As Rod Blagojevich reports to federal prison today, the CEO of Edward Hospital in Naperville, Ill., says she's proud of her role in exposing the former governor's corruption, according to a Herald-News report.
CEO Pam Davis cooperated with the FBI and wore a wire for eight months to build a case against two of Mr. Blagojevich's cronies — Stuart Levine, a member of the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, and political fundraiser Tony Rezko.
In 2003, Mr. Levine told Ms. Davis he would approve a hospital expansion plan if Edward hired his friends as contractors. Prosecutors said those contractors would have paid kickbacks to Mr. Levine, and a portion of that cash would go back to Mr. Blagojevich's campaign funds in cooperation with Mr. Rezko.
"It was a strong-armed attempt [to get me] to work with individuals who have no experience building hospitals," Ms. Davis said in the report. "The more I told them no, the more they put personal pressure on me."
She said eight months of wearing the wire left her mentally and physically exhausted, as she is normally a "very transparent person," according to the report. When the FBI called her in 2008 to alert her that they were about to arrest Mr. Blagojevich, Ms. Davis said she felt relief.
"I did get a thrill in hearing that," she said in the report. "I had felt so wronged and felt healthcare had been so toyed with. Part of me felt vindicated, like maybe now people would understand that something very terrible was happening."
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CEO Pam Davis cooperated with the FBI and wore a wire for eight months to build a case against two of Mr. Blagojevich's cronies — Stuart Levine, a member of the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, and political fundraiser Tony Rezko.
In 2003, Mr. Levine told Ms. Davis he would approve a hospital expansion plan if Edward hired his friends as contractors. Prosecutors said those contractors would have paid kickbacks to Mr. Levine, and a portion of that cash would go back to Mr. Blagojevich's campaign funds in cooperation with Mr. Rezko.
"It was a strong-armed attempt [to get me] to work with individuals who have no experience building hospitals," Ms. Davis said in the report. "The more I told them no, the more they put personal pressure on me."
She said eight months of wearing the wire left her mentally and physically exhausted, as she is normally a "very transparent person," according to the report. When the FBI called her in 2008 to alert her that they were about to arrest Mr. Blagojevich, Ms. Davis said she felt relief.
"I did get a thrill in hearing that," she said in the report. "I had felt so wronged and felt healthcare had been so toyed with. Part of me felt vindicated, like maybe now people would understand that something very terrible was happening."
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Illinois to Resume Reviews of Non-Profit Hospitals' Tax-Exempt Statuses