Rezko cut a deal to serve the sentence concurrent with the separate 10 1/2-year fraud sentence he was sentenced to last month. more ›

Yesterday, Judge James Zagel denied Blagojevich's request to have all the f-ing wiretaps prosecutors have on him played in open court. Zagel minced no words in chiding Blago's legal team for the last-minute motion and said filing the motion when they had access to it all along was a waste of time. more ›

Former adviser to Rod Blagojevich Antonin "Tony" Rezko, who has already been in prison for 44 months, will have to stew in jail a little while longer. more ›

Rezko has served 44 months at a Wisconsin prison, since he was convicted on 16 of 24 counts in June 2008. more ›

Ever since Rezko turned himself into authorities in June 2008, his time in prison has been met with a series of sentencing postponements. That's got to be a major mindfuck. more ›

The Supreme Court's decision regarding the honest services law is like AJ Pierzynski taking first base on that passed ball in Game 2 of the 2005 AL Championship Series. It's a ray of hope for folks like Conrad Black, George Ryan and now Tony Rezko that they can have their convictions overturned, using the narrower guidelines. more ›

Today in "Tony Rezko Did What for Whom?," we learn that he gave Congressman Luis Gutierrez free upgrades to a town home Gutierrez purchased from the convicted former Rod Blagojevich fundraiser. The revelations in a 2008 conversation Gutierrez had with the FBI, contradict what he told the Sun-Times in a 2006 interview. more ›

• It seems some aldermen are pretty steamed about Rahm Emanuel's impending run for Mayor.
• It seems Tony Rezko , who pleaded guilty today to another fraud charge, is "ready and willing" to testify against ex-gov Rod Blagojevich if given the chance at the next Blago trial.
• Allan Kustok, the husband of slain teacher Anita Jeanie Kustok and charged with her murder, has been ordered held on $2 million bond.

Even though the loan was made a year after Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias left his family's Broadway Bank, his campaign is being dogged by reports of a loan the bank made with connections to convicted businessman Tony Rezko. The GOP has gone on the attack, of course, but Giannoulias spokeswoman Kathleen Strand dismissed the allegations, saying Alexi had nothing to do with them: "Alexi left daily operations of the bank in September of 2005, months before this loan was made. He had no knowledge of it, and his name is not on any documents related to the loan. This guilt-by-association story is an unfortunate and failed attempt to link Alexi to Mr. Rezko.'' more ›

Another day in the trial of former governor Rod Blagojevich and his brother Rob opened where it left off Tuesday, with Joseph Aramanda still on the stand. Aramanda testified that Tony Rezko approached him to take a job as a middle man for him, handling fees from the Teachers Retirement Systems and help split the fees between the "inner circle": Rezko, Monk, Kelly, and Blago, backing up the testimony of Lon Monk. Under cross-examination, Aramanda brought up President Obama, mentioning the $10,000 contribution to Obama's U.S. Senate fund in 2004 he made at the request of Rezko, money that the prosecution says came from an illegal $250,000 "finder's fee" Aramanda got from helping Rezko with the teacher's pension deal. But, as Jeff Coen points out for the Tribune, the line of questioning from the defense is clear: this is Rezko's fault, not Blago's. more ›

As this morning's trial proceedings began, Blago lawyer Sheldon Sorosky held a quick Q&A with reporters and according to the CNC, admitted that they might call Pat Quinn, just as the prosectuion would likely call Tony Rezko. Despite distancing himself from the former Governor, Quinn said that Blago had "always been a person who's honest and one of integrity" in 2006. Just last week, Quinn said he wasn't concerned about the trial and its implications for his current run for governor. more ›

• Iraq war vet Joseph Jesk has been ordered held on $1 million bail in connection with the weekend shooting death of his wife, Heather Jesk.
• The battle over red light cameras continues tomorrow in Springfield.
• Fellow blogger (and our occasional sparring partner) Mike Doyle of Chicago Carless posted on his experiences blogging for the Trib's Chicago Now network and a huge discussion over what Chicago Now has allegedly done wrong and right has commenced over at the Windy Citizen.

Lon Monk, former chief of staff for ex-governor Rod Blagojevich, reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors which saw him plead guilty today and promise to testify against Blago at the ex-gov's trial next year. Monk pleaded guilty to just one charge involving a shake down of race track owner Johnny Johnston for a $100,000 campaign contribution in exchange for favorable horse racing legislation. As part of the agreement, Monk would face up to two years in prison. more ›

• Two Chicago Police officers were shot today while trying to execute a warrant on the Southeast Side. Each officer was shot in a leg and both were reported in good condition.
• The police shooting followed last night's violent six hour window which saw four killed and eight wounded in shootings.
• Gov. Quinn has joined the fray over Burr Oak Cemetery, appointing a task force to look at cemetery operations state-wide.

