In his 2002 attempt to win the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, Burris depended heavily upon Joseph Stroud, an Illinois political heavyweight contributor, thanks to his ownership of Jovon Broadcasting and Telephone U.S.A. In the 2002 race, Stroud provided Burris with the following loans and contributions:

* Jovon Broadcasting individual contribution to Burris:  $200,000
* Jovon Broadcasting in-kind contributions to Burris:    $179,895
* Telephone U.S.A. (and USA) loans to Burris:               $1,200,000

Burris repaid $6,000 of the Telephone U.S.A. loans in November 2003, but no other payments appear in the records. This puts the total support from Stroud to Burris at $1,573,895.

Presumably, these contributions were all legal, but the outstanding loans could create a potential conflict of interest should Stroud have issues with federal regulators once Burris is sworn-in as Illinois senator.

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