Report: Jackson, Jr. Tipped Off About Federal Probe Before Becoming Mentally Ill

This should come as no surprise. The Sun-Times reports that former Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) received a tip last June shortly before he went on leave from Congress, claiming to be suffering from a mental illness, that he was under investigation by the FBI for misappropriating campaign funds. The Sun-Times couldn't confirm if the tip came from someone involved in the federal investigation; however, Jackson was also involved in the investigation of the attempt by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich to sell the Senate seat of Barack Obama shortly after his election in 2008. In that case, then-U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald tipped off reporters for the Chicago Tribune according to a new book on the Blagojevich crime spree, "Golden," who then revealed that the governor's telephone conversations had been wiretapped. The working theory is that Fitzgerald wanted to protect the newly-elected President and his close advisers, including Rahm Emanuel and Valerie Jarrett, from being implicated in the scheme. Fitzgerald's investigation ignored evidence offered by witnesses that Obama had accepted bribes from convicted political fixer Tony Rezko.

Jackson stopped showing up for work on June 10. After weeks of speculation, his staff finally confirmed he had checked himself into the Mayo Clinic for treatment of a purported mental illness. His office later claimed he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, the mental disorder of choice for people who don't want to accept responsibility for their bad acts. Jackson never appeared publicly again after that point, although he was spotted having drinks with friends in a Washington bar in the weeks prior to the November election. Despite his leave from his job and his failure to campaign for re-election, voters in his district re-elected him by a landslide only to learn a couple of weeks after his re-election that he was resigning his seat amidst rumors he may enter into a plea agreement in connection with the federal investigation. Jackson's use of campaign funds on a Washington mistress, personal furnishings for his home and consulting payments to his wife, a Chicago alderman, is what has reportedly drawn the scrutiny of federal investigators.

Patrick Fitzgerald Joins Law Firm Of Obama's Former White House Counsel

It's business as usual in Chicago. After protecting President Barack Obama from criminal liability for his corrupt relationship with convicted political fixer Tony Rezko, former Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has been rewarded with a partnership in the Chicago office of New York-based law firm giant Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. The firm counts among its partners, Greg Craig, Obama's first White House Counsel, who had to help navigate Obama through Fitzgerald's investigation of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's attempt to sell Obama's Senate seat, from which he resigned shortly after being elected President but before he was sworn into office.

Interestingly, Skadden Arps represented The Tribune Company, the parent company of the Chicago Tribune, in a transaction that took the company private in 2007. Gov. Blagojevich was caught on wire-tapped phone conversations discussing an attempt to shake down The Tribune Company's CEO Sam Zell for campaign contributions in exchange for his help in providing public financing for Wrigley Field, to aid the company in the sale of the Chicago Cubs baseball franchise to the Ricketts family. Fitzgerald has recently come under criticism after two reporters for the Chicago Tribune, who broke the story about Fitzgerald's office wiretapping Blagojevich's phone conversations, revealed in a new book that Fitzgerald is the one who tipped off the Tribune's reporters of the wiretaps before Blagojevich could complete a deal on the sale of the Senate seat. Fitzgerald's office closely protected potentially damaging phone conversations Blagojevich had with Obama and Rahm Emanuel discussing Obama's replacement in the Senate.

Skadden Arps' Greg Craig was the Obama White House transition attorney who conducted the investigation of the Obama campaign's discussion of the Senate seat with Blagojevich and prepared a whitewashed report that cleared Obama, Emanual, Valerie Jarrett and others close to Obama. Fitzgerald's investigators dismissed Blagojevich's claim that Rezko had given at least $25,000 cash to Obama when he ran for the Senate just like it ignored Rezko's financial role in helping the Obama's purchase their southside mansion.

UPDATED: Illinois Pay To Play has learned that the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform is conducting a preliminary investigation of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago to determine if obstruction of justice may have occurred as a result of the office's leaks to the media of its ongoing investigation of Gov. Rod Blagojevich during the period of time that the former governor was attempting to sell Obama's Senate seat. The focus of the inquiry is based upon disclosures made by the two Chicago Tribune reporters in their new book about their exclusive accesss to government transcripts and wiretaps gathered by the U.S. Attorney's Office as part of its investigation of Blagojevich and others in Illinois state government during a highly sensitive period of the investigation.