The controversy over clout is getting even deeper these days. Today, the Tribune published the results of its investigation into a "clout list" at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It seems that students with certain power connections - like Tony Rezko - have circumvented admission requirements and received special consideration in being accepted to the school. The Trib sifted through 1,800 pages of documents in their investigation, which revealed, among other things: more ›

Less than a month since being sworn in as Governor, Pat Quinn is already surprising people with his pick of Jack Lavin as his Chief Operating Officer. While described as a personal friend of Quinn, Lavin also has an extensive past with both former governor Rod Blagojevich and convicted Blago fund-raiser Tony Rezko. Lavin previously served as Blagojevich's director of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. That was, of course, after working for Rezko as a COO and receiving $12,000 from Rezko when he mulled over a run for public office. Lavin previously worked with Quinn when Quinn was state treasurer in the early '90's. Quinn defended Lavin in an interview before he became governor, saying, "I don't think there has ever been an iota of information that he did anything improper." State Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno said of the pick, "Certainly he comes with some baggage that we have to be very sensitive about at this moment in our state's history, but personally I want to work with everyone right now to make sure we get through the very serious problems we're facing. I can only hope the governor has fully vetted his association and knows full well that they won't in any way, shape or form interfere." more ›

• Mayor Daley is still pissed about the teen cop: "What bothers me is I’d hate to see it at Halloween if everybody walks in - a 12- or 14-year-old walks into a police station on Halloween, they'll be handed a desk. They'll give them a car. They'll give them a badge…That's a real concern that we have."
• Maybe MayDay's on edge about his upcoming trip to the United Arab Emirates, where he'll visit Dubai and Abu Dhabi in an effort to further Chicago's stance as a global city.
• The Expired Meter takes an interesting look at how budget cuts for the city, including shutting some offices, are making it more difficult to contest and settle parking and red light camera tickets.

Between now and Wednesday, we're counting down the top 8 stories that captivated us in 2008. more ›

It's been a week since Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested on corruption and fraud charges. We aren't surprised so much with the what as with the why. Still, it's a week later and, besides becoming the laughing-stock of the country, not all that much has changed. Gov. Blagojevich is still in charge, he's still signing bills, and - yes - he even still has the power to appoint a senator to replace President-Elect Barack Obama. more ›

Chicago's most notorious fundraiser, Tony Rezko, has finally been given a sentencing date of January 6. Rezko's lawyers had previously asked for a delay in sentencing while Rezko talked to prosecutors, but Rezko attorney Joseph Duffy said, “He wants to move on with his life. No one likes living at the MCC [Metropolitan Correctional Center].” Rezko remains in solitary confinement, where he's been since his conviction. more ›

In court records unsealed recently, it seems that Edward "Fast Eddie" Vrdolyak was ultimately done in by "buddy" Stuart Levine, who taped conversations between he and Vrdolyak in 2006. And if that name sounds familiar, yes, it's the same Stuart Levine whose testimony was the crux of the case against one Mr. Tony Rezko. Vrdolyak just pled guilty a few weeks ago to the real estate kickback scheme of Rosalind Franklin University's sale of a Gold Coast building. In the taped conversations, Levine is described as, "pressing his old pal for his share of a bogus finder's fee." The Trib recounts this more succinctly than we ever could.

Levine, a board member at the school, tapped his friend Vrdolyak to find a buyer, Smithfield Properties Development. more ›

U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve today rejected Tony Rezko's request for a new trial. Much has been made of how the conviction rested on the testimony of Stuart Levine. Sayeth the judge in a 34-page opinion:

The government introduced substantially more evidence than just the testimony of Stuart Levine to prove defendant Rezko’s criminal conduct, including extensive corroborating wire taps. When viewing all of the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, the government proved defendant’s knowledge and intent beyond a reasonable doubt. A new trial is not required in the interest of justice.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich isn’t getting much love from voters but that doesn’t mean he isn’t swimming in gifts that range from an Al Franken book to samurai swords. The Sun-Times takes a look at Blagojevich’s 56-page gift log and finds some familiar faces. Convicted felon and former Blagojevich fundraiser Tony Rezko gave the governor a silver spoon in 2003 for his newborn daughter. Joseph Cari, who pleaded guilty in the Rezko deals, gave the governor Al Franken’s Lies (And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them). Blagojevich also received a gift from indicted fundraiser William Cellini, who gave a $50 framed print. A Blagojevich spokesman told the Sun-Times that he doesn’t think the governor keeps most of the gifts in the log, which came in to a total of $16,475. more ›

We might have to add a new category to the Rod Blagojevich Death Pool -- "Before/After Patti Gets Indicted". Patti Blagojevich has been laying low at her new job with the Chicago Christian Industrial League, but that hasn't lessened the heat federal investigators are putting on her and her former real estate company, River Realty. more ›

Tony Rezko's October 28 sentencing date has been postponed indefinitely by U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve since Rezko is still in talks with the government about cooperating with other federal investigations. A status meeting will occur in December. And for you conspiracy theorists out there: "The sentencing, originally scheduled for Oct. 28, just before the election, was likely to bring unfavorable publicity to Rezko's onetime friend Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama." more ›

Since Rezko's felony conviction in June, the FBI has been investigating how the former top Blagojevich fund-raiser billed the governor and his wife for the work, who paid for it and whether Rezko ever arranged for cash to be passed in envelopes to the Blagojeviches, several sources familiar with the probe told the Chicago Sun-Times.

A new ad by John McCain attempts to connect Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to the storied Chicago "Machine." The ad connects Obama to Rezko, Emil Jones, and beleaguered Governor Rod Blagojevich. The Obama Campaign has responded by calling the new ad a “false, gratuitous attack." Obama's ties to the local political structure have previously been examined by the Trib and, more famously, in The New Yorker this summer, an article that was over-shadowed by The Great Cover Controversy of 2008. more ›