Rod Blagojevich, former Illinois governor, found guilty of corruption

Blagojevich, who was forced from office in 2009, faces 20 years in jail after being convicted of trying to sell Obama’s Senate seat Rod Blagojevich, the former governor of Illinois and one-time presidential aspirant, has been found guilty of trying to sell president Barack Obama’s old Senate seat. After 10 days of deliberation, a Chicago jury found Blagojevich guilty on 17 counts , including fraud, attempted extortion and bribery. He was acquitted of another bribery charge, and the jury was undecided on charges of attempted extortion. An earlier trial had ended in a deadlock. Blagojevich, 54, is the son of a steel worker from Serbia. He trained as a lawyer and married into one of Chicago’s most politically connected families, rising rapidly to become a star of the local Democratic party. Former aides say he once saw himself as a presidential contender. Two years ago Blagojevich was arrested on corruption charges following an investigation — codenamed Operation Board Games — launched just months after he took office. Under Illinois state law the governor was required to name a senator to replace Obama after his election to the presidency in November 2008. Tipped off about his plans, federal agents recorded hundreds of hours of expletive-filled tapes in which Blagojevich discussed what he wanted in exchange for the seat. The governor, commonly known as Blago, was recorded on tape saying Obama’s former senate seat was “a valuable thing – you don’t just give it away for nothing.” He said that unless he got “something real good” he would take the seat himself. The recordings also led to the charges of swapping state funds for campaign donations and attempting to intimidate the Chicago Tribune into sacking writers who had criticised him. Blagojevich said that his intention was to use the seat as leverage to pass legislation that would have benefited the residents of Illinois and not himself. A father of two, he now faces up to 20 years in jail. Blagojevich is the second consecutive Illinois governor to be convicted of corruption