Former fund-raiser Chris Kelly argued at the time that Blagojevich should not combine the boards -- that having fewer total board seats would make it harder for Blagojevich to fund-raise and assert influence over those boards, Monk said.

"It would be easier to make appointments and influence the boards if they remained separate," Monk said. "If you have more people to appoint to these boards, you're going to have more points of contact."