Blago's campaign fund 'zeroed out': Taxpayers soon may foot legal bills

Taxpayers could start having to pay former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's legal fees very soon.

Federal Judge James Zagel on Friday authorized the U.S. District Court Clerk's Office to make disbursements totaling $75,693 from the Friends of Blagojevich Campaign Fund.

Those latest disbursements, Clerk Michael Dobbins said Monday, have "zeroed out" the campaign fund, which held nearly $2.7 million at the time of Blagojevich's arrest in December 2008.

As defense attorney Sam Adam argued during closing statements, Blagojevich is "broke, man, broke!"

Rod Blagojevich and his wife, Patti, are more than $200,000 in debt, prosecutors say.

The couple owns a house on Chicago's North side and a condo in Washington, D.C., but if the former governor is convicted of racketeering the government can move to seize both properties.

According to Illinois Board of Elections financial disclosures, Friends of Blagojevich had $2,675,328.75 at the end of 2008, having taken in just over $700,000 in the previous six months. That fund was transferred to the clerk of the U.S. District Court in June 2009, after Blagojevich had been formally indicted by a grand jury, and has been used to pay Blagojevich's legal costs.

Zagel set a flat rate of $110 an hour for the defense attorneys, well below the top fees commanded by high-profile lawyers. (Winston & Strawn provided the defense for Blagojevich's predecessor, former Gov. George Ryan, pro bono at a cost estimated at more than $10 million.)

It's likely the public will pick up the tab for Blagojevich from now on, with taxpayers in effect funding both the prosecution and the defense. Dobbins said that would require Blagojevich to submit a signed statement of assets, as well as a court determination of eligibility for public funding,

As of Monday, Blagojevich's lawyers had not yet submitted requests to use public funds, Dobbins said.