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* We always figured that Rod Blagojevich was shifting legal bills away from his own office. Now, we have proof…
Illinois’ child-welfare agency and state police helped pay for ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s research on impeachment under his policy of charging his office’s legal costs to other departments, the state auditor said Tuesday.
Out of $7.2 million worth of legal work for Blagojevich, his office paid less than $22,000, according to a report by Auditor General William Holland. The rest was charged to an array of state agencies that had no apparent connection to the legal services.
Click here for the summary digest, and click here for the full auditor general’s report.
* Holland explains…
Bill Holland is the state’s Auditor General. He says the governor’s office paid for less than one percent of those bills over a two year period, while 18 other state agencies picked up the rest of the tab.
HOLLAND: It does two things: One, it distorts what is the level of the governor’s budget, and, two, it also distorts what those other agencies are. I am certain that those agencies did not budget for outside legal counsel for the governor’s office.
Holland says using the attorney general would have saved the state money.
A spokeswoman for Attorney General Lisa Madigan says it’s clear Blagojevich didn’t want to work with her office.
* Some details…
The former governor — who now faces federal corruption charges — also shifted the cost of legal research regarding his power to appoint a person to Barack Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat.
The report shows that state agencies that serve poor children and disabled people were charged for the cost of hiring attorneys to work on depositions of the governor’s inner circle.
The report also noted that in 13 of the contracts the state paid money for legal work performed by individuals who were not licensed to practice law, and sometimes for amounts higher than stated in the contracts.
What the heck?
More…
$300,000 for legal work on impeachment memos and the governor’s ability to call special legislative sessions was divided among eight agencies, including the state police and Department of Children and Family Services.
“Impeachment memos?” Blagojevich spent DCFS and state police cash on lawyers back in the summer of 2008 to research Speaker Madigan’s memo to candidates on how best to discuss the possible impeachment of the governor? If you need your memory refreshed, click here to read that memo. It was quite the talk of the town back then. Here is one of the least remembered moments…
House Speaker Michael Madigan’s memo on possibly impeaching Gov. Rod Blagojevich is complicating efforts to reach an agreement on balancing the state budget, other top officials said Wednesday — including some who argue Madigan relishes the distraction.
The memo has the top Republican in the Illinois House questioning how serious Madigan is about fixing a budget Blagojevich says is $2 billion out of whack or about passing a massive public works program that backers say will create jobs in the state.
“Is he more serious about creating a political document to, to play games with a … pretty important issue?” GOP Leader Tom Cross said.
Cross wondered about the Speaker’s priorities as he headed into a meeting Wednesday with Blagojevich and other top legislative leaders that Madigan opted not to attend, sending surrogates instead.
* Related…
* Blagojevich Petitions U.S. Supreme Court: The petitions, sent by overnight mail, ask the court to order a halt in the proceedings until it rules on the so-called “Honest Services” statute, under which Blagojevich was charged. The first is a 20-page petition for a writ of certiorari, which would be considered by the full court. The second, a five-page emergency application for a stay of trial proceedings, would go directly to Justice John Paul Stevens, who is assigned to matters stemming from Chicago’s seventh judicial circuit.
* Blagojevich trial could affect election season
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 11:02 am
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What the heck is right.
Blago’s shenanigan’s don’t surprise me, but there weren’t any whistleblowers at any level in those departments that were being abused? He must have had a pretty tight grip on them.
To a lesser degree, how about Hynes? Couldn’t his folks have put it together when the hinky bills were coming through?
For those who think a “forensic audit” will solve all of our problems, I suggest they just read Holland’s existing reports.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 11:12 am
To Steve Schnorff:
Hasn’t the previous Gov’s office done things like this before? I know personnel is sometimes paid out of another agencys funds among other things.
Just wondering.
Comment by He Makes Ryan Look Like a Saint Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 11:16 am
I am sure Quinn fumigated ALL of those directors who signed off on those legal bills….
Comment by Da Ship Be Sinking Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 11:20 am
I second wordslinger.
Time for Dan Hynes to comment on how Team Blago hid legal bills in inappropriate places.
And, to what extent is state government an indecipherable mess that allows insiders to hide spending?
Comment by Carl Nyberg Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 11:21 am
How about asking for some of this back if it was billed at levels higher than contracted for.
Comment by Way Way Down Here Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 11:28 am
so were the heads of the state police and DCFS ignorant or complicit?
Comment by Robert Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 11:29 am
I’m wonderin’, just like HMRLLAS, if this activity was practiced, in some form or another, in other administrations. It would not surprise me if it was done but it would also not surprise me if RB took the practice to another level altogether. RB was the master at millking various agencies for his pet projects. This only confirms for me that this person was not fit for office.
