SPRINGFIELD | In a sharp rebuke to Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the Illinois House overwhelmingly voted Wednesday to override his veto of ethics legislation meant to fight the state's "pay to play" reputation.

The override passed 110-3. Its passage was such a foregone conclusion that no one even spoke in favor of upholding Blagojevich's veto.

It's now up to the state Senate to decide whether the measure dies or becomes law.

The bill would restrict campaign contributions from people doing business with the state. The goal is to fight the perception that companies can't land state contracts unless they cough up political donations.

The chief target of the bill is Blagojevich, the only statewide official who hasn't voluntarily stopped taking contributions from state contractors.

The Democratic governor used his veto power to propose a dramatic rewrite of the bill. He loaded it up with a long list of ethics measures generally seen as impossible to pass in Springfield.

"He's not trying to clean up government. He's trying, in a last desperate attempt, to prevent this bill from becoming law," said the sponsor, Rep. John Fritchey, D-Chicago.

To counter accusations that lawmakers are afraid of more sweeping reforms, Fritchey has introduced legislation containing the various ideas Blagojevich tacked on to the "pay to play" measure, such as sharply limiting the other government jobs that lawmakers can hold and requiring lawmakers to vote on whether to raise their own pay. The Legislature can consider those ideas separately, he said.

Blagojevich called that an attempt to "mislead the public."

"They hope you don't keep an eye on what they do and then for whatever reason they either won't call it or they'll call it and they'll find a way for it to not to pass," he told reporters in Chicago.

In 2005, Blagojevich promised to push for ethics legislation that would "rock the system." But after introducing it, he quickly dropped efforts to pass the ethics legislation.

Federal prosecutors have been investigating whether his administration traded jobs for contributions. Blagojevich has not been charged with wrongdoing, but his friend and former fundraiser, Antoin "Tony" Rezko, is awaiting sentencing on a federal corruption conviction involving pay-to-play schemes.

Blagojevich contended Wednesday his administration has made changes to better police ethics in government. But there was more to be done and his proposed changes tried to address that. "People are human. People will make mistakes," he said.

He went on to add: "I know we've had certain relationships where the people that I know have made mistakes," he said.

Inspired by Blagojevich's problems and the scandal of former Gov. George Ryan, now serving time in federal prison, government watchdog groups and legislators have gradually built support for the idea of keeping politicians from shaking down people wanting to do business with the state.

In May, they finally passed legislation saying contractors with state deals worth $50,000 or more cannot give campaign money to the officeholders who hired them.

"This bill has seen more hurdles than the Beijing Olympics," Fritchey said.