From the Tribune

Role of politically connected law firm questioned
Ouster sought in case of Blagojevich donor
By John Chase | Tribune reporter
January 16, 2008
Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan's office asked a Cook County judge Tuesday to remove a law firm with close ties to Gov. Rod Blagojevich from the criminal case of a one-time Blagojevich friend charged with stealing $2 million from the state.
Blagojevich's office and Madigan have repeatedly clashed over the governor's use of private law firms to represent state agencies or his administration. Madigan's office argues that only the attorney general has the authority to represent state agencies in court or hire outside firms for that work.
The development is the latest twist in the case of Anita Mahajan, who is facing fraud charges that her firm, K.K. Bio-Science, billed the Department of Children and Family Services for drug tests it did not perform.
Madigan's office argued that the law firm of Meckler, Bulger and Tilson cannot continue to represent the agency's interests in the ongoing criminal case against Mahajan.
Mahajan and her banker husband, Amrish, were personal friends of Blagojevich and his family and financial supporters of his campaign. First Lady Patricia Blagojevich, a real estate agent, received more than $113,000 in commissions from real estate deals involving the Mahajans in 2006.
Cook County Judge James Obbish did not immediately rule on the request from Madigan's office.
Bruce Meckler said lawyers for his firm were in court Tuesday only because Mahajan's lawyer was demanding records from the firm related to its work for DCFS in the Mahajan case last fall.
"We were there representing our law firm, which had been subpoenaed," Meckler said.
Steve Miller, Mahajan's attorney, questioned in court whether the firm was representing DCFS or the governor's office.
Meckler, who has close political ties to Blagojevich, said his firm is not representing the governor's office in this case. The firm has represented the governor's administration in other matters, and the governor appointed Meckler to the board that oversees Navy Pier and McCormick Place. In addition, Meckler's firm has contributed more than $128,000 to Blagojevich's campaign fund.++++++++
For the Scandal page:
From the Daily Herald:
Governor discloses more legal fees
By Joseph Ryan | Daily Herald StaffContact writer
Published: 1/23/2008 12:36 AM
Gov. Rod Blagojevich belatedly disclosed Tuesday a half-million dollars in campaign legal work as federal investigators continue to probe his fundraising and allegations of corruption.
The tardy release boosts the governor's legal tab to more than $1.3 million for the 18 months covering all of 2006 and the first half of 2007, according to campaign records filed Tuesday. Blagojevich had not filed a report detailing his legal tab for the second half of last year by late Tuesday, the day it was due.
Blagojevich's campaign did not state $555,255 of the legal tab on campaign records until about six months after the information was legally required to be made public.
Campaign spokesman Doug Scofield said the delay was due to negotiations over the bill and he doesn't expect to receive penalties for the late filing. The amount is listed in campaign records as an unpaid debt, but Scofield said there is money to cover the bill.
In fact, Scofield said Blagojevich has picked up fundraising efforts after a lengthy hiatus, raking in about $2 million in the last few months of 2007. That fundraising report was not available late Tuesday.
Blagojevich has been one of Illinois' most prolific fundraisers, but his campaign war chest dwindled to just a few hundred thousand dollars after he spent $16 million on his 2006 run.
"I think once he turned his attention to it, he had a very successful fundraising effort, and that certainly bodes well for the future," Scofield said.
Yet, on the legal side, the governor continues to confront a multipronged federal investigation of corruption, including allegations he traded state contracts and appointments for campaign cash.
In a recent federal court filing related to an indicted fundraiser, authorities accuse Blagojevich of telling one potential donor that he would be repaid with state business. The filing also alleges the governor knew of an elaborate scheme to bilk donations from businesses seeking state pension contracts.
Blagojevich has not been charged with any wrongdoing and denies the federal accusations.
Scofield declined to specify what the massive legal bill covered. The high-powered firm, Winston & Strawn, defended former Gov. George Ryan on federal racketeering charges.
Ryan was found guilty and is serving 61⁄2 years at a federal prison in Wisconsin.