Report: Blago list included Senate hopefuls
By The ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO – A list of people targeted for contributions by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s campaign committee included four possible Senate candidates, according to a published newspaper report.
The Chicago Sun-Times obtained the Friends of Blagojevich committee’s list and posted it on the newspaper’s Web site Saturday. It’s dated Dec. 3, 2008, – six days before Blagojevich’s arrest on federal charges of scheming to sell or trade the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Obama, among other misdeeds.
The former governor also is charged with using his power to squeeze state contractors for campaign contributions. Blagojevich denies any wrongdoing. An indictment is expected any day.
The list published by the Sun-Times contains the names of J.B. Pritzker, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Rep. Luis Gutierrez and Roland Burris. All were reported to be under consideration and Burris ultimately won the governor’s appointment to the Senate.
None is reported to have contributed. About 150 names are on the list, some with dollar amounts as goals and adding up to more than $2 million.
“They may have had him on the list,” Pritzker spokesman Dave Lundy said. “But they had a lot of quirky ideas that didn’t have a basis in reality.”
