On April 22, the former head of the Illinois Finance Authority (IFA) became the first person to accuse Blagojevich of personally offering a position in his administration in return for campaign contributions. Ali Ata pleaded guilty to one count of tax fraud and one count of making false statements to federal authorities.[40] In exchange for Ata's cooperation with the investigation, prosecutors dropped charges that he had used his IFA position to help Rezko sell his pizza franchises - a scheme for which Rezko was indicted separately from the bribery case.[41] In the plea agreement, Ata admitted to meeting with Rezko several times regarding fundraising efforts for Blagojevich's campaign, and discussing the possibility of a position with a state agency in return for the contributions. He further stated that Blagojevich was present at one such meeting in 2002, in which Ata presented a $25,000 campaign contribution. According to the plea agreement, Blagojevich expressed his "pleasure" with Ata's fundraising and "asked Rezko if he (Rezko) had talked to the Defendant [Ata] about positions in the administration, and Rezko responded that he had". Ata was eventually appointed to the IFA post, and further admitted to giving Rezko about $125,000 in bribes before and after his appointment.[40][42] Ata repeated these allegations on the witness stand at Rezko's trial.[43] The governor's office issued another denial, and continued to deny that Blagojevich was "Public Official A", despite Judge St. Eve's earlier confirmation. Prosectors later said that Ata was also prepared to testify that Rezko sought and received a $25,000 bribe in 2002 which Rezko claimed would be used to pay for repairs to Blagojevich's home.[44]

In the wake of Ata's guilty plea and accusations against Blagojevich, what had previously been only rumors of impeachment gained credibility when two State House Democrats told the Chicago Sun-Times that a decision on an impeachment resolution could be near. State representatives Jack Franks and John Fritchey said that the revelations made impeachment a real possibility. Fritchey, the representative from Blagojevich's home district in Chicago, explained that "We now find ourselves in a very different environment, where an individual has pled guilty to being a co-conspirator in transactions involving the governor." [45][46] Previously, a Republican group had urged impeachment proceedings due to "near-criminal mismanagement of the state's finances".

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"The raw fact is that every successful example of economic development this past century--every case of a poor nation that worked its way up to a more or less decent, or at least dramatically better, standard of living--has taken place via globalization; that is, by producing for the world market rather than trying for self-sufficiency."

-- Paul Krugman