* This testimony taints Tony Rezko, but it’s far more damaging to the Blagojevich administration in general…

In her experience, it was who you knew, not what you knew, that reigned supreme in getting appointed to state boards and commissions, a former Blagojevich administration official testified Monday at the trial of Antoin “Tony” Rezko.

Former Director of Illinois Boards and Commissions Jill Hayden spent several hours on the stand Monday detailing the inner workings of who got appointed to state boards in Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration and why.

One of the top criteria, she said, was who recommended the candidates and whether they had clout — not what their qualifications were.

“If I was lucky, I had a resume (on the candidate),” said Hayden. “Generally, we’re not looking for the merit of the candidates.”

* And then there was this…

A former Blagojevich staffer, Jennifer Thomas, testified that she met with Rezko at 8 a.m. on Monday morning a number of times in his Chicago office to discuss hiring state employees and filling board vacancies.

She said she was a staffer of the Department of Intergovernmental Affairs at the time and her boss, Joseph Cini, who headed the department, also was on hand for such meetings.

Asked for the names of those who recommended the most people for state positions, she said: “Tony Rezko, (businessman-fundraiser) Chris Kelly, (lobbyist) Al Ronan — that’s what I remember the most.”

Rezko, of course, is the only person charged with overstepping legal boundaries. But the testimony so far is showing just how brazenly political many of the governor’s appointments were.

* Meanwhile, MSNBC has this brief item today…

Obama’s name came up tangentially at the Rezko trial yesterday — regarding nominations to an Illinois health planning board. At a minimum, Obama’s name is being mentioned just enough that the trial is going to provide a blueprint for some reporters to write some negative stories about Obama.

“Tangentially” is right. The item in question is described by the AP…

Earlier Monday, defense attorneys introduced a memo from a Blagojevich adviser, Matthew Pickering, to attorney Susan Lichtenstein, who had served as the governor’s general counsel. The memo said that after legislation was passed restructuring the Health Facilities Planning Board early in Blagojevich’s term, a number of legislators and other officials, including Sen. Barack Obama, were consulted on how to set up the board.

The memo is actually from David Wilhelm’s firm. It describes how his lobbying firm worked with Speaker Madigan, Senate President Jones, House GOP Leader Cross, Sen. Susan Garrrett and Obama to pass a bill that reduced the size of the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board. The purpose of the memo was to convince Blagojevich to sign the bill.

So, the national media may be using this (and a jury questionnaire that warns them Obama’s name may come up at trial) as a hook to write more Obama-Rezko stories, but this particular item is truly a non-story - unless you think that Sen. Garrett, a noted reformer, is corrupt as well. Balderdash.

* More Rezko stuff…

* Rezko Trial Exhibits

* Blagojevich’s Top Bundlers

* Rezko Donation Chart

* Vetting sheet exhibit

* Rezko rewind. Day 5