CHICAGO (AP) – Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointed a woman to the state health-care construction panel that is under federal investigation soon after her business made a $25,000 contribution to his campaign, records show.

Meanwhile, several members of Blagojevich’s cabinet said state Rep. Jack Franks, D-Woodstock, pressured them last fall into urging the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board to back a hospital project in Crystal Lake that was represented by Franks’ law firm, according to a report in Sunday’s Chicago Tribune.

The planning board’s members decide whether to approve medical expansion projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

According to published reports, a whistleblower lawsuit filed under seal in U.S. District Court claims a Chicago financial power broker tried to use ties to the board to shake down a suburban hospital.

The Blagojevich administration has confirmed that the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago has notified the governor’s office that the board is the focus of an investigation and that the board and some or all of its members have received subpoenas.

When Blagojevich overhauled the nine-member board last year, he appointed several new members and reappointed others to new terms. Among the new appointments were Winnetka podiatrist Fortunee Massuda and Kankakee neurosurgeon Michel Malek.

According to state records, Foot & Ankle Clinics of America, which Massuda runs, made a $25,000 donation to Blagojevich nearly three weeks before she was appointed to the board.

Massuda did not immediately return calls for comment Sunday. Blagojevich’s aides said there was no connection between the contribution and appointment.