From the Sun-Times:  

Blago on Ata money: 'I didn't pay attention'

September 22, 2008
BY CHRIS FUSCO AND DAVE MCKINNEY Staff Reporters
With Illinois lawmakers convening in special session this afternoon based on Gov. Blagojevich’s call for ethics reform, the governor said this morning he had no idea his campaign fund has been holding onto $65,000 given by a former top employee who pleaded guilty to felony charges in April.
“I learned about that today,” Blagojevich said, referring to a Chicago Sun-Times story about the contributions from Ali D. Ata, former chief of the Illinois Finance Authority. “I was told about that. We’re going to look into that.”
Pressed by reporters during a Chicago news conference, Blagojevich replied, “I didn’t pay attention. . . . We’re going to work through the process and sort it out.”
Ata — after cutting his deal with federal prosecutors during the trial of former Blagojevich adviser and fund-raiser Tony Rezko — provided key testimony that helped lead to Rezko’s corruption conviction in June.
Ata told jurors he gave $25,000 to the governor’s campaign with the understanding he’d then be appointed to a high-paying state post.
Blagojevich, after taking office in 2003, appointed Ata to be the $127,000-a-year Finance Authority job.
Ata pleaded guilty to lying to a federal agent and evading federal income taxes. Blagojevich today did not say whether he would donate the Ata money to charity, as he’s done with $85,000 worth of contributions from Rezko and Rezko companies.
But the governor indicated that he might draft legislation to address what should happen when people give politicians money and are subsequently convicted of crimes.
“When things like that happen, then everybody should be required to refund some of the campaign money to places that can actually help people,” the governor said. “I think we should consider a law that requires that for everybody.”
The governor then tossed a barb at his political nemesis, House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago).
“Tony Rezko has contributed money to a lot of people, including speaker Madigan, who has not returned the money,” the governor said. “I’m certainly interested in doing what’s right along those lines, and that’s an example of something that might be right.”
In Springfield, Madigan ridiculed Blagojevich for trying to tie him in to the Ata mess.
"I would think what motivates him not to give the money back is that he probably needs the money to pay his criminal defense costs. That's what drives him," Madigan said. "His method for quite a while has been to attempt to tie me into anything he can think of. And most of it is up in the outer reaches of his mind. I don't think he's going to change. What are you going to do?"
The governor’s comments came just after he announced a second special session for this afternoon to expand insurance coverage for children with autism. The governor has blamed Madigan’s House Democratic Caucus for stalling on the issue, but lawmakers have countered that technical roadblocks created by the governor have made the legislation difficult to pass.
The autism special session comes on top of what could be a politically damaging day for the governor in Springfield. The Illinois Senate is expected to undo changes Blagojevich made to a bi-partisan ethics bill barring big state contractors from giving money to office holders.