Comment by dupage dan Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 11:45 am
Now someone needs to identify the law firms involved and cross reference them against who gave Blago the customary $25K campaign donation.
Could be interesting.
Comment by Jake from Elwood Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 11:47 am
Law license? We don’t need no stinking law license.
Does the audit reveal the names of the 13 individuals who billed legal services but weren’t licensed? Because the ones that overbilled sure acted like licensed attorneys…(rim shot).
Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 11:51 am
“We always figured that Rod Blagojevich was shifting legal bills away from his own office.”
Was there ever a blog post to that effect?
Comment by Thomas Westgard Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 11:52 am
Forensic Audit? Hello? anyone home? anyone?
Comment by Living in Oklahoma Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 12:00 pm
Why did he need a huge legal staff if the Governor spending $7.2 million on outside legal expenses? Quinlan and gain were making bank, but what the heck were they doing?
Comment by ugh Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 12:10 pm
Did Blagojevich take the “Ethics Test” ? How does one hide such large expenses for six years?
Unbelievable!!!!!!
Comment by Northside Bunker Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 12:26 pm
Isn’t the Attorney General the attorney for the governor?
Shouldn’t any hiring of outside counsel without the supervision of the AG be a red flag by itself?
Comment by Carl Nyberg Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 12:33 pm
“I am shocked, Rick, SHOCKED that gambling is happening in Casablanca!”
See, I assumed those extra legal bills were being charged to that massive campaign war chest of Rod’s. Guess I was naive’ about that.
I’m with Holland all the way on this but for one point: when you need an emergency piece of legal work done I don’t think there is time for bidding it out, that just wouldn’t be practical, even for an ethical governor with a legit need for that kind of work.
. OTOH, if you’re going to skip the already paid-for services of your Official state legal authority, then you’d better be paying for the extra work out of private funds, not stealing the money from public safety budgets and the agency that serves and protects children and families. Not fair at all that Blago can tap the funds now for his legal defense, but Holland can’t charge-back these ill-contemplated and useless services to it as well.
Hanging’s too good for Rod: that guy was a one-man mongol horde and the state was an unsuspecting steppe.
Comment by Inspector Renard Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 12:53 pm
I sure hope Blagojevich has pay the State of Illinois this money back. It’s almost as is if he had absolute power.
Comment by Northside Bunker Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 12:53 pm
You KNOW the ISP and DCFS directors and other agency had to be complicit in this. They have budget authority and had to have approved moving a million or two around to cover this stuff. I would look into suing their pants off.
Comment by Gregor Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 12:54 pm
I am sure all those attorneys who worked for Rod were fumigated too . . . right?
Of course not. Quinn shipped 1 back to the Lottery and another to CMS. They are still on the payroll.
This is what Jay Stewert would call “good government” in action.
Comment by Da Ship Be Sinking Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 1:15 pm
We all know Blago centralized power. Just look at CMS and the other agencies he altered to consolidate more authority into his office. This does not surprise me. I too am miffed that no one - especially at the end of Blago’s service - came forward as a whistleblower. Very few of Blago’s upper-level staff were fired when Quinn came aboard, and I would assume those who would have blown the whistle would have been championed as staffers who supported Quinn’s idea of open government and transparency.
I hope he does have to repay the funds spent to prepare his personal legal case.
Carl, in most instances, Lisa Madigan would act as the state’s solicitor general - in essence representing the state in civil and constitutional matters. In this instance, she would not have been Blago’s personal attorney, but she would have been able to supply him with research and opinions relating to his questions.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 1:28 pm
Sorry, that last post was me.
Comment by Team Sleep Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 1:28 pm
If state funds are used — suggesting that the work was framed so that the State of Illinois was the client –then couldn’t Governor Quinn waive the privilege as to all of that work and publicize it? (And couldn’t the client — Governor Quinn or the AG — get those law firms to provide detailed copies of the billing history, so that they could be reviewed/publicized)?
Comment by TomD Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 1:38 pm
Simply put - Gravy Train = Blagojevich Posse of Lawyers & Money
Comment by Northside Bunker Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 1:41 pm
I imagine we’ll be uncovering these types of illegal maneuvers for years to come. This guy just didn’t think state laws, policies and accepted practices applied to him. I would pay to be on that jury. Might be a good way to balance the budget, Blago jury seats for sale.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 1:45 pm
all I have to say after reading this post is Good God, and pertaining to the last bullet point: DUH!!
