SPRINGFIELD, ILL. - The Illinois House on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to override Gov. Rod Blagojevich's veto of a major campaign ethics bill. The question of whether to outlaw so-called pay-to-play politics now rests with the state Senate.

Although the original measure passed both chambers unanimously earlier this year, it remained unclear whether there will be a Senate override vote. Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, a Blagojevich ally, has been noncommittal on the issue in recent weeks.

The bill would make it illegal for people or companies that do business with the state from making political donations to the elected officials who control their contracts. It passed after years of scandals involving state contracts allegedly being steered to favored donors.

If the Senate follows suit - which may not be decided until mid-November - the original bill will become law over Blagojevich's opposition. If the Senate does not approve an override, the whole measure dies.

Blagojevich - who has raised millions of campaign dollars from state contractors - used his amendatory veto power last month to reject the bill and send the Legislature a revised version. The governor said the bill didn't go far enough in reforming the state's political system. He vowed to curtail such donations with an executive order, while altering the bill to impose new restrictions on legislators.

The House Wednesday voted 110-3 to override the amendatory veto, well over the three-fifths majority, or 71 votes, that were needed for an override.

The bill, which has been winding through the Legislature for the last three years, has been a flashpoint in a broader conflict between Blagojevich and legislators over separation of powers, state spending and other issues.

"He's not trying to 'clean up Illinois,' " the bill's sponsor, Rep. John Fritchey, D-Chicago, told his House colleagues before the vote, referring Blagojevich's claim that he's a political reformer. "He's trying, in a last, desperate attempt, to prevent this from becoming law. … This bill has seen more hurdles than the Beijing Olympics."

One of the three no votes was Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Collinsville, Blagojevich's top House ally.

The original bill "doesn't go far enough. We need ethics reform … for the Legislature as well," Hoffman said afterward. "If we're going to do ethics reform, let's go all the way."

The bill is HB824.