As we now count down the days to when Rod Blagojevich starts serving his 14-year prison sentence, media and family are starting to weigh in on the former governor. more ›

Blagojevich recently sent letters to all 10 members of the House Ethics Committee, indicating what he may know of "Senate Candidate Number Five's" interactions with him and former Gov. Rod Blagojevich could be of interest to their investigation. more ›

Robert Blagojevich, brother to ex-gov Rod, is now free and clear as the federal government has dropped all charges against him. The jury was unable to reach verdict on any of the four charges against Robert at the previous trial and he (obviously) won't be included in any retrial. According to the Sun-Times, "Prosecutors said the decision was made in the interest of justice." more ›

As more information trickles out and more jurors come forward to discuss their time served during the Blago Corruption Trial we're learning more and more about what happened behind closed doors. Perhaps the most eyebrow raising news of the morning is that CBS 2 has apparently outed the holdout juror: Jo Ann Chiakulas, a retired state employee for the Illinois Department of Public Health and previously a director of teen counseling for the Chicago Urban League. CBS 2 notes that the CUL was run by former Blago press secretary Cheryle Jackson but that Chiakulas left before Jackson took over. Still, there's plenty more left to uncover from this even as Chiakulas remains silent. One juror speculated, "If it wasn't for that one lady, we'd have had him convicted on probably 80 percent of (the indictment)." Despite this, her fellow jurors refused to criticize her for holding out. Cynthia Parker said, "Everyone's entitled to their opinion, and I respect that. She did very well and she was a very strong person." more ›

Estimated cost of retrial: unknown more ›

You'll have to forgive us if we're a little dazed this morning. After 20 long, surreal months, it's all over. Except ... it's not. We've reached the conclusion of the ordeal known as the Blagojevich Corruption Trial but there's no closure, only expectations that The Summer Of Blago is likely going to become The Winter Of Blago and then quite possibly The Summer Of Blago 2: Electric Bugaloo. Yes, we've moved on up the board but if this were a game of Chutes & Ladders, we just hit a chute that sent us halfway back to the start. more ›

Former Governor Rod Blagojevich has been found guilty on Count 24, lying to the FBI, the only count the jury has reached a unanimous verdict on. The count is a felony and the max sentence is five years. Per the Tribune, the jury remained deadlocked on the other 23 counts against Blago, including the most important charge - racketeering - and all four counts against Rob Blagojevich. more ›

As the jury in the Blago Trial continued another day of deliberations, it seems they may be at it for quite some time, based on their newest request: transcripts of all testimony in the trial. The short answer is "no," but Judge Zagel plans to ask the jury for a wish list of specific witnesses which he will consider though Team Blago isn't thrilled: more ›

With all the bombast we've come to expect of him, Sam Adam Jr., attorney for ex-governor Rod Blagojevich, settled his most recent feud with Judge Zagel and delivered a Hellfire and brimstone closing argument in defense of his client yesterday. The first matter of business was settling the issue of Adam's insistence on mentioning the witnesses the federal government had originally planned to call but didn't, a no-no by order of the judge. After denying that he ever used the word "jail" in his threat to hold Adam in contempt, Judge Zagel explained to Adam how to best proceed, per the Sun-Times: more ›

Of course things wouldn't go smoothly or as planned at this trial. Nothing else has so far so why would closing arguments be any different? From the Blagojeviches shameless ploy for pity by bringing their daughters to the courtroom to the antics the courtroom, yesterday was a day of drama befitting the surreal clusterfuck that has made up everything about the Rod Blagojevich case. The main fireworks came at the end of the day when sparring between Blago attorney Sam Adam Jr. and Judge Zagel, an ongoing battle throughout the entire trial, reached a head. In his closing, Adam tried to point to the "missing witnesses," a reference to a number of witnesses federal prosecutors didn't call while presenting their case (including Tony Rezko and Rahm Emanuel), a move that was in direct defiance of an order from Zagel. After a particularly firey exchange between the two in which Judge Zagel threatened to hold Adam in contempt, Zagel sent the jury home for the day and scheduled a hearing for 8:45 a.m. this morning with attorneys before closing arguments were scheduled to resume at 9:30. After court, with his typical bluster, Adam said, "I have no qualms of going to prison if that's what's best." Besides bombast, what exactly was Adam after with his outburst? The Tribune breaks it down: more ›

Sure, the main focus today in the Blagojevich case will be on closing arguments. But there will be action on the auction block as a Tribune report today details a storage unit that the Blagos are a year behind on paying and now the owner of the facility is threatening to auction those items off to pay off the bill. Not that there's apparently a whole lot worth owning: besides one boring Elvis statue, the facility's owner - Paul Lombardo - says most of the items in the unit are "largely boxes and records." Lombardo says he's sent the dead-beat gov and his attorneys a certified letter notifying them of the August 14 date for public auction of the materials if he doesn't get cash in hand. And while he's spoken to one of Blago's attorneys, there's still no money. So at 9 a.m. on the 14th, it's all for sale. Proceeds will be donated to Children's Memorial Hospital, where several of Lombardo's children have been treated and a regular charity of his. And we all remember how the hospital fits into Blago's current predicament. more ›

