The stage is being set for tomorrow’s expected guilty plea by Stu Levine. From the looks of things, this will be a fight to the death.

* Tribune:

Aides to Gov. Rod Blagojevich confirmed Wednesday for the first time that one of his top advisers, Christopher Kelly, accompanied the governor on a controversial 2003 fundraising trip with two political insiders who later faced corruption charges. […]

Blagojevich’s Republican opponent, Judy Baar Topinka, called on the governor Wednesday to “fully detail what he discussed with Stuart Levine while they were traveling together to New York for fundraising meetings aboard a cushy corporate jet” between Chicago and Teterboro, N.J.

In a September 2005 plea agreement with federal prosecutors, Cari said he was told that state pension fund business was steered to firms that made campaign donations under the direction of a high-ranking public official. The unnamed person was described in the plea agreement only as “Public Official A.” Blagojevich has denied being that public official.

* Sun-Times:

The Chicago Sun-Times last month reported that the Oct. 29, 2003, trip — plus another to the East Coast later — are focuses of a federal pay-to-play probe of state government.

“The chief fund-raiser is meeting with people who are interested in government contracts along with a high-ranking member of the governor’s staff,” said Joe Birkett, DuPage County’s state’s attorney and GOP candidate for lieutenant governor. “You’re setting the table to exchange your governmental decision-making in exchange for a political benefit.”

Blagojevich campaign spokesman Doug Scofield dismissed the criticism. Kelly and Tusk, he said, never met with Wexford or Maximus — despite what the “preliminary draft” schedule indicates.

“Bradley and Chris were not in any meetings together. I really have no idea why it would be that way on the schedule,” Scofield said. “You have a schedule that looks like it’s inaccurate in a number of ways.”

CBS2:

“Had I known that one of the guys who was part of that was a guy involved in activities like that, frankly I would have preferred to be out of the Harvard Club and back in my old neighborhood with gang-bangers,” said Blagojevich.

The governor told CBS 2 he did not know Levine had given him big campaign contributions. He denied even discussing it with Levine.

ABC7:

“Checks were received by the Blagojevich administration. The timing and the largesse of this money shows me there is some symptomatic pay-to-play quid pro quo activity taking place in Illinois,” said Dillard.

“I firmly believe that the truth will, as the old saying goes, set you free. Stuart Levine is a big time Republican big shot,” said Governor Rod Blagojevich.

The governor says he reappointed Levine to a couple of state boards in the spirit of bi-partisanship, even though Levine was the biggest single contributor to his 2002 opponent, former attorney general Jim Ryan, and also gave campaign cash to his Republican opponents this year.

“It’s interesting that both Treasurer Topinka and Joe Birkett have yet to return the campaign contributions from Stuart Levine even though he was indicted two years ago,” said Blagojevich.

Back to the Trib:

On Wednesday, the governor’s campaign released a 1998 letter from former GOP Gov. Jim Edgar that praised Levine for his service on the Health Facilities Planning Board.

Edgar is among Topinka’s bigger supporters and is featured in her latest TV campaign ad.

“We had every reason to think, based on the glowing recommendation from Gov. Edgar … [and others], that he was a responsible and qualified person to serve on those boards,” Blagojevich said. “Had [Edgar] told us [Levine] was involved in a criminal conspiracy, I’ll be very clear here, we’d have gone in a different direction.”