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Governor insists he doesn't engage in 'pay-to-play' politics
SPRINGFIELD — Facing ominous implications from a federal corruption trial, Gov. Rod Blagojevich vehemently insists that he never engages in “pay-to-play” politics. But records show political donors from around the country pay into the Illinois governor’s campaign fund, and they’re definitely major players in state contracting under his administration. A review of campaign contributions from about 50 of the state’s top-paid contractors found about half have been significant contributors to Blagojevich. They include consultants, auditing firms and others from across the country. They have loaded up Blagojevich with five- and six-figure campaign donations while reaping millions in service contracts. Such circumstances are legal and common in Illinois. But the issue has become potentially explosive in light of the ongoing federal corruption trial of Blagojevich fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko in Chicago. “If what we’re seeing now (in the Rezko trial) doesn’t revive this issue, I don’t know what will,” said state Rep. John Fritchey, D-Chicago, who has sponsored legislation to ban state contractors from contributing to the politicians who control those contracts. Rezko is accused of using his clout with the administration to squeeze state contractors for bribes. In one instance, he’s accused of trying to coerce a would-be contractor into raising money for Blagojevich’s campaign fund. Blagojevich hasn’t been charged. But the government’s case against Rezko refers to an unnamed “Public Official A” (recently identified in court as Blagojevich), who allegedly said he could steer state contracts in exchange for campaign fundraising. Blagojevich denies any involvement. “It doesn’t matter what letter of the alphabet it is,” he told reporters in February. “What was described there (in the court documents) doesn’t describe me or how I do things.” None of the contractors whose contributions were examined by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is involved in the Rezko case. Several, contacted recently, said their donations had nothing to do with getting or keeping state business — and that there’s nothing in Illinois law to prohibit what they’re doing. “We work in every state, every major city and county, and also do work for the federal government,” Rachael Rowland, spokeswoman for Maximus Inc., wrote in an e-mailed statement, explaining why the Virginia-based governmental consulting firm donated $25,500 to Blagojevich. Like other contractors interviewed, she said the contributions weren’t tied to the company’s Illinois state contracts, worth $7.6 million this year. “Maximus supports candidates and officials at the state and local levels of government that share our ‘good government’ philosophy,” Rowland wrote. Said Jim Kerr of Unisys Corp. of North Dakota, “Like other companies, we do make selected political contributions in compliance with internal policy and applicable laws.” The company has made $15,000 in donations to Blagojevich, and has $2 million in state contracts this year. Findings show link The Post-Dispatch compared a list of about 50 of the state’s top-paid service contractors this year (as identified by the Illinois comptroller’s office, which tracks contract payments) with Blagojevich’s campaign donor list since he first ran for governor in 2002. The comparison was a sample, and wasn’t intended to be a comprehensive definition of how much of Blagojevich’s massive campaign fund (more than $10 million raised in 2006 alone) was provided by contractors. For example, the review didn’t search for company officers or employees who might have donated under their own names. Nor did it look at any of the state’s thousands of lower-grossing contractors. The review found: -- Dozens of the state’s top-grossing contractors in legal work, auditing information technology and other key areas have routinely made major donations to Blagojevich’s campaign fund since 2002. -- In all, more than $1 million in contributions have come into Blagojevich’s coffers from about two dozen of the companies sampled. Those companies are making tens of millions of dollars from state contracts under his administration. -- The firms often had state contract work before Blagojevich was governor. In many cases, though, the scope of that work increased dramatically under Blagojevich. -- Many contractors are based in far-flung states and would have no obvious reason to contribute to an Illinois governor. A Dallas-based technology company, a North Dakota consulting firm and a Kansas City engineering firm are among those that have given money to Blagojevich while getting business from his administration. No limit Unlike laws in most states, Illinois law doesn’t limit the size of campaign donations — even from companies that do business with the state. “There are only a handful of states that even allow this,” noted Illinois reform lobbyist David Morrison. According to the Federal Election Commission, the vast majority of states either impose contribution limits on all donors, or place specific restrictions on entities that do business with the state — or both. Missouri doesn’t have any special restrictions on companies that do business with the state. But it does have a $1,350 limit on what any donor, including a business, can give to a statewide candidate. And it’s illegal for a company to funnel extra money to a candidate through its employees. In other words, a Missouri state contractor can’t openly donate tens of thousands of dollars to the public official who controls the contract. There is no such restriction on Illinois donations, though some elected officials have self-imposed it. State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and state Comptroller Dan Hynes, for example, both bar their offices’ private contractors from making donations to their campaign funds. Reformers in Illinois have long pushed for writing such prohibitions into law. That movement intensified after Gov. George Ryan, Blagojevich’s predecessor, was convicted of corruption in 2006 on charges that included steering state contracts to favored campaign contributors. It’s rare for prosecutors to prove that kind of quid pro quo relationship between donations and contracts because those involved insist that one has nothing to do with the other. Credibility at risk But activists say even allowing those circumstances to exist hurts the credibility of government. “It looks like ... contracts are let (granted) based on greased palms,” said Cynthia Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. Canary and others back House Bill 1, which would bar entities that hold $25,000 or more in state contracts from making campaign contributions to the elected officials who control their contracts. “We’re not saying you can’t contribute to a politician, and we’re not saying you can’t do business with the state,” said Fritchey, the Chicago lawmaker and chief sponsor of the bill. “We’re just saying you should be precluded from doing both.” The bill unanimously passed the Illinois House last April but has since been stuck in a Senate committee. Recently, Canary sent a letter to state leaders trying to use the Rezko controversy to spur action on the bill. “The ongoing trial of Tony Rezko has given Illinoisans yet another look inside state government, and it’s safe to say most taxpayers don’t like what they have seen,” she wrote. The administration reiterated Blagojevich’s complaint that the bill would only affect contributions to the executive branch of government, and not to legislators. “House Bill 1 does not go far enough. Gov. Blagojevich supports banning contributions from all corporations to all candidates,” Blagojevich spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch said in a written statement. Canary contends that holding out for passage of more sweeping regulation is a “shell game” designed to bog down the debate and ensure that nothing passes. She said it makes sense to target contributions made to the governor and other statewide elected officials because “that’s where the money is going,” and where most of the contracts originate. In terms of reform, said Canary, “It rings a little hollow to say they won’t do anything because they want to do more.” E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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