The Chicago Sun-Times reports today that Rod Blagojevich, the disgraced former governor, was told that Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) would raise $5 million in campaign funds for him in exchange for a Senate appointment.

"The overture came from at least two members of the local Indian community who approached the Blagojevich fund-raising team last fall, sources say.

Besides the $5 million to be raised by Jackson, the proposal also included another $1 million for Blagojevich's campaign fund that would come from Indian donors, sources say.

This is the first revelation that a proposal for the Jackson appointment involved an alleged promise that he'd raise campaign cash for the ex-governor.

Also, the amount of money allegedly offered to Blagojevich is significantly higher than what's been reported so far.

Sources did not disclose what role, if any, Jackson played in authorizing the offers to Blagojevich. Jackson has denied allowing anyone to make pay-to-play offers to the governor on his behalf. The congressman has been interviewed by authorities but has not been accused of wrongdoing."

Jackson said last week that he was "cooperating fully" with a preliminary review by the Office of Congressional Ethics, a relatively new panel that will decide whether or not the House Ethics Committee should conduct a full investigation. However, Jackson continued to deny any wrongdoing.

"As I said when the Blagojevich scandal first broke back in December, I have done nothing wrong and reject pay-to-play politics," Jackson said. "I'm confident that this new ethics office -- which I voted in favor of creating -- will be able to conduct a fair and expeditious review and dismiss this matter."