Chicago Sun-Times

Cellini juror runs from courtroom: ‘Leave me alone!’

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:06:29 -0600

A juror at the trial of convicted Springfield businessman William Cellini — a longtime behind-the-scenes power broker in Illinois politics — said Friday she doesn’t know why she lied during jury selection about having two criminal convictions. Candy Chiles answered questions from U.S. District Judge James Zagel during a hearing Friday. Cellini’s attorneys are seeking a new trial, saying Chile’s convictions disqualified her from jury service.

Judge calls effort to get new trial for Blagojevich ‘harebrained’

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 08:07:33 -0600

A judge Monday denied a request by impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s attorneys to have an emergency hearing on a juror’s potential misconduct, calling the request “harebrained.”

Blago lawyers seek new trial, allege jury foreperson broke court rules

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:11:21 -0600

Defense attorneys for convicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich are asking a federal judge for an emergency hearing to find out if the jury foreperson broke court rules and improperly has a copy of her own questionnaire. If so, Blagojevich deserves a new trial, his defense attorneys argue. Citing media reports, the defense lawyers contend that the foreperson, Connie Wilson, of Naperville, recently made a presentation to students at a high school in Aurora, in which she referenced the questionnaire she and other potential jurors had to fill out. The defense attorneys, in a motion filed Friday, note that no one …

Blagojevich gets another month till he must report to prison

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 08:11:09 -0600

A federal judge in Chicago agreed Tuesday to delay the start of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s prison term by one month to give Blagojevich time to help his family move to a new home.

Rod Blagojevich’s Facebook message: Happy New Year, we will persevere

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:12:07 -0600

Rod Blagojevich, scheduled to report to federal prison this year after being sentenced to 14 years for corruption while governor, wished his supporters a happy new year on his wife’s Facebook page Sunday. “Patti and I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year. We want to thank you for your unwavering support, for your good wishes, for your prayers and for your continued belief in me. I cannot properly express to you how much your support means to us. “These are dark and extremely challenging times for our family. Patti, Amy, Annie and I draw strength from …

‘Sorry’ Blagojevich gets 14-year prison sentence

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:12:50 -0600

Disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in prison after he made a final plea for leniency, acknowledging his guilt and saying, “I am unbelievably sorry. ... I have nobody to blame but myself for my stupidity and actions.”

Political reaction: No joy, but Blagojevich had it coming

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 21:55:22 -0600

SPRINGFIELD — From Rod Blagojevich’s former Republican rival to the Democrat who helped drive his impeachment, Illinois’ political elite pitied the ex-governor’s children Wednesday but agreed his stiff prison sentence was deserved. “Justice was served by the sentence meted out by the judge today,” Gov. Pat Quinn told reporters. “It’s very regrettable what happened to Rod Blagojevich as governor. The jury spoke and so did the judge today. I think the people of Illinois . . . feel let down. I was his running mate, and I think he let me down like he let down the people of Illinois. …

Judge recommends prison drug rehab for Rod Blagojevich

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:31:02 -0600

A judge has agreed to recommend that former Gov. Rod Blagojevich be put into a prison drug rehab when he begins his 14-year sentence for corruption. Blago’s lawyer says it stems from a confidential report from probation officials — and didn’t know what he would be treated for if accepted into the program.

Blagojevich unlikely to land in ‘Club Fed’

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:15:51 -0600

Most people think corrupt politicians get to spend their prison time in cushy confines, referring to it as “Club Fed.” But because of Rod Blagojevich’s lengthy sentence prison sentence of 14 years, it’s highly unlikely he will initially qualify for a prison camp – the most relaxed security facility available in the federal system. Blagojevich will likely end up in a low-security prison, said Jeffrey Steinback, known as a sentencing expert. Some possibilities, he said, are in Milan, Michigan; Sandstone, Minnesota, and Englewood, Colorado. None are in the state. “They’re not really built for convenience,” Steinback said. Blagojevich must report …

Former gov’s corruption case changed a lot of other lives

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:28:58 -0600

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is headed to prison after a federal judge sentenced him Wednesday to 14 years. He’s not the only one impacted by the federal probe that led to his conviction. Here’s a look at some of the others caught up in the investigation: Tony Rezko: A onetime political fund-raiser to the ex-governor, as well as politicians like Barack Obama. Serving a 10½-year sentence for plotting to take kickbacks while acting as a top Blagojevich adviser. Rezko was convicted at his 2008 trial and later cooperated with prosecutors but was never called to testify. Christopher Kelly: The …

