Blagojevich still pulls in contributions

Gov. Rod Blagojevich boosted his midterm campaign fund to nearly $3.6 million while he negotiated a sizable cut in massive legal fees as a federal corruption probe continues to dog his administration.

Blagojevich reported raising more than $1.9 million in the last six months, campaign finance records filed late Monday show.

At the same time, he managed to cut nearly $250,000 in legal debt owed to Winston & Strawn, the law firm of former Gov. Jim Thomspon that defended former Gov. George Ryan on corruption charges. The last reported bill from Winston & Strawn is from October 2007, but campaign spokesman Doug Scofield said the firm continues to work for the campaign.

"They have been," he said. "There has just been no charges from them during this six-month reporting period."

Scofield said the amount of firm's work has been "similar" to that of the past.

In all, Blagojevich has racked up more than $2 million in legal bills. At the end of last year, his campaign reported $965,000 in debt to Winston & Strawn for work since December 2006, but that was revised down to o $750,000 in this reporting period.

"That reflects discussions about what the appropriate level of cost should be," Scofield said.

In June, Blagojevich's former top fundraiser, Antoin "Tony" Rezko, was found guilty of trading on his clout to strong arm millions of dollars in kickbacks from state contractors. Another Blagojevich fundraiser, Chris Kelly, is under indictment for tax fraud tied to a massive gambling debt.

Blagojevich has said he is not the target of the federal investigation, though he has been interviewed by authorities.

Scofield said the campaign is satisfied with this period's fundraising totals.

A preliminary review of the donors reveals several state contractors. The governor has yet to sign an ethics measure on his desk that would make it illegal for state contractors to donate to such campaigns.

Blagojevich, a self-styled reformer, has indicated he plans to amendatory veto the measure and ask lawmakers to pass one with additional restrictions, though many lawmakers criticize the move as a backhanded effort to kill the bill.

The Daily Herald reported in March that 73 percent of more than $1.5 million Blagojevich raised in the last half of 2007 came from state contractors, lobbyists and those relying on the state for regulatory approval.

Under the legislation on the governor's desk, as much as 55 percent of the governor's $1.5 million raised late last year would have been banned.

Meanwhile, possible gubernatorial contenders are building up their war chests, with Democrats leading the charge.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan raised about half a million dollars in the first six months of 2008 and had more than $2.6 million on hand at the end of June.

State Comptroller Dan Hynes nearly matched Madigan's efforts, with about $2.4 million on hand in late June, having raised $739,377 in the last six months.

Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias raised $659,865 in the first six months of 2008 and had $1.3 million in the bank on June 30.

On the Republican side, House Republican Leader Tom Cross had nearly $1.1 million in the bank, but a spokesman said much of it would go to retaining and winning seats in the legislature.

DuPage County Chairman Robert Schillerstrom had $462,338 on hand in late June, which included a noticeable $374,970 fundraising effort in the first half of the year.

DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett, who lost in bids for attorney general and lieutenant governor, raised $63,782 and had just $96,713 as of June 30.