Senate candidate Jackson distances herself from Blagojevich

Democratic Senate candidate Cheryle Jackson said Friday she wasn't sure if she would be called to testify in the upcoming corruption trial of her former boss, ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Meanwhile, challenger Jacob Meister blasted most of his opponents in the five-way race as unqualified, or worse, in a separate Daily Herald editorial board interview.

Jackson, who is on leave from her job as president of the Chicago Urban League, was one of Blagojevich's top aides for four years, employed as a deputy chief of staff for communications.

Jackson said Friday she had "no way of knowing" at the time if the governor was corrupt.

Jackson is not accused of any wrongdoing. Her name hasn't come up in the federal investigation or court documents.

Blagojevich was arrested last year and has been charged with a wide variety of corruption that prosecutors claim dated back to his first days in office. When Jackson resigned in 2006 toward the end of the governor's first term, Blagojevich was facing increasing questions about alleged fraud in state government.

Jackson said she first signed on with Blagojevich to fight for the working class.

"I signed up to fight for families," Jackson said, "not to fight allegations."

When asked if she thought there was a possibility of being called to testify in the trial, which could occur before the general election, she said, "I don't know."

"I have had no role in any of the issues or political decisions," she said of her work with Blagojevich. "I didn't work with the campaign."

As a former top-level employee in the governor's office for four years, however, it stands to reason there is a possibility she could be called to testify by either defense attorneys or prosecutors.

Jackson made clear she had no knowledge of any criminal activity in the governor's office.

"We need to be focused on the drama in people's lives not the political drama," Jackson said.

Jackson said she is the only candidate in the primary field to have directly helped the working poor "on the front lines" and "in the trenches" as the urban league president. She is pushing tax credits for small businesses and quicker spending of the $787 billion federal stimulus package.

"For me it is about jobs and job creation," said Jackson, pointing out she has tried to help people at the league through large job fairs and one-on-one assistance with loan modifications and credit repair.

Meanwhile, Meister, a Chicago commercial attorney, argued Friday he is the only candidate in the race with the business experience to understand how to fix the nation's economy.

He questioned Jackson's policy experience and brought up allegations against Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, whose family bank gave loans to convicted influence peddler Tony Rezko. "I think they should be wary of him," Meister said.

The one-term treasurer has defended himself on the loans before, saying he didn't have close ties to Rezko.

Meister spent most of his time focusing on Chicago inspector general David Hoffman Friday, in part because he clerked for conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist.

"I challenge his credentials as a Democrat," Meister said.

At a Wednesday editorial board interview, Hoffman argued there is nothing wrong with a healthy exchange of ideas and that he has always held true to party beliefs.

"Being open minded and being true to your principals are not mutually inconsistent," Hoffman said.

Meister said Friday he is running because he saw a Democratic field "where nobody ... has a background in commercial matters" to deal with the economy. He championed educational reforms that would allow a return of vocational training at public high schools as well as incentives to spur job creation in the green energy sector.

Meister and Jackson said they would vote for health care reform that lacked a public insurance option as long as it reduced costs in the long run and increased the number of insured in the nation. However, they both prefer a public insurance option.

Also running in the race is Burr Ridge radiologist Robert Marshall. The primary is Feb. 2 and early voting starts Jan. 11.