Another IL Governor Prison-Bound

[legion]

Hopefully.

If HotRod can't follow his own ethics laws, there's a good chance there are a few other laws he isn't following. (Well, besides refusing to publicly release the subpoenas he's been served with for what? Six months now...)

Governor pal off ethics act list
Adviser removed from roll of those required to report

By John Chase
Tribune staff reporter
Published May 30, 2007
Despite an ethics act that promised to shine a light on unpaid advisers to statewide officeholders, no one has filed the required paperwork for the last three years, including a close friend of Gov. Rod Blagojevich who helped inspire the law.

The provision in the ethics law was embraced by the Democratic governor in 2003 after being added at the insistence of Republican lawmakers. They raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest arising from what one lawmaker described as a "shadow government" of advisers to Blagojevich who wielded influence on state policies.

Christopher Kelly, a longtime Blagojevich confidant singled out by Republicans, was one of two people who filed the economic disclosure form after the special designation took effect. But a recent review of state records shows the administration requested that Kelly be removed from the list just before Christmas 2004.

Officials with Blagojevich's office would not answer questions about why the administration took Kelly off the list of those required to file the forms, which detail business and financial ties.

Cindi Canary, executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, said the situation highlights a problem with the ethics law because the governor's office can subtract names from the list without any independent determination of whether the person should continue filing the statements.

"It's part of a bigger hole in the ethics law, which is we need to put some sunlight on the whole process," said Canary, who lobbied for the ethics law. "We need to know exactly what we mean when we say somebody is a special adviser, and we need to find some way of tracking that. Right now, it relies on self-reporting."

Under the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, a special government agent is anybody who is directed by a statewide official to discuss or lobby on issues on an informal basis with governmental bodies, officials or employees.

In 2003, Blagojevich dispatched Kelly to sit in on closed-door meetings and be a facilitator in talks involving the often-disputed plans to build a casino in Rosemont. His role diminished later in the year after his involvement was disclosed.

Kelly, a south suburban roofing contractor who had been chairman of the governor's campaign fund until 2005, registered with the Illinois secretary of state's office in 2004 as a "special government agent." The economic statement showed extensive financial interests in more than 75 companies, including two run by fellow Blagojevich insider Antoin "Tony" Rezko. The form also detailed that he exchanged gifts with the governor and Rezko.

But seven months later, Tom Londrigan, then the governor's chief legal counsel, requested that Kelly be removed from the list. The secretary of state's office complied, state records show.

Londrigan, who is now an attorney in private practice in Springfield, said he didn't recall requesting that Kelly be removed from the list, saying filing such forms was part of his everyday duties as the governor's chief legal counsel.

Kelly subsequently amended the 2004 report but never filed a new economic disclosure form, even though other state records and interviews show Kelly and Blagojevich remain close and have met in recent months at the governor's campaign headquarters.

After being removed from the list, Kelly flew on the state's airplane with Blagojevich and the governor's aides on at least four occasions in 2005, though the governor's campaign fund picked up the costs for Kelly. In addition, Kelly met with Blagojevich and top aides in February 2007 at the governor's campaign headquarters, a campaign spokesman has said.

Kelly and Blagojevich have extensive ties and their relationship goes back years. But it has recently become controversial, especially after Kelly's name surfaced as part of the ongoing federal investigation involving Blagojevich's administration and campaign fund.

Weeks before Blagojevich was re-elected last year, federal authorities alleged that Rezko and another top fundraiser schemed from almost the beginning of the administration to use their new-found influence for corrupt purposes. Sources identified Kelly as that other fundraiser.

Kelly has denied any wrongdoing.

An attorney for Kelly also declined to explain why Kelly was removed from the list.