Sep 13, 2006 7:04 pm US/Central
Topinka Questions Gift To Blagojevich's Daughter
Republican Rival Says Governor Must Personally Address $1,500 Check
by Derrick Blakley
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Gov. Rod Blagojevich (file)
CBS
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Judy Baar Topinka (file)
CBS
A new controversy has been dogging Gov.
Rod Blagojevich, over a $1,500 check written by a close friend to his daughter, Amy.
Blagojevich has said the check was a gift. But CBS 2's Derrick Blakley reports that the republican challenger in the race for governor doesn't buy that explanation.
"The allegation of selling jobs is there," said
Judy Baar Topinka. She wants Blagojevich to personally address allegations from the wife of his former campaign treasurer, that she may have received a state job in return for a $1,500 birthday gift given to the governor's daughter, Amy.
It's that amount that Topinka says voters just can't understand.
"They know what they have given to their children. They know what they give to their children's friends. There is nothing that even begins to approach a $1,500 check to a 10-year-old," Topinka said.
According to the report in weekend editions of the Chicago Tribune,
Beverly Ascaridis told the FBI that she began a $45,000-a-year job with the state parks in August 2003.
That same month, her husband,
Michael Ascaridis, wrote a $1,500 check to Amy Blagojevich, then 7 years old, whose birthday is Aug. 3.
But Blagojevich didn't report the contribution until March 2005, after he'd been interviewed by the FBI.
"The law says if you have any gift over $500, you need to report that right away, you don't report it after the FBI's all over you and forces the issue," Topinka said.
Blagojevich has yet to personally address the issue. A campaign spokesperson said Wednesday that the gift was a personal gesture that stems from a lifelong friendship.
"Gov. Blagojevich and Mike Ascaridis have been friends for over 40 years. I think most people have close friends, and the Ascaridises don't have children of their own. People understand that friends like to help in terms of college," Shiela Nix said.
In a statement issued through an attorney, Beverly Ascaridis later said the Tribune mischaracterized her feelings and that the the gift to Amy Blagojevich wasn't related to her job.
The Tribune said it stands by the story, which also said Ascaridis flunked a test for the state job but was given the job anyway.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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