Following Blago’s money

December 11th, 2008 at 11:07am Alex Gary

Coming from this area and it isn’t much. According to federal prosecutors, Gov. Rod Blagojevich had put a price tag on just about everything he was in control of.

In the next few months, we’re likely to see several stories of the various schemes and pressure Blago’s people applied to get contracts through or funding. A quick look at how much money was contributed to the governor from people or businesses in Boone, Ogle and Winnebago counties shows it’s unlikely that any of those stories will touch Rockford.

According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, Rock River Valley donors have given Blagojevich just $245,358.10 from 2002 through 2008.

The vast majority of the money was donated by noted Democratic activist Sunil Puri. Individually, Puri has given the governor $103,734.70. His wife, Jenine Cannell-Puri donated $25,000, and First Rockford Group gave $18,542. It’s fair to note, though, that a look through the archives doesn’t show any local Puri projects that benefitted from state action.

The next biggest donor on the list is $8,500 total in 2002 and 2003 from the Northwestern Illinois Contractors Association.

Entry Filed under: Uncategorized