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TechnoratiCHICAGO – Gov. Rod Blagojevich prayed with several ministers in his home before heading to his office Friday, telling them he is innocent and will be vindicated "when you hear each chapter completely written," according to one of the pastors.
The governor has been alternately holed up in his home or his downtown office since his arrest last Tuesday on federal corruption charges, accused of scheming to sell President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder.
The Rev. Ira Acree of the Greater St. John Bible Church, who said he initiated the contact, said Blagojevich would not discuss details of the allegations against him.
He said the governor discussed trying to get a legal and political consultation team in place, but feels as if everything is closing in on him and that he's not getting "any space or chance to sort anything out."
Acree and two other pastors — the Rev. Steve Jones, president of the Baptist Pastor's Conference, and the Rev. Marshall Hatch of the New Mt. Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church — arrived at the governor's home shortly after 8 a.m. and met with him for about 20 minutes.
Jones said they prayed with Blagojevich and his family.
"I look at it like this: Everybody that's hurting needs hope and the family needs hope and that's what our jobs are as pastors," Jones said. "Nobody should be left hopeless. Nobody, no matter what the circumstances."
Shortly after they left, a fourth minister, the Rev. Leonard Barr of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, arrived at the governor's house with his wife, Rita.
He said they were invited by the governor and that the two "prayed that he would continue to be a great governor for the state of Illinois."
On Monday, Blagojevich, who has ignored strident calls to resign from Obama and virtually every lawmaker in the state, defiantly signed 11 bills into law — including one mentioned in the 76-page FBI complaint against him.
Ed Genson, a bulldog defense attorney hired by Blagojevich, said the embattled Democrat would not step down. "He hasn't done anything wrong," the attorney said Monday night.
An Illinois House panel was to discuss on Tuesday how it will operate and review claims against Blagojevich.
But chairwoman and Democratic Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie of Chicago agreed to resume the hearing Wednesday to allow for Blagojevich's attorney to attend.
Currie also says she's awaiting a response from U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald about whether the panel will be allowed to hear testimony from certain witnesses without compromising Fitzgerald's case against Blagojevich.
The committee is to make a recommendation on whether to impeach to the full House, which then would decide whether to file charges against the governor. The Senate would hold hearings and ultimately rule.
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Associated Press Writers Deanna Bellandi and Adam Goldman in Chicago, Christopher Wills in Springfield, Ill., and Associated Press photographer Charles Rex Arbogast and videographer Mark Carlson in Chicago contributed to this report.
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