Rezko Talking About Blago But Not Obama

Convicted Chicago political fixer and former very close friend of Barack Obama is talking about his role in pay-to-play in the Blagojevich administration, but he won't talk about what he did for Obama. He thinks the 14 1/2-year sentence given to Blagojevich is "ridiculous" and while he admits he committed crimes, he says he didn't commit the crimes the government convinced a jury that he committed. Rezko insists that he never bribed Blagojevich as the government claimed. From the Sun-Times Natasha Korecki interview with Rezko:

Rezko, serving a 10 ½ year sentence in a federal prison in Downstate Pekin, said Blagojevich handed out political appointments in exchange for campaign contributions. Rezko said he himself was tried and convicted on crimes he did not commit. But Rezko admitted to other crimes.

The former Wilmette businessman expressed surprise at the Senate seat charges involving Blagojevich; namely that the former governor wasn’t more careful in his telephone conversations.

He called the disgraced governor’s 14-year prison sentence “ridiculous.”

While he denounced a judicial system that rewarded serial conman Stuart Levine for cooperating with the government, Rezko said he ultimately blamed no one for his predicament but himself.

And Rezko was adamant that Blagojevich knew of the pay-to-play politics in his administration, including the trading of political appointments for campaign contributions.

“Yes, he did,” Rezko said of Blagojevich’s knowledge of pay-to-play. “We would have the discussions. X, Y and Z made a $50,000 [contribution] and looking to be placed on a board, where should we place that person if that person specifically requested to be placed on board. Yeah. We had these discussions.”

The accusation that Blagojevich sold appointments — which the governor repeatedly denied — was first made public by Ald. Dick Mell (33rd), Blagojevich’s father-in-law, sparking a feud that still divides the family . . .

Rezko said he never bribed the now-imprisoned Blagojevich and said Patti Blagojevich did do work in exchange for the more than $12,000 a month Rezko’s realty company paid her. He also said there was no wrongdoing tied to the rehab of Blagojevich’s home, which was done by Rezko companies. “I’m not aware of him getting cash from anybody,” Rezko said of Blagojevich.

Rezko seemed to back up trial testimony by former Blagojevich chief of staff Lon Monk that the ex-governor took part in private meetings in which the three of them and the late Christopher Kelly discussed how to make money off of state deals.

But when pressed, Rezko declined to give details.

“We did have meetings. Quite a few times, where it was me and Chris Kelly and Rod. I do not recall specifically things he said. But yeah, we had meetings like that,” Rezko said when asked of Monk’s testimony. Rezko said the scheme did not happen “in the way that I read about in the paper.” When asked for additional information, Rezko would not answer, saying: “Let’s go to a different topic.”

In 2008, Rezko was convicted on 16 of 24 counts that accused him of corrupting two state boards and using his influence in Blagojevich’s inner circle to squeeze cash from firms seeking state business.

“I was shocked. At no time I thought they’d give me 10 ½ years,” Rezko said. I was indicted, tried and convicted on a crime I did not commit … I have done things that I could have been indicted and tried for. I’m not saying I’m an angel,” Rezko said. “I did do things that were related to play-to-play. But I did not do what they indicted me and convicted me of.” . . .

Rezko did confirm he handed out cash payments to Monk under the table after Monk complained he wasn’t making enough money. Monk testified Rezko gave him $70,000 to $90,000 in cash.

Rezko initially did not tell prosecutors about the money, something prosecutors cited as they sought a stiff sentence against Rezko last November. Rezko though, said he didn’t ask for favors in return — saying he didn’t need any.

“I did admit I lied to them about Lon Monk… I thought, the guy has young children, he has already indicted and why do I pile [on] more? I knew something that could have damaged him more, “ Rezko said. “I guess he told them … and it backfired on me.”

