AP Exclusive: Calendar shows key Ill. gov meetings
By JOHN O'CONNOR
Associated Press
January 7, 2009
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- Gov. Rod Blagojevich's official calendar shows he met with a top union official in his Chicago office the day before Barack Obama was elected president -- just as federal prosecutors say the governor was scheming to trade Obama's Senate seat, possibly for a cushy union job.
The meeting with Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, also was attended by Tom Balanoff, president of the Illinois chapter of the union, which has been Blagojevich's largest campaign contributor.
The governor's schedules, released Tuesday to The Associated Press, shed new light on the governor's activities during the period outlined in a criminal complaint that accuses the Democrat of a wide-ranging scheme to profit from official action, such as selling Obama's U.S. Senate seat and pressuring the Chicago Tribune to fire unfriendly editorial writers.
Other entries on Blagojevich's calendars for September, October, November and December include the governor attending a party for Tribune Co. owner Sam Zell, who is trying to sell the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field, lunch with the Cubs' general manager and a meeting with a wealthy former Senate candidate.
Some of the people who appear on the schedules are also referenced by pseudonyms in the criminal complaint, which details conversations Blagojevich had on secretly recorded phone calls and meetings with top aides, lobbyists and contributors in the months leading up to his Dec. 9 arrest.
Blagojevich has denied wrongdoing.
The documents raise questions about the involvement of top officials at SEIU, which has given Blagojevich $1.8 million for his two gubernatorial campaigns.
Prosecutors allege one of Blagojevich's plans was to use his power to appoint a Senate replacement for Obama to get a high-paying job with "Change to Win," an SEIU-affiliated political action group.
Aside from the Nov. 3 meeting with Stern and Balanoff, the calendar shows Blagojevich was scheduled to sit down with Balanoff on Nov. 6 and Nov. 24.
Stern has said he was unaware of any scheme and has declined to discuss meetings with Blagojevich.
"As we have previously stated, no one at SEIU has been accused of any wrongdoing and SEIU is fully cooperating with the U.S. attorney's investigation into the governor's conduct," SEIU spokeswoman Michelle Ringuette said Tuesday. She declined further comment, citing the ongoing federal investigation.
Balanoff is mentioned in Obama's report on his transition team's contacts with the Illinois governor. The report says Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and Balanoff discussed the notion that Blagojevich could be appointed Health and Human Services secretary, which Jarrett dismissed as "ridiculous."
However, there was never any suggestion in the conversation that Blagojevich was linking the Senate appointment to the possible Cabinet posting, the report states.
Blagojevich also had scheduled September meetings with former Senate candidate Blair Hull and J.B. Pritzker, the brother of a close adviser to Obama. He attended a party Sept. 27 for Zell and had lunch Nov. 21 with Cubs general manager Jim Hendry.
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