top Blagojevich fundraiser, Antoin "Tony" Rezko, who was indicted in an alleged kickback scheme at a state pension fund.

Blagojevich has not been charged with a crime and he denies any wrongdoing.

Campaign spokesman Doug Scofield said Thursday's reception is typical fundraising any elected official needs to do and not related to any legal bills. The event will be Blagojevich's biggest of the year.

"He is the incumbent governor who has not detailed his future plans, but certainly running for re-election could very much be a part of those plans," Scofield said. Blagojevich waited to formally announce his last re-election bid until just about a month before the 2006 primary.

Blagojevich is renowned for picking up campaign cash and he's not shy about spending it. He doled out more than $16 million, compared to about $6 million by his Republican opponent, in the last six months of 2006 when he was re-elected.

But claims that the Blagojevich administration caters to campaign donors and the well-connected have picked at the governor's image as a reformer who was elected to replace a Republican since convicted on federal racketeering charges.

Contributors have gained spots on state boards and commissions; donors have received state business; lobbyists who are friends and associates of the governor have won lucrative contracts for their clients; and his top fundraisers have had a say in government policy and appointments.

A government watchdog group anxiously awaits campaign disclosure reports so it can see where Blagojevich's money will come from on Thursday.

"His are often among the most interesting," David Morrison, deputy director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, said of Blagojevich's reports.

Blagojevich believes his, and anyone else's, fundraising should be scrutinized, Scofield said.

Still, Scofield won't say how much the campaign will generate at the fundraiser, which is expected to attract between 200 and 300 people. That's significantly less than the more than 3,000 people who crowded into the main hall of Chicago's Field Museum for an April 2006 fundraiser so Blagojevich could gear up for his re-election battle.

Thursday's 2½-hour event will take place at the same North Side steel company where Blagojevich celebrated his re-election last year. Unlike the fundraiser at the Field, Thursday's occasion is expected to be closed to the media.

The campaign fund, Friends of Blagojevich, had $283,782 left at the end of June, according to reports filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections. During the first half of the year the campaign spent about $165,000 on legal fees, the majority of that going to the Chicago law firm Winston & Strawn, the same firm that defended Blagojevich's predecessor, former Gov. George Ryan.

During the last six months of 2006, the Blagojevich campaign paid more than $750,000 in legal fees, mostly to Winston & Strawn. The campaign has not detailed the fees it paid to the firm.

Ryan is free on bond pending an appellate court ruling on whether he should get a new trial after his April 2006 conviction for racketeering and fraud that included steering state contracts to political friends.

The political watchdog group apparently isn't the only one interested in Blagojevich's fundraising.

Federal prosecutors reportedly have subpoenaed Blagojevich's campaign fund. Citing three unnamed law enforcement sources, the Chicago Tribune reported in May that prosecutors had subpoenaed records, the scope of which were not detailed.

Randall Samborn, a U.S. attorney spokesman, would not comment or confirm the subpoena to The Associated Press on Wednesday. Scofield also declined to comment.

Rezko has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he shook down investment firms that wanted to do business with the state of Illinois, including a $1.5 million contribution "to a certain public official."

A person familiar with the investigation, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because the probe is ongoing, has said the unnamed public official is Blagojevich.

The $1.5 million was never paid.