The longtime Springfield power broker was found guilty on two of the four counts against him. more ›

Jury selection in the Rod Blagojevich retrial starts in two days. Former Governor Sound Bite took to Fox News Chicago last night to try to influence the jury pool plead his innocence. (Kudos to Larry Yellen for trying to get some candid answers out of Blagojevich, by the way.) Blagojevich stayed with his "play all the tapes" script, which conveniently omits that playing all the tapes is up to Judge James Zagel, and that Blago himself can determine how much of the tapes can be played if his defense team decides to put him on the stand. It didn't happen the first time around, but one man believes that, given the chance, Blagojevich could make a convincing defense - his brother Rob. "I can tell you Rod can be his best defense," Rob Blagojevich said. more ›

Is it a verdict? Is it another note that says maybe there's a verdict? Is it just another ginormous tease? Who the hell knows but all of Chicago is going batshit this afternoon as the Blagojevich Brothers and attorneys have been summoned to the Dirksen Federal Building for... something. WGN even has a live stream of the Dirksen lobby. There's still no word on what all of this frenzy means but the buzz is the verdicts - such as they are - are in. We'll keep you posted here as we know more. For now, buckle it, it may be a wild afternoon. more ›

We'd be lying if we said we were caught off guard by yesterday's news that jurors in the Blagojevich corruption trial were deadlocked. After all, there have been so many twists and turns in this entire ordeal that it would take a lot to shock us. Still, this is a new wrinkle to the case and we won't know more for a few hours. A hearing will be held this morning at 11 a.m. during which jurors will have to explain which counts they're currently split on so they can get the "guidance" they've asked for from Judge Zagel. After that? Per the Tribune: more ›

There's been a lot of rumor-swirling today after the jury reported to Judge Zagel that it had a question. Attorneys were due in court for a 2:30 p.m. hearing but not much else was known. Prior to that, though, attorneys had a closed-door meeting with Judge Zagel though we still have no idea what that was about. NBC 5's Ward Room reported that Judge Zagel requested Blago's presence in court today, though, signalling... well, we don't know what Earlier today, in spite of the rumors, Team Blago attorney Sheldon Sorosky indicated that, as far as he knew, the question was procedural and likely didn't have to do with a situation such as the jury reaching a verdict on some counts but remaining deadlocked on others. And ABC 7's Chuck Goudie has reported that sources tell him that there's no verdict but the judge does want both Blagojevich Brothers present for the jury's question. more ›

It's another quick-hits edition of the Blago Trial Wrap-Up. more ›

Day 15 of the Blagojevich Trial picked right back up without missing a beat in the direct testimony of former chief-of-staff John Harris. And it stepped straight into the surreal even as it focused on something we already knew: Rod considered Oprah for the U.S. Senate seat left vacated by Barack Obama. From Sarah Ostman's report for the Sun-Times on Blago suggesting Oprah, a tape played featured this exchange: more ›

Testimony from John Harris continued for a fourth day yesterday as talk continued about then-governor Rod Blagojevich's alleged attempt to sell the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by Barack Obama's election. According to what was caught on tape, Blago didn't think too highly of Jesse Jackson, Jr., especially in terms of the Senate seat. Jurors heard a tape during which Harris and Blago discussed a call Harris got from John Wyma, a mutual lobbyist pal between Blago and Rahm Emanuel, in which Wyma again outlined Obama's preference that Valerie Jarrett get the seat. During the call, an irritated Blago is heard saying, "They're not willing to give me anything but appreciation, fuck them." There was also a tape in which Rod discussed the idea of appointing aide Louanner Peters because if it looked like Blago was going to be impeached - it was seemingly on his mind - he could depend on Peters to step down and Blago could appoint himself to the seat. Brother Rob didn't like this idea at all. more ›

Day 8 of the Blago Trial opened with the continuing cross-examination of former Blago pal Lon Monk by Blago attorney Sam Adam, Jr. An animated Adam grilled Monk about specifics to plans Monk alleged he, Tony Rezko, and the ex-governor had that involved illegal scheming and plotting. When Monk couldn't produce those specifics, Adam pounced. more ›