Looking back on his crimes, Rezko said he regrets his actions.

“Of course. I’m here. I never thought one day I’ll be incarcerated.”

Asked if carrying out pay-to-play was easy to do in Illinois, Rezko laughed heartily.

“I think it is not easier in Illinois than it is in New Jersey, or California, or any other state. I don’t know, I guess that’s the Democratic system. It’s better than what’s out there but it’s not pure,” he said. “Isn’t that part of the world we live in?”

I think what Rezko says about pay-to-play not being easier to do in Illinois than any other state is spot on. It's standard operating procedure in Indiana, particularly in the City of Indianapolis. The individuals convicted in Operation Board Game did nothing anymore criminal than what occurs daily in Indianapolis. It's just that in Indianapolis we don't have persons in the mainstream media willing to shine a light on it or an FBI office and U.S. Attorney's Office that will investigate and prosecute the crimes as there has been in Chicago.

I'm not surprised at Rezko's reluctance to talk about the bribes he paid to Obama. "In a wide-ranging telephone interview from prison with the Chicago Sun-Times on Wednesday, Rezko refused to talk about his former friend who went on to be elected president," Korecki writes. Rezko hopes to get out of prison alive and not be rubbed out like Chris Kelly, who only the naive believe decided to end his life by swallowing rat poisoning.  The Sun-Times has an audio clip of part of Korecki's interview with Rezko here. It doesn't include any questions she tried to ask the convicted political fixer about his relationship with Obama.

Blago Can't Sleep Without Drinking, Now You Know

Yesterday, I told you about how convicted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich asked and was granted permission by federal district court Judge James Zagel to enter a drug rehab program for federal prison inmates that allows them to shave time off their prison sentence. That Blagojevich had a substance abuse problem came as a surprise to many. His attorney didn't even know what it was. The Sun-Times' Michael Sneed finds the answer. It turns out Blago can't sleep without drinking.

Hmmmm. Is former Gov. Rod Blagojevich actually addicted to a substance requiring a prison rehab program?

A top Blago source tells Sneed the answer is “Yes” and the substance is . . . alcohol.

“It’s not drugs,” said the source.

◆ The backshot: “Rod can’t sleep without drinking,” the source said. “So he drinks himself into a condition to do so, and it became an addiction. Considering what he has been through for the past few years, it became a problem. He’s not addicted to sleeping pills or anything like that.”

◆ Fact: Federal Judge James Zagel, the judge who sentenced him to 14 years in jail on corruption charges, has also recommended a prison rehab program.

◆ Fact check: Considering good behavior, Blago would serve 12 of his 14 years; then subtract another year for going through the nine-month rehab program. He’d also serve the last six months of his sentence in a halfway house.

◆ Translation: Blago could be out of prison in 101/2 years.

It looks like Blago followed the advice of the former Ryan administration official official, Scott Fawell, to a tee.

Blago Uses A Drug Problem As An Excuse To Shorten Prison Term

I've read countless stories dissecting the character of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich trying to explain why he went on a criminal spree that led to his impeachment, removal from office and ultimately his conviction and 14-year sentence for his crimes. Nowhere until today have I read any story suggesting that Blagojevich, an avid jogger and health nut, had a drug dependency problem. Yet, the same federal judge who handed down his hefty sentence has signed off on allowing Blagojevich to be enrolled in a drug rehab program for federal prison inmates that allows them to shorten their time in the slammer. His own attorney, by the way, doesn't even know what drug he was abusing and acknowledges there is no documented history of drug abuse. From the Sun-Times:

The same federal judge who sentenced Rod Blagojevich to one of the longest corruption sentences in Illinois history has recommended a prison rehab program for the ex-governor that could help shave time off his staggering 14-year sentence.

U.S. District Judge James Zagel, referencing a report from the U.S. Probation Department, on Tuesday recommended that Blagojevich be placed in the U.S. Bureau of Prisons Residential Drug Abuse Program, said the former governor’s lawyer, Shelly Sorosky.

