* As you already know, Gov. Blagojevich repeatedly referenced a letter that Tony Rezko sent to his presiding judge. This is a representative quote…

“Tony Rezko sent a letter to a judge. In that letter, he expressly states neither Sen. Obama nor I did anything wrong.”

* That letter will make it impossible to rely solely on Rezko’s word, but it may not rule out Rezko as a witness against the governor. From the Sun-Times’ Eye on Rezko blog…

If Rezko does cut a deal with the feds, that letter — sent to a federal judge — will no doubt haunt him as a witness.

As we reported in an earlier story, it isn’t necessarily a deal breaker.

Former prosecutor Zachary Fardon noted in a June 16th story Scott Fawell, former chief of staff to Gov. George Ryan, wrote a similar letter, saying he wouldn’t make up lies about Ryan.
Fawell was the star witness in Ryan’s trial.

“Do I think he could effectively be crossed on this letter? Yes,” Fardon said. “Does that mean they can’t call him or use him [as a witness]? No.”

* Here’s another exchange from yesterday’s not so friendly media availability…

REPORTER: Will you resign if you’re indicted?

BLAGOJEVICH: I’m not going to answer dumb questions like that.

REPORTER: Are you worried about your future?

BLAGOJEVICH: Next Question.

REPORTER: Governor. are you worried about your future?

* The AP has a snippet of what prosecutors are asking witnesses about…

One of the matters that prosecutors have been interested in learning is who paid for the renovation of Blagojevich’s Chicago home. Rezko’s now defunct Chicago Construction Services was the contractor on the project. One person familiar with the renovation contacted Monday afternoon, speaking only on condition of anonymity because of grand jury secrecy, said he was subpoenaed by federal prosecutors and asked about the project.

“They were looking for basic business dealings, who paid, how much, that sort of thing,” he said. He said the governor’s wife, Patti, paid the bill.

* The reason Gov. Blagojevich ventured forth yesterday was to honor retiring Senate President Emil Jones at Chicago State University…

The retiring Jones (D-Chicago) was hailed as nothing short of a hero by those in attendance, from Gov. Rod Blagojevich to interim university president Frank Pogue, who praised Jones for always fighting for South Side interests.

Jones said he was inspired to use his influence to benefit the university by observing how legislators in Springfield banded together to pass projects for other state schools. He blasted news accounts that questioned his motives and said his actions were an attempt at “parity” and “fairness.”

“We learned a lot in Springfield, when they slice the pie,” Jones said of the budget process. “It’s nice to be in the room when you slice the pie. And [sometimes] I get criticized for making sure that a piece of that pie comes back home here, but that’s your job as a lawmaker. To look out for your district, to look out for the young people that attend these institutions.”

CSU isn’t in Jones’ district, but whatever. They named a building after him, so I guess that sorta counts.

*** UPDATE *** No suprise. From the AP…

Convicted political fundraiser Tony Rezko’s sentencing is officially on hold.

U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve on Wednesday granted prosecutors’ request to strike Rezko’s scheduled October 28th sentencing date.

St. Eve set a status hearing for December.

* Related…

* Blagojevich to Rezko: Tell the truth

* Blagojevich Talks About New Rezko Developments

* Illinois governor calls on convicted fundraiser to ‘tell the truth’

* Governor not worried about Rezko

* Rezko should tell prosecutors the truth, Blagojevich says