From the Tribune

Governor makes hasty exit without answering questions about legal bills
By David Mendell | Tribune reporter
January 24, 2008
Gov. Rod Blagojevich refused to answer questions Wednesday on why his campaign fund has racked up more than $2 million in legal bills.
Federal authorities have been investigating allegations of hiring corruption in the Blagojevich administration and have subpoenaed Blagojevich's campaign fund as part of their probe into whether top aides and advisers exchanged state business and jobs for political support. They also are scrutinizing the real estate deals of the governor's wife, Patricia. Blagojevich has maintained that his administration does business the right way and has denied any wrongdoing.
But Blagojevich did not take questions about the bills shouted by reporters who chased him after a Wednesday event touting his move to give free bus and train rides to people 65 or older.
Blagojevich told reporters the event would be brief so he could attend former Cook County Board President John Stroger's funeral.
The silence came the day after Blagojevich's campaign disclosed nearly $1 million in new legal bills for 2007 in addition to the $1.1 million he already has paid to Winston & Strawn, a prominent Chicago firm. Blagojevich reported raising $2 million from July through December and had about $2 million left in his campaign fund.
As the legal bills have mounted, the governor has steadfastly declined to say why he's spent so much money in legal expenses or the specific nature of the services. On Wednesday, his campaign spokesman, Doug Scofield, said only that the expenses are for "services to the campaign."
Yet the size of those expenses far exceeds what is typical for a statewide politician in Illinois. The bills are a "pretty staggering amount," said Kent Redfield, a political science professor who tracks campaign spending. "The only thing we've got to compare it to is the kinds of legal fees that Citizens for Ryan [former Gov. George Ryan's campaign fund] rang up when they were under investigation."
Six months after Ryan left office, reports showed he had spent $2.45 million defending his political committee against criminal charges. Federal prosecutors in 2003 won the conviction of Citizens for Ryan on corruption charges.