Charity won't take Patti Blago's tainted 'I'm a Celebrity...' winnings

Patti Blagojevich, wife of deposed Illinois governor Rob, is appearing on NBC's reality show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here. The game, which is a sort of Survivor meets Big Brother with a bit of Fear Factor mixed in to give it dignity, strands a batch of semi-famous fame-seekers in an assiduously lit and shot corner of Costa Rican jungle. Then it challenges them to tend the fire and eat the odd insect as the show's few viewers call in to vote out the worst. Everyone appearing on the show is playing for a charity of their choice. At least, that's the concept.

But Chicago's NBC affiliate reports that Patti's first-choice charity, the kids' cancer foundation Bear Necessities, thought it was better not to touch her money. Her husband still stands accused of trying to milk $50,000 from Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital in exchange for $8 million in state funding, and because Bear Necessities works closely with the hospital, it has decided to decline Patti's offer of a donation. Instead, Madame Blago switched to the equally worthy Children's Cancer Center.