Governor Big Guy

GOVERNOR/HOPEFUL	TOTAL	YEARS	AVG./YR.
Rod Blagojevich	$57.8m	6.5	$8.9m
George Ryan	$24.4m	29	$0.8m
Jim Ryan	$21.1m	13	$1.6m
Judy Baar Topinka	$15.4m	27	$0.6m
Jim Edgar	$9.2m	22	$0.4m
Glenn Poshard	$5.1m	2	$2.6m
Dawn Clark Netsch	$2.4m	20	$0.1m

UPDATE: Rezko pal an Obama superdelegate. (more updates below)
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Levine says Blagojevich knew. Sun Times:

"If they're going to do this to me and think they're going to blackmail me -- I'm going to take them down," Rosenberg told GOP power-broker-turned-Blagojevich-ally William Cellini, Cellini says on one recording.

Rosenberg's threats to go to "the G" and blow the whistle set off a frenzied series of phone calls and meetings among Blagojevich insiders strategizing how to finesse Rosenberg. At one point, Blagojevich adviser and fund-raiser Chris Kelly called Cellini on one cell phone and, at the same time, called Levine on another, according to the recordings.

Kelly, heard in court on a recording for the first time, arranged for a meeting later in Rezko's office. It took place May 11, 2004, with Cellini, on a speaker phone from Springfield, Levine, Kelly and Rezko.

Tribune:

Rezko said Blagojevich was told what was going on and agreed with Rezko's plan to handle it, Levine testified.

But Blagojevich told Rezko something else as well, Levine said.

"He felt that this was the last thing that Mr. Rosenberg should get from the state," Levine said the governor had told Rezko.

Political fixer William Cellini and Levine spoke by phone the next day, and federal agents were listening in.

Levine told Cellini about Blagojevich because Cellini had hung up from the meeting before Rezko had mentioned the governor.

Cellini said he had received similar information about Blagojevich through Rezko.

"The big guy said, 'Rosenberg means nothing to him,' " Cellini said on the call.

Sun Times:

Blagojevich hasn't been charged with any crimes. And again Wednesday his office denied ever awarding state contracts "based on campaign contributions. We never have. We never will. And anyone who suggests otherwise is not telling the truth," Blagojevich press secretary Abby Ottenhoff said.

The recall authority has passed the Democrat-run Illinois House. The Senate needs to act by May 4th to get the measure on the November ballot. As far as the tally of campaign contributions that just sprang up out of nowhere (as the state spiraled into bankruptcy) look to the above chart for the big bucks. Governor Big Guy.

UPDATE: Mention of Obama's old legal boss turned developer Allison Davis. Tribune (Playing Hardball, 4/2 11:41 am):

In another recorded call, Levine and Republican political insider William Cellini joke about Rosenberg's plight and how they think they have caught the financier in a lie as he tries to get his troubled investment deal back on track.

Rosenberg, they believed, dispatched developer Allison Davis to Rezko to make a peace offering on Rosenberg's behalf. Davis and Rezko had once been partners in South Side real estate ventures. Davis allegedly told Rezko that Rosenberg wanted to help out with fundraising for Rezko's close friend, Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The move allegedly was designed to sway Rezko into helping out with Rosenberg's pension deal.

On the wiretap, Cellini said he questioned Rosenberg about the Davis entreaty, and Rosenberg flatly denied he had anything to do with it.

Rosenberg, Cellini said, claimed he had nothing but disdain for Rezko. "I don't want anything to do with that guy," Cellini quoted Rosenberg as saying.

Rosenberg then said he considered Rezko and fellow Blagojevich fundraiser Christopher Kelly the two most likely members of the governor's inner circle to end up in prison someday, Cellini added. "If they're not under investigation now, they're being monitored in every way," Cellini quoted Rosenberg as saying.

UPDATE: Ed at HotAir:

The exposure of this shakedown racket shows that Rezko is no anomaly in Illinois politics. This testimony also highlights the deeply corrupt nature of Tony Rezko and his associates in that environment. Rezko was no overeager fundraiser who got tripped up by Byzantine campaign-finance regulations, but a political gangster who worked to abuse government power for his own ends. His association with Barack Obama should send up all sorts of red flags — and by the time the trial is over, perhaps it will.

Related posts: Governor Church and State, Feeling the Heat