Yesterday is when it all got underway in the Blagojevich trial. After three days of jury selection, the final jury and its alternates were seated and the opening statements were delivered, the three-ring circus officially open. The prosecution opened the trial as Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Hamilton focused on the infamous "golden" U.S. Senate seat that the feds allege Blago planned to sell. Said Hamilton, "When he needed to ask, 'who should represent the people of Illinois?' Defendant (Rod) Blagojevich asked 'what about me?'" It was against this back-drop that Hamilton also told the jury something that hadn't previously been known: Blago was in debt to the tune of $200,000. She said, “He corrupted the office of the governor of the state of Illinois for his own personal benefit. When you hear him say this senate seat is golden and he’s not giving it up for nothing, you are going to know, that’s how he viewed his power.” Following Hamilton, in his opening statement for the ex-gov's brother Robert, Michael Ettinger did his best to separate the two brothers, stressing that, "They weren't close," and "He's not a politician. He's a businessmen." He also stressed, "The evidence will show that Robert followed the rules." more ›

Now that you're all caught up on your Blagojevich Case history and the Opening Ceremonies concluded, it's time to get down to business. The business of selecting the jury. The first panel of 34 jurors was seated and Judge Zagel grilled them pretty good by all accounts. In particular, Juror No. 126 got Zagel's full attention regarding his juror questionnaire, having listed "bad temper" as a medical condition and claiming "self-interest and short-term interests will kill our country." Zagel asked the juror, "Is there anything you wouldn't say to get out of jury service?" While Zagel made the potential juror squirm, Blago seemed to be quite comfortable in the courtroom; the Tribune reported that Blago, "continued scribbling away on a notepad as the jurors are questioned, stopping occasionally to pick lint off the sleeves of his suit." But as the Sun-Times notes, maybe Blago is a little loose. more ›

And away we go. After a big crowd assembled way too early in the morning (for us, anyway) for first-come, first-serve seating in the courtroom, Rod Blagojevich and wife Patti showed up just 10 minutes before the proceedings' scheduled start of 11 a.m. While Rod had little to say - a rarity - wife Patti had plenty to say, "Today is a good day because today begins a process to correct a terrible injustice that's been done to my husband, our family and the people of Illinois. My husband as governor did great things for people, and he continued to fight for them always. My husband is an honest man, and I know that he's innocent. Thank you." And now? Jury selection is currently underway after Judge Zagel ruled against a media request to release the names of the jurors before the end of the trial. more ›

After hearing objections from Rod Blagojevich's legal team, Judge James Zagel released the full prosecution document, known as a "Santiago Proffer," detailing the bulk of the Feds case against the impeached head of hair and his brother Robert. Read the full proffer here. Hopefully the former governor's legal team has provided him with a paper copy, so he can get to reading it without having to learn how to use a computer. more ›

With his brother having already pleaded innocent to every charge, Robert Blagojevich also pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. Said Robert, "The misery continues every day. I want my name back. I am an innocent man and I will keep fighting. But [prosecutors] have the unlimited resources of the federal government." As for his relationship with his brother, the ex-gov? "It's not what it once was. It's a little strained. But we'll get through it." more ›

Finally. The moment we've all been waiting for: to hear from the brother of disgraced former governor Rod Blagojevich. Older brother Rob spoke to the Sun-Times' Natasha Korecki and talked about growing up with Rod, working for his campaign, and that fateful December 2008 morning. more ›

Interested in hearing the recorded conversation between then-not-quite-Senator Roland Burris and the brother of ex-governor Rod Blagojevich? The US District Court is here to help. Cruise by hear to take a listen. It's...not all that fascinating, but it makes us feel like FBI agents. (If you're having trouble the USDC site, WBEZ has it, too. And with a nicer color scheme.) [via] more ›

And the plot thickens. Yesterday's development in the Saga of the Lord's Senator continues to unfold. First, the reports came out that a judge decided to release a taped mid-November 2008 conversation between then-not-senator Roland Burris and then-governor Blagojevich's brother Rob. Neither seemed that concerned. Then came word that on the tape, Burris promised a donation to then-governor Blagojevich's campaign, information that directly contradicted Burris' testimony before Blago's impeachment committee back in January. And now? The Sun-Times has the transcript [PDF - starts on page 12]. more ›

This morning, U.S. Judge James Holderman gave the okay to release secret recordings made of phone calls between U.S. Senator Roland Burris and Rob Blagojevich, brother of ex-gov Rod Blagojevich, to a senate ethics committee investigating Burris' shady testimony during Rod's impeachment trial in January. For what it's worth, it seems that attorneys representing both Rob Blagojevich and Sen. Burris are just fine with the tapes being released. Rob's lawyer, Michael Ettinger, said, "If it was up to us, we'd play it to the public," and Timothy Wright, a lawyer for Burris, said, "We think it is what it is. The truth is coming out. We think it helps to vindicate the senator." [Tribune, Sun-Times] more ›