That was in October, 2006, and the Illinois Democratic establishment, with a few exceptions, backed the man Rezko was scheming for, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was reelected one month later.
Yesterday the Illinois House impeachment panel reconvened. Cynthia Canary, the director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, testified about Blago's prowess at pay-to-play.
Her group disclosed that the governor's campaign took in 435 contributions of $25,000 or more during the past eight years. That constituted a third of the $58.3 million he raised during the period.
By comparison, now-imprisoned former Gov. George Ryan had 35 contributions of $25,000 or more over a six-year span, and former Gov. Jim Edgar took in only eight contributions in excess of $25,000 during his last six years in office.
Canary highlighted reporting by the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times to "connect the dots" about how much of that campaign money seemed to precede decisions by the Blagojevich administration to hand out plum appointments or contracts for those in the "$25,000 club."
She referred specifically to a 2005 Sun-Times report -- the first major newspaper investigation into pay-to-play allegations under Blagojevich. That analysis showed how 20 companies, which gave a combined $925,000 to Friends of Blagojevich, had been paid or were under contract for $365 million by state government.
Blago's plot to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat is only the most egregious example of his rampant abuse of power.
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