Check to Illinois governor's child causes furor

CHICAGO — For months, Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been fending off accusations that he bungled government programs and awarded jobs and contracts to contributors and cronies. But suddenly, one issue has cut through the clutter: a $1,500 gift to one of his daughters.

The check came from a lifelong Blagojevich friend, and it arrived soon after the friend's wife got a state job. The governor insisted the check had no connection to the job. At the same time, he acknowledged asking his chief of staff to help the woman.

While it is not illegal in itself for Blagojevich's family to accept a gift from a friend, it would be if the money was a thank-you for the new job.

The governor's office initially said the check from Michael Ascaridis was a gift for his older daughter, Amy, on her seventh birthday in 2003. Blagojevich later said it might have been a gift for his younger daughter, Annie, who was christened about the same time.

Blagojevich said there is nothing odd about Ascaridis giving such a large gift, but he said he could not remember whether his friend has given similar gifts in the past. Ascaridis has told the Chicago Tribune, which first reported the gift Sept. 10, that the money wasn't tied to his wife's new state job.

With just weeks to go before Election Day, the $1,500 check has gotten voters' attention in a way some of the other allegations — involving audits, contracts and bureaucratic procedure — haven't.

"People think, 'My kid never got $1,500; there must be something wrong here,"' said Cindi Canary, executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.

Blagojevich, a Democrat running for a second term, was elected four years ago as a reformer promising to clean up state government, but his administration has been mired in controversy for doling out jobs and contracts to the politically connected.

The race is playing out against a backdrop of political corruption, with convictions at Chicago's City Hall, an FBI raid on Cook County's government offices and the recent sentencing of Blagojevich's predecessor, Republican Gov. George Ryan, to more than six years in prison for graft.

Blagojevich's GOP foe, Judy Baar Topinka, is running an ad that shows Blagojevich fumbling to answer questions about the money. But polls show Blagojevich with a double-digit lead.

Still, the check story bothers some voters.

"Every time I look around, another politician is doing something," said 48-year-old customer-service representative Chicagoan Robert Douglas. "Look at George Ryan — they finally caught up with him."

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said this summer that he is investigating "very serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud" in the Blagojevich administration.

Also, the state auditor has issued report after report alleging mismanagement by Blagojevich — including spending $1 million on a prescription-drug program that violates federal law and agreeing to import foreign flu vaccine even after being told the vaccine would not be allowed into the country.