Comment by Loop Lady Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 1:59 pm
I am a bit surprised our top notch AG didn’t dig this out months ago. I quess the memo never made it off the Speakers desk. Just another example of how incompetent Lisa Madigan really is.
I will be glad when the Blago trial is over and Quinn loses so Lisa will be front and center as the biggest joke in IL politics.
Comment by the Patriot Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 2:09 pm
@the Patriot=were you on another planet during the Blago tenure? AG Madigan disagreed and fought Blago about many things and he continually went around her. Now Holland has investigated this probably with backing as most things the Auditor General does are done by resolution of the General Assembly.
See Wordslingers comment =Blago’s shenanigan’s don’t surprise me, but there weren’t any whistleblowers at any level in those departments that were being abused? He must have had a pretty tight grip on them.=
Blago had a very tight grip on them. I wonder how much legal work his staff in other agencies like the IG Allen of Healthcare and Family services did for him in stead of the work hired to do that would not be detected by payments for services?
Comment by really? Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 2:36 pm
Patriot: you mean Lisa Madigan isn’t the best Attorney General ever? Really?
When will she investigate Dad and his admissions letters for admission to U of I for influential donors/constituents?
I couldn’t beleive that Mikva covered for Madigan
on this saying it wasn’t Madigan’s problem but the U of I’s. I lost a ton of respect for Mikva after he offered this public pablum…
Comment by Loop Lady Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 2:48 pm
This practice has been going on sice at least Edgar. Governor office expenses, including employees, phone services etc contracted out through different agencies so they would cover the expense.
Comment by Ghost Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 2:50 pm
Theft of honest services. What a croc of a law huh? Blago is a poster boy for why this is a good statute when properly applied.
Comment by Leave a light on George Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 2:50 pm
I hope that people can step away from their partisan corners long enough to digest that this is exactly the type of story that is driving the gubernatorial race this year. (This on top of the blatant and also very easy to understand Metra scandal.) This is why a candidate who many people apparently believe should not be governor is polling surprisingly higher than his opponent.
The current governor came to office with good will, and had the need, the mandate, and the time to fumigate. But for whatever reason he apparently did not have the desire to do it. He has not fumigated and so the citizens of Illinois are going to try to take things into their own hands in November in the only way available to them, and in the only way they know how–the voting booth. Even marginally aware Illinois citizens who may not fully grasp the enormity of the fiscal issues are desperately angry. They *do* understand that this state is full of corruption, full of waste, and full of cronyism. Broken and not healing because of inadequate oversight in department after department.
Comment by Responsa Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 4:32 pm
Rich — Has the Auditor General or anyone else identified the specific law firms in question?
Comment by Anon Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 4:51 pm
18 state agencies picked up Blago’s legal expenses? 18? is there an honest chief legal counsel in any of those agencies? is there an honest director of any of those agencies? how about an honest budget director who allowed the expenditues? how about an honest hr director that allowed people to be tasked to blago’s personal needs? no one, not a single person, blew the whistle? Geez…
Comment by envelop Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 5:24 pm
Personnel in Governor Quinn’s office are still paid for, at least in part, by other agencies. A CDB Deputy Director moved to the Governor’s office, although part of his salary is still paid by CDB. He also regularly uses CDB cars. This is just the only example that is personal knowledge.
Comment by In the Sticks Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 5:33 pm
In no way am I excusing any of the executive staffs at the agencies, but essentially the way this worked is that the Governor’s office sent interagency agreements to each department. The IAs indicated that all agecies “owed” the Governor’s office a pre-determined amount of funds each year to cover legal work the Governor’s Office did on the department’s behalf. The shake-down amounts were dictated to the agencies and were non-negotiable. As I understand it, if you attempted to question what legal services were being subsidized, you didn’t find yourself employed for very long. So most executives went along, never knowing what they were paying for.
Comment by Budget Watcher Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 6:18 pm
Time for some disclosure on the details of this one (who, what for, how much). Hope there’s a newspaper with FOIA’s out already. Not a shock that he would not use the AG’s office (too ethical). A little bit of a shock that he was allowed to do this for so long without it getting public. Agree that the Dep’t heads need to be held accountable on this. How bout a bill to prevent it from ever happening again? Got time left in this session.
Comment by Park Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 6:44 pm
budget watcher…”if you attempted to question..you didnt find yourself emmployed for long”. well at a pratcial matter, ya I get that. But there is a great line from the works of CS Lewis. “We laugh at honor, and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.
Comment by envelop Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 7:17 pm
I too would like to know the law firms Blagojevich hired and had paid by agencies that weren’t the beneficiaries of the work done.
Comment by Carl Nyberg Wednesday, May 19, 10 @ 11:13 pm