Saturday, June 20, 2009
 
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Blagojevich wanted 'special letter' for UI applicant

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[June 20, 2009]  SPRINGFIELD (AP) -- Ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich ordered up a "very special" recommendation letter for the son of a friend and donor applying to the University of Illinois in 2003, records obtained by The Associated Press showed Thursday as three state universities confirmed receiving federal subpoenas for any correspondence about students from the indicted former governor.

The October 2003 memo instructs a Blagojevich aide to compile a recommendation letter that Blagojevich could personally approve, and to return all the paperwork so the governor's secretary could follow through if the applicant had "trouble" with admission to the state's flagship school.

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who already is prosecuting the Democrat for political corruption, is seeking any communication Blagojevich and four former associates had regarding student applications at the University of Illinois, Southern Illinois University and Northern Illinois University, officials said.

Fitzgerald's interest in admissions comes after the Chicago Tribune revealed last month that the UI kept a separate list of applicants with political connections, some of whom were admitted over more qualified hopefuls.

It is the latest twist in a long-running federal investigation of Blagojevich's tenure. He and five others face a 19-count indictment alleging a conspiracy to trade government action for personal and political wealth, including attempting to auction off President Barack Obama's former Senate seat.

The type of material prosecutors are seeking include the kind contained in the documents obtained by the AP under the state's open-records law. The 2003 missive was for Jack Gould, the son of Irmina and Joel Gould, a Chicago defense attorney who said he has known Blagojevich since the Democrat was an assistant Cook County state's attorney in the 1980s.

"We need a very special letter of recommendation for him," the memo read, noting the Goulds are "very close, personal friends of Rod's."

Jack Gould graduated with honors in political science from the Urbana-Champaign campus in 2008 and now attends law school in Chicago. The documents do not indicate Joel Gould sought a favor for his son. Gould said he simply wanted an endorsement from someone with an eye-catching title.

"I went to Rod because he's a friend of mine and he happened to elevate himself to governor. When you send a letter that says 'governor,' it's impressive," Gould told the AP Thursday.

Gould, who contributed $5,200 to Blagojevich from July 2003 to October 2007, said he initially sought out Blagojevich for a letter with "weight" to send to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, which his son considered attending. That's reflected in a phone message to Blagojevich from September 2003.

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The phone message also indicates another of Gould's sons was a junior in high school and wanted to be an intern. Gould said he later got the internship.

Blagojevich's letter went not only to the University of Illinois but other colleges to which Jack Gould applied, according to his father.

The Chicago Tribune reported last month that the university kept at least 800 admission applications with clout -- typically recommended by politicians -- on a separate "Category I" list.

The newspaper reported two cases where Blagojevich intervened on behalf of a candidate, including for a relative of convicted political fixer Antoin "Tony" Rezko, Blagojevich's friend and fundraiser. The relative was accepted over the objections of an admissions officer who rated the candidate as subpar, according to the report.

Those cases took place in 2005 or later, however, long after the Gould letter.

"He is not in the group that I read about," Joel Gould said of his son. "This is not pulling strings for some dope."

The federal subpoenas sent to the state universities Tuesday seek communications from Blagojevich, Rezko, fundraiser Christopher Kelly, former Blagojevich chief of staff and campaign director Alonzo Monk, and Springfield power broker William Cellini. All but Rezko, who is awaiting sentencing in a separate case, are defendants in Blagojevich's criminal indictment.

University of Illinois spokesman Thomas Hardy said the subpoena covered all three of the school's campuses.

An NIU spokeswoman said she was unaware of such contacts, as did SIU spokesman David Gross.

"I just don't have any reason to believe those records exist," Gross said.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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