From the AP

Ex-Ill. official pleads guilty to lying about fundraising
By MIKE ROBINSON – 10 hours ago
CHICAGO (AP) — A former high-ranking state official pleaded guilty Tuesday to lying to an FBI agent and filing a false tax return, claiming in his plea that Gov. Rod Blagojevich offered him a job in his administration in exchange for campaign contributions.
In his signed plea, Ali Ata, 56, a former executive director of the Illinois Finance Authority, claimed Public Official A — who has widely been identified as Blagojevich — was on hand when he presented $25,000 in campaign money to now-indicted fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko.
Ata said Blagojevich then asked Rezko if he had talked to Ata about a job on the state payroll. Ata said later, after he made a second $25,000 campaign contribution, Blagojevich again brought up the subject of a job and said it should be one in which Ata "could make some money."
Ata's allegations came as he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about Rezko's role in getting him his state job, and could be significant in the federal government's probe of influence peddling involving Blagojevich's administration.
Blagojevich has not been charged with wrongdoing and has consistently said he did not do business that way.
"As we've said many times before, we don't endorse or allow the decisions of state government to be based on campaign contributions," Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said in a statement.
Blagojevich was not named in Ata's signed guilty plea, but it was clear from references in the agreement that Public Official A was the governor.
Ata's plea said Rezko was "very involved" in fundraising for Public Official A. Also, before his selection as head of the Illinois Finance Authority, Ata was told by Public Official A that he, the official, understood Ata would join his administration, it said.
Public Official A has appeared in numerous court papers surrounding the Rezko trial and been identified as Blagojevich, most recently by U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve, who presides over the Rezko proceedings.
In pleading guilty, Ata agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors in any future case, which might include Rezko's fraud trial now under way in federal court or any other investigations of political corruption.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie E. Hamilton told St. Eve that the federal government intends to call Ata as a witness at Rezko's trial.
Under advisory sentencing guidelines, Ata could go to prison for as much as 18 months. But under his agreement with prosecutors he might get even less than the 12-month minimum for his cooperation.
Ata had previously pleaded not guilty to federal charges of producing a bogus document to help Rezko in a $10 million fraud scheme, charges that prosecutors say will be dropped if Ata cooperates with the government.
Ata resigned from the IFA in 2004, according to the plea agreement.
The tax count said Ata understated his 2002 income on his federal return. The unreported money largely came from profits from a $1.2 million sale of a real estate venture, it said.
At the request of prosecutors, U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel said he would postpone setting a sentencing date. The government wants to see how well Ata cooperates with its investigations before telling the judge whether he kept his side of the bargain.
Associated Press writer John O'Connor in Springfield contributed to this report.++