Fawell’s tip to Blagojevich: Cut time off sentence with prison rehab

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 08:27:59 -0600

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 …

Robert Blagojevich’s tears for his brother: ‘It’s just grossly unfair’

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 08:29:39 -0600

Robert Blagojevich said he’s cried three times in the last 25 years. When his mother died. When his father died. And when he heard his brother, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, had been sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Airline has Blagojevich-themed ‘Slammer Sale’

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 08:25:29 -0600

It didn’t take Spirit Airlines long to capitalize on Rod Blagojevich’s 14-year prison sentence. The Florida-based airline, which flies out of O’Hare Airport, is now offering a “Slammer Sale,” featuring $14 one-way airfares. The ads show an Illinois license plate with Abraham Lincoln in the center. Honest Abe is sporting a decidely Blago-like hairstyle. The ads announce: “You don’t have to live in the big house for these fares” and “hurry . . . you don’t want to get convicted for missing this seat-selling sale.” …

Juror on sentence: ‘It was a good amount of time’

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:14:47 -0600

The judge nailed it, said jurors who heard the evidence against Rod Blagojevich. Not only was the 14-year prison term appropriate, but the reasoning U.S. District Judge James Zagel used in coming up with the punishment answered a lot of questions, said Naperville’s Connie Wilson, the forewoman of Blagojevich’s 2011 retrial. “It was just refreshing to know that things going through his head were things we had talked about in deliberation and things we could not discount,” she said. Juror John McParland of Villa Park said he was pleased to hear Blagojevich’s apologies, “but hopefully they’re true. Kimberly Spaetti of …

Excerpts from Blagojevich’s statement: ‘I am just so incredibly sorry’

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:22:27 -0600

“I want to thank your honor for giving me this opportunity. I have a tendency sometimes to speak before I think. I’ve had plenty of time over the past several months to do a lot of thinking, reflecting about all that’s happened and all the things that have led up to me being in here before your honor, not being anywhere near places I dreamed of and hoped I would one day be.” ◆ ◆ ◆ “I’m here convicted of crimes. The jury decided that I was guilty. I am accepting of it. I acknowledge it. And I, of course, …

Excerpts from Zagel’s sentencing: ‘The fabric of Illinois is torn’

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:17:30 -0600

“His abuse of the office of governor … is more damaging than the abuse of any other office in the United States except president.” ◆ ◆ ◆ “In the end, his defense morphed into a claim that he did not believe his proposals were ‘quid pro quo’ … The jury did not believe him and neither do I.” ◆ ◆ ◆ “Every governor, even our worst, helps someone and does good things for people. You never actually know whether that comes from personal commitment or from a calculation for political benefit. In my calculus, it doesn’t matter … I do …

Keeping score: How much time past pols got

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:19:59 -0600

Three of the longest sentences ever handed down to corrupt Illinois politicians went to judges snared in the Operation Greylord probe of judicial corruption and its successor investigations. † Judge Reginald J. Holzer: convicted in 1986 of shaking down lawyers and real estate dealers, initially received the longest sentence of any judge — 18 years in prison, but he was later re-sentenced to 13 years. He served four years in Oxford, Wis. † Judge Thomas J. Maloney: convicted in 1993 of fixing murder cases, was sentenced to 15 years and 9 months, and served 13 years, most of them in …

Blagojevich arrives home to questions, support: ‘You can do it, man!’

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:14:31 -0600

A noisy news helicopter hovered high overhead. Reporters, photographers and cameramen jammed the street around the former governor and his wife. A small group of well-wishers pushed close. One woman, who identified herself as a breast cancer survivor, was in tears. “I went through chemo, radiation, my brother was in Joliet. You can do it, man!” she cried out, referring to the state prison in the southwestern suburbs. It was yet another surreal scene Wednesday on West Sunnyside in the Ravenswood Manor neighborhood. Rod Blagojevich and his wife Patti had just returned in a dark Chrysler 300 to their Northwest …