Robert Blagojevich testified Monday that his family has a long history with Children’s Memorial Hospital, stemming to when a cousin with leukemia was treated there.
The government has alleged that Rod Blagojevich tried to extort the hospital for a campaign contribution prior to his arrest in December 2008.
“My aunt and uncle were very complimentary of Children’s Memorial and we as a family have very fond feelings towards Children’s Memorial because of the treatment they gave my cousin,” Blagojevich said, prior to court breaking for lunch Monday.
The ex-governor’s brother testified that he had attended fundraising meetings in October 2008, where he, Rod Blagojevich, Blagojevich’s Chief of Staff Lon Monk and lobbyist John Wyma discussed Children’s Memorial CEO Patrick Magoon hosting a fundraiser, but that this registered as nothing more than a standard request. He also said that there were additional matters discussed outside his presence at those meetings.
Robert said that at the time he agreed to call Magoon to pitch the fundraiser idea, he was unaware that his brother had just approved a Medicaid rate increase for pediatric physicians, which stood to benefit the hospital.
Last week, Magoon testified that the sequence of the fundraising call and Rod Blagojevich’s pledging approval for the rate increase led him to believe the two were tied.
On Monday, Robert Blagojevich said Magoon “seemed in no way reluctant” when he asked him to host the fundraiser and that was the only time he spoke to him. Magoon also was a previous contributor to Rod Blagojevich’s campaign fund. Robert Blagojevich said he left Magoon three messages following his initial call without a response.
In a telephone conversation with his brother on Nov. 12, 2008, Robert Blagojevich said, “I’ve left three messages there. So I’m going to quit calling. I feel stupid now.”