We were prepared for a three-ring circus, a trial of corruption of epic proportions that could have lasted throughout the summer and into the fall, as many as three to four months. What we got instead was a case that lasted about six weeks but at least it provided all the theatrics, twists, and turns we were expecting. (Hell, a reporter from the Wall Street Journal was so hell-bent on getting in his questions he managed to get himself arrested.) The defense's case lasted all of two days, with only Robert and Julie Blagojevich testifying and that was on Robert's behalf. As we all know now, former governor Rod chose not to testify on his own behalf and his defense decided to rest without calling a single witness, apparently content that the prosecution hasn't proven any wrong-doing by Rod beyond a reasonable doubt. If there's one thing Blago loves to do, it's talk and that's what he did outside the courthouse yesterday, explaining: more ›

It just might be, well ahead of schedule. As was reported yesterday, it appears as if Blago's defense team will rest its case today without calling a single witness, most importantly Blago himself. Yes, after a year and a half of exclaiming that the truth would come out, that he would be vindicated, our ex-gov won't even get his crack at telling his side of the story on the witness stand. Which is probably just as well because it won't give prosecutors a chance to put him through the wringer. After the decision was announced following the testimony of co-defendant (and brother) Robert Blagojevich, Judge Zagel held a sidebar conference in which he advised Blago's attorneys to sleep on the decision and come back this morning at 9:30. So why the change of heart, literally, overnight on Monday? There seem to be three reasons at play, outlined best here by the Tribune: more ›

After almost a week off, the Blagojevich Trial got off to a rousing re-start as the defense began its case by calling Robert Blagojevich, co-defendant and brother of the former gov to the stand. And while there's a distinct possibility Rod himself could take the stand as early as this afternoon - oh, how we wish there was a live feed of the testimony - the focus yesterday was on Robert. more ›

After almost a week break, the Blagojevich Trial begins anew today as the defense begins presenting its case and today should include testimony from co-defendant Robert Blagojevich and his wife Julie. And after them? The ex-gov himself as well as his wife Patti. Natasha Korecki wrote a nice breakdown of the strained relationship between the two brothers earlier this year. more ›

The prosecution rested their case against former governor Rod Blagojevich yesterday, more than a month ahead of schedule, after two last witnesses. Judge Zagel also granted the defense's request to adjourn until Monday after they claimed the early end to the prosecution's case has left them in a lurch because they were preparing as if they'd have a few more weeks. In a hearing yesterday, the defense showed their hand as to what we can expect when the trial picks back up again next week. more ›

An abbreviated version round-up today. more ›

After a few days off, the trials of former police commander Jon Burge and former governor Rod Blagojevich pick back up this morning. In the Burge case, former detective Michael McDermott may testify today for the prosecution when it's expected he'll detail seeing Burge torture a suspect into a confession by using a typewriter cover to suffocate him. While the jury has heard from three alleged victims and the transcript of a now-deceased fourth victim, McDermott is the first detective to testify that he witnessed Burge and his "Midnight Crew" physically torture suspects, in this case the October 1985 torture of robbery suspect Shadeed Mu'min; Mu'min is also expected to testify for the prosecution who expect to wrap up their case soon. more ›

Robert Blagojevich, brother and co-defendant of our ex-governor Rod Blagojevich, has asked to have his trial separated from that of his brother's. Why? Taint: he doesn't want any taint against the ex-gov to rub off on his part of the trial. In a motion recently filed in court, Rob's attorney, Michael Ettinger, said: 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 ›

Yesterday evening, the other shoe dropped and Rod Blagojevich and five others were indicted on a wide range of fraud and corruption charges. The indictment contains 19 charges in all against Blagojevich, his brother Robert, former Chief-of-Staff John Harris, former adviser Lon Monk, former fundraiser Christopher Kelly, and power broker William Cellini. Here are some of the highlights from the news surrounding the indictments. more ›

The Lord's Senator Roland Burris spoke to the press Monday night in Peoria, and what an event it was. In a nutshell, he says he told Rod Blagojevich's brother Rob that he would raise money for him, asked some people to help out, found out nobody was interested, and then told the brothers Blago that he couldn't do it, since he was seeking the senate seat himself. "So sometime shortly after Obama was elected, the brother called and I had talked to some people about trying to see if we could put a fundraiser on," Burris said. But the Chicago Public Radio Blog brings us the best bit of his statements, adding "He started talking…and talking…and talking…and talking…then contradicting…then back to talking about his involvement. The clip that the newspapers pulled doesn’t give it justice. This gives it justice." more ›