The Tribune has the big story of the day.

Two months before Gov. Rod Blagojevich unveiled plans to add keno to the state lottery, one of his longtime confidants became a lobbyist for the gambling company likely to run the new game.

John Wyma, a top aide when Blagojevich was in Congress and later the political director for his 2002 campaign for governor, registered with the state in November as a lobbyist for GTECH Corp.

Wyma said Wednesday that he lobbied no one about keno, and a GTECH official said that when Wyma was hired as a lobbyist in November, the firm was already in discussions with the state about keno.

So, he registered as a lobbyist but he didn’t lobby anyone about a proposal that could reap millions for his client?

There’s also this:

In a 2002 questionnaire, Blagojevich told Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems that he opposed “electronic gambling devices” in bars, restaurants and clubs, according to a copy of the group’s survey. Advocates said that covers keno.

Also, Rep. Mike Boland (D-East Moline) said a Blagojevich official told him two years ago the governor wouldn’t back the lawmaker’s keno proposal because it would be an expansion. A governor’s spokesman also told the Alton Telegraph that keno would be an expansion, according to an article published in August 2003.

Administration officials say they don’t know what Boland is talking about and that the spokesman inaccurately represented the governor’s views in the Alton paper. A Blagojevich spokeswoman said Wednesday the governor was talking about more addictive games like video poker.

Oops.

UPDATE: Eisendrath press release:

“The Governor is asking everyone to take a chance on gaming but he and his political friends have already fixed their winning ticket. It’s just another example of the way this administration puts its own political ambitions before everything else,” said Edwin Eisendrath, Democratic candidate for Governor and former Clinton appointee. […]

Blagojevich wants to install lottery style keno games in bars and restaurants across the state. But for the past four years, he has been on the record as opposing such a move proving once again that the Governor cannot be trusted to keep his word to the people of Illinois.

“The Governor was against it but now that he’s fighting to keep his job, he’s suddenly for it probably because he sees more campaign contributions coming from this,” said Eisendrath. “We simply cannot trust him.”

UPDATE 2: From Ron Gidwitz’s campaign:

“Yesterday this was a bad idea, today this is just outrageous. This whole thing does not begin to pass the smell test and our lawmakers need to reject this for what it is: a scheme intended to enrich the governor’s friends while providing him the river of cash on which to ride his political showboat during this election season,” Gidwitz said.

Gidwitz’s running mate, State Senator Steve Rauschenberger agrees. “This is the biggest expansion of gambling since the introduction of the Illinois lottery and this governor wants to do it without any public debate whatsoever. Expanding gambling under an administration already cloaked in an ethical cloud just takes public cynicism to a new low.”