But Sorosky said he didn’t know what type of drug or alcohol use Blagojevich would be treated for if the 55-year-old is found qualified for the program.

Known as “RDAP,” the program aims to help inmates with substance abuse issues — including drugs or alcohol. Zagel’s recommendation is only that — it would be up to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to determine if Blagojevich qualifies.

“Probation said he may be a ripe candidate for it and Judge Zagel said [to the bureau of prisons] ‘consider him for it,’ ” Sorosky said.

A prisons spokesman told the Sun-Times last week there typically has to be a documented history of abuse for an inmate to qualify.

Sorosky said there is documentation.

It's interesting that last week the Sun-Times ran a story quoting Scott Fawell, a high-ranking member of Gov. George Ryan's administration who did time in federal prison and cooperated with the feds in putting away his former boss, advising Blagojevich to fabricate a drug problem in order to shave time off his prison sentence as he had done:

Scott Fawell, the former chief of staff of a different convicted governor, George Ryan, is offering a tip on how Rod Blagojevich can cut his lengthy 14-year sentence.

The former governor may be able to make a request with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to take part in a substance abuse program.

Fawell said that’s what he did before going into prison.

“What you do is say that in between the time you’re sentenced and the time you report, you just couldn’t stop drinking,” Fawell said.

It shaved time off of Fawell’s 78-month sentence he received for corruption that happened while he worked for Ryan. He went through a nine-month program in prison, then got six months off in a halfway house plus one year of credit for doing the program. That’s on top of time off for good behavior.

“I didn’t want to do it at first. I said: ‘I’m going to save a little shred of dignity,’ ” he said. “But it’s the only game in town. It’s the only way you can get time off” in the federal system.

 Maybe Lincoln Plowman has a drinking problem too, eh? No wait, he doesn't drink alcohol. That won't work.

Blagojevich Gets 14-Year Sentence

Daley and Obama can count their blessings that their crimes equally as bad as Blagojevich's are getting a pass by the Feds

U.S. District Court Judge James Zagel ignored disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's plea for mercy at his sentencing hearing today. Zagel sentenced the impeached governor for his conviction for various political corruption charges to 14 years in a federal prison. According to the Sun-Times, federal guidelines will require Blagojevich to serve at least 85% of that time behind bars, or just under 12 years. The ex-governor, who will turn 55 on Saturday, will have to surrender to begin serving his sentence on February 15, 2012. Zagel said of his sentence:

"I believe he did, in fact, accept [responsibility],” U.S. District Judge James Zagel said in announcing how long Blagojevich should spend in prison after being convicted of 18 corruption charges that included attempting to sell or trade an appointment to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the election of President Barack Obama.

But the judge said the entire state suffered from his actions.

“When it is the governor who goes bad, the fabric of Illinois is torn and disfigured and not easily or quickly repaired,” Zagel said. “You did that damage.” In deciding the sentence, the judge said he had given credit to Blagojevich for accepting responsibility for his crimes in remarks made Wednesday morning.

“It’s clear he is not blaming” the people around him, said Zagel, adding that he also gave Blagojevich credit for his work on behalf of children while governor in creating the state’s All Kids health-care program.

Referring to comments from Blagojevich’s lawyers in asking for a sentence of no more than 3½ years, Zagel said: “I don’t doubt his devotion to children, but this is not ... exceptional, in my own experience. I see case after case where good fathers are bad citizens. There is no question that the innocent children of felons suffer. This is tragic, but, as he admits, the fault of this lies with the defendant alone. Now, it is too late.
“If it is any consolation to his children, he does not stand convicted of being a bad father.”

But Zagel noted the damage caused by Blagojevich “is not measured in the value of money and property. The harm is the erosion of the public trust in government; [people’s] confidence in and trust in government.”

Blagojevich will join former Gov. George Ryan in the ranks of former Illinois governors sent to prison for crimes they committed either in office or out of office. Ryan is currently serving a 6 1/2-year sentence in the Terre Haute federal penetentiary. Former Illinois Gov. Dan Walker served time back in the 1980s for crimes associated with his management of a savings and loan institution after he left the governor's office. Blagojevich also received a $20,000 fine for his crimes.

