SPRINGFIELD - Gov. Rod Blagojevich is leaning on a high-powered Washington D.C. lobbyist to push his plans to boost spending on health care and to sell the state lottery.

With budget talks mired in gridlock, former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, a two-time Democratic candidate for president, was brought into a meeting of state legislative leaders Tuesday to try to convince them to support the governor's health-care expansion plan.

The leaders said it was an odd situation that did little to move budget talks forward as the state's fiscal year winds down.

House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, repeatedly derided Gephardt's presentation as little more than a "show and tell" meeting.

"I didn't learn anything new today," Madigan said.

Gephardt also is a lobbyist with the investment banking firm of Goldman Sachs, which has an interest in the governor's bid to sell or lease the state lottery, as well as a proposed toll bridge linking Illinois with Missouri in St. Louis.

Despite registering with the state to represent Goldman Sachs on April 30, Gephardt said Tuesday he was in the Capitol working as a volunteer member of an organization dedicated to boosting health insurance.

"We believe that states have to lead the way," said Gephardt, who met with the leaders for about an hour Tuesday.

Asked if he'd done any lobbying on behalf of Goldman Sachs during the powwow, he said, "No."

"I haven't this year here," said Gephardt, a Democrat who served the St. Louis area in Congress for nearly 30 years.

The presence of Gephardt in Tuesday's meeting was not viewed as a positive development by legislative leaders.

They say that rather than hard-nosed negotiating behind closed doors, budget talks have become more like seminars on various subjects, ranging from Chicago's transportation needs to the state's underfunded pension systems.

Republican leaders joined with Madigan in mocking the process.

"I don't see this really being productive at all. I told the governor that when we left. 'Why don't we talk about realistic issues like the budget?" said Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson

"It's not the normal way we handle budget negotiations," House Minority Leader Tom Cross added.

As he exited the Statehouse on Tuesday, Gephardt downplayed the fact the Democrats who control state government can't come to an agreement on a spending plan.

"I was a leader of the Democrats in the House. I guess you could have said we were dysfunctional, too," Gephardt said.