Obama Pal And Benefactor Tony Rezko Gets 10 1/2 Years For Crimes Against Illinois Taxpayers

Obama and Daley having a laugh at Blagovich's expense before he knew their plan to pin all the blame on him

Convicted political fixer Tony Rezko, who was once one of Barack Obama's closest friends and top political advisers, received a sentence of 10 1/2 years for conspiring with former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and others to cheat Illinois taxpayers. Rezko has remained locked up in jail for the past four years by federal prosecutors and never called as a witness in the high profile prosecutions of his co-conspirators in an effort to protect Obama from damning disclosures Rezko could make about his corrupt relationship with the nation's most powerful politician, including how he helped Obama purchase his dream house on Chicago's south side when he was short the cash he needed to purchase the multi-million dollar mansion. Reading news reports today on Rezko's sentencing you would get the impression Rezko was just another guy in the neighborhood Obama once knew. Rezko's lawyers wanted him released for time served, but a federal judge instead meted out a stiff sentence for him. From the Sun-Times:

A federal judge sentenced Tony Rezko to 10 1/2 years in prison Tuesday, describing his actions under Rod Blagojevich’s tenure as “selfish and corrupt.”

Rezko, 56, has already served about 44 months. His daughter burst into tears at hearing the sentence.

U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve said she found it offensive that Rezko put at risk the Teachers’ Retirement System by scheming for kickbacks with a board member in 2004.

“You put their retirements at risk for your own greed and your own thirst for power,” St. Eve said.

A pale, thin Rezko gave a brief statement before he learned his sentence, saying “there are no words to describe the pain and regret,” he carries and the amount of suffering his family has endured. He apologized to the court and to his family.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Niewoehner said Rezko’s conduct was severe and included scheming with former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and others to control state deals so they could make money off of it.

“That’s about as bad as it can get in a political corruption case,” he said. “Illinois was for sale at the very top levels of our government.” Rezko’s attorney, Joseph Duffy, said his client would never commit a crime again  . . .

Rezko, a former top fund-raiser to Blagojevich and a onetime friend to President Barack Obama, volunteered to go to jail in 2008 immediately after his conviction on 16 of 24 counts of corruption, including fraud, money laundering and plotting to squeeze $7 million in kickbacks from firms that wanted to do business with the state during Blagojevich’s tenure . . .

Gee, you would never know that Rezko's introduction to the Blagojevich corruption ring was made by none other than Barack Obama, the expansive role Obama and Rahm Emanuel played in plotting the election of Blagojevich to the governor's office, or that Obama was an active participant in the scheming and dealing behind the scenes after Blagojevich's election to put Obama's top contributors, too, on state boards and commissions to help steer state business to Obama's friends. Yep, it was just all those dirty white Chicago guys engaged in all of the political corruption. The One had no part of it. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago made sure the truth about Obama's role in the Chicago corruption ring would never see the light of day to smooth his ascension to the presidency as planned out by the New World Order masters, phony narrative and all.

You can thank the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago for the wrath Obama has brought on the working men and women of America since his election three years ago. But at least his campaign bundlers are getting very rich at your expense the same way they did during his time back in Illinois prior to his election. That's because the Chicago Way is now the American Way.

UPDATE: American Thinker's Rick Moran wonders if anyone in the media will even bother to ask Obama to comment on the sentence his long-time friend received:

Barack Obama fundraiser gets 10 1/2 years.

But you'd never know that from reading the story in the Chicago Tribune. The name "Barack Obama" appears nowhere in this story reporting on the sentence received by one of the key figures in Obama's life - a man who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for his state senate and US senate runs, who introduced him to movers and shakers in the shadowy world of big money real estate wheelers and dealers, and who befriended him on numerous occassions, including the favor he did him when he purchased the lot next door to his current home.

Will anyone even ask Obama for a statement on the fate that has befallen his former friend?

Ex-Rezko Partner Told Federal Investigators Of Payments To Obama

The more I learn about the federal government's investigation of political fixer Tony Rezko and his associates, the more convinced I am that the federal government conspired to keep damaging information about Barack Obama's relationship with Rezko under wraps while penning all the blame on former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was not nearly as close to Rezko as Obama. There's an item in the Sun-Times today about a former Rezko business partner, Daniel Frawley, who was convicted for bank fraud arising out of his failed efforts to open a training security facility for Iraqi security forces in western Illinois, that further bolsters that view. Frawley, who is facing 35 years in prison for his crimes, is getting help from federal prosecutors in urging a lesser sentence for him because he supposedly cooperated in the case against Rezko. Keep in mind that Rezko never testified at either trial of Blagojevich despite the critical role his corrupt activities played in nabbing the former governor.

Frawley is suing his former lawyer, George Weaver, for legal malpractice. He claims Weaver attempted to get him to withhold certain information from government investigators while he was cooperating with them in their investigation of Rezko. Frawley secretly recorded several meetings he had with Rezko at the request of federal investigators. Frawley tells of a meeting with federal authorities where he was calling Rezko on his cell phone to keep a planned luncheon meeting with him when Weaver came running into the room to tell him to cut the phone conversation. In a deposition for his civil lawsuit against Weaver, Frawley says he was instructed by his attorney not to discuss the issue when he was questioned about Weaver trying to prevent him from telling federal authorities about payments he allegedly knew Rezko had made to Obama.

“I was on the phone, making a phone call to Tony Rezko,” Frawley says, according to the transcript. “I had a luncheon engagement with him. George was outside of the room where I was making the telephone call, and the purpose of the call was for me to keep my luncheon engagement with Tony Rezko and to go over and to record Tony Rezko.

“George saw and heard me on the phone, came running in and went like this [demonstrating]: Cut it,” drawing his hand across his throat.

Later in the deposition, Weaver’s lawyer, Daniel F. Konicek, asks Frawley about what specific information Weaver is supposed to have told Frawley to withhold from federal authorities.

“I’m assuming the information is about the payments made by Rezko to Obama, so we know we’re talking about the right conversation, right?” Konicek asks Frawley.

Frawley doesn’t answer. So Konicek presses him: “Am I correct it was about Obama being paid by Rezko?”

Frawley replies: “I’m not answering that question, based upon my attorney’s instructions.”

Nobody directly involved with the deposition — including Frawley and his lawyers, Weaver and his lawyers, and the FBI and U.S. attorney’s office — would comment.

Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for Obama’s presidential campaign, called Konicek’s suggestion that Rezko might have made any cash payments to Obama “utter nonsense.”

Besides the Rezko-Obama issue, Konicek also asks Frawley during the deposition, without any explanation, about “the $1.5 million from Rezko.”

One of Frawley’s lawyers objects to the question, and there’s no explanation about what Konicek is talking about.

At Rezko’s trial in 2008, Rezko’s lawyers disclosed in a court filing that federal authorities had accused Rezko of paying a $1.5 million bribe to obtain the security-training contract from the Iraqi government. Rezko’s lawyers then called that allegation completely false. Prosecutors have declined to comment.

So we know federal prosecutors knew Rezko had been accused of paying a $1.5 million bribe to help Frawley obtain the security-training contract, and they knew Rezko had been accused of making payments to Obama. The Iraqi bribe issue was never prosecuted in the government's case against Rezko where he was convicted on multiple criminal charges related to his influence pedding within the administration of Blagojevich. The federal government never pursued the investigation of payments being made to Obama. Rezko helped Obama with the purchase of his southside mansion on which he got a discounted mortgage from Northern Trust Bank, the same bank that received $1.6 billion in federal bailout money and came under criticism for blowing money on lavish parties in L.A. We also know that Rezko hosted a 2004 reception in his Wilmette home for a corrupt Iraqi businessman, Nadhmir Auchi, who wired $3.5 million to Rezko in 2005 at which Barack and Michelle were in attendance. Yes, Barack Obama can thank corrupt federal investigators for covering up his criminal activity with Rezko so he could be elected president while Blagojevich is headed to prison and his corrupt benefactor, Rezko, has been locked up in prison for years following his conviction. Blagojevich frequently complained during his trial that evidence concerning Obama, including recorded conversatons, had been blocked by federal prosecutors and the federal judge in his case.

Blagojevich Found Guity On 17 Of 20 Charges

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been found guilty on 17 of 20 counts of public corruption charges by a federal jury made up of 10 female jurors and one male juror. A jury last year reached only one verdict of guilt on a charge of lying to federal investigators and failed to reach a decision on more than two dozen other charges. The conviction includes charges related to efforts by the former governor to sell the Senate seat then being vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. From the Sun-Times:

The jury of 11 women and one man deliberated for nine days before finding Blagojevich guilty on all but three of the charges he faced at his second trial, adding another chapter to the state’s long history of wrongdoing by public officials.

The jury forewoman — a Naperville resident who is a retired director of music and liturgy at a church — said jurors were sending a message with their verdict about the state of politics in Illinois.

A second juror said Blagojevich’s personality, on display when he testified in his own defense, made it harder to convict him.

“I think because he was personable, it made it hard to separate [that] from what we had to do as jurors,” that juror said.

“We had to put aside whether we liked him or didn’t like him and just go by the evidence presented to us.”

The entire jury appeared, together, in a courtroom made available so they could talk with reporters. All spoke without identifying themselves, and the judge hasn’t released the jury list yet.

“It was very difficult,” another juror said. “Many times, we had to keep re-voting.”

That juror said that indecision was on a “mixture of all” the counts.

A fourth juror said of the testimony: “At times, I felt it was manipulative. I would rather just hear facts.”

People should be reminded that the allegations that originally spawned the federal investigation grew out of Blagojevich's corrupt ties to convicted political fixer Tony Rezko, who had intimate ties to Barack Obama and is currently serving a very long prison sentence. Rezko not only raised a large amount of cash for Obama's campaign committees, he also helped with the purchase of Obama's southside mansion at a time the Obamas did not have near the wealth and fame they enjoy today thanks to his successful, historic presidential bid. Obama and Emanuel were active participants in the Blagojevich administration's stacking of state boards and commissions with their Pay To Play pals. The government refused to put Rezko on the stand to prove any of the charges despite the fact that he played a critical role in the government's case against the former governor on charges unrelated to the attempt to sell Obama's senate seat. Government prosecutors successfully blocked efforts by Blagojevich's attorneys to disclose potentially damaging taped conversations Blagojevich had with both Obama and Emanuel concerning the senate seat appointment. The government also blocked Blagojevich's recorded conversations that attributed nefarious activities to them.

Although the guity verdicts allow for sentencing of up to 300 years, Blagojevich is likely to receive a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison. He could very well join his predecessor, former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, who is currently serving a 6-year prison sentence at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute. A federal judge blocked efforts by Ryan's attorneys for an early release because of the failing health of his wife. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald rejected Blagojevich's claim that he was simply practicing the same political maneuvers that many other politicians practice:

Fitzgerald bristled at the defense’s contention that Blagojevich had been engaging in politics as usual, rather than committing a crime, when “he tried to sell a Senate seat and shake people down.”

“That’s not politics as usual,” Fitzgerald said. “That’s a crime.”

 It is absolutely the truth that Fitzgerald and federal prosecutors have practiced selective prosecution of political corruption. There have been plenty of accounts detailing the public corruption practiced by former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, then-Senator Barack Obama and then-U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel. Fitzgerald exercised prosecutorial discretion not to charge those men with crimes that were equally as offensive to the public as the crimes committed by Blagojevich. Fitzgerald also gave U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson a pass on his indirect role in attempting to buy the senate seat appointment by having his supporters meet with representatives of Blagojevich and to have them begin steps to raise $1.5 million in campaign contributions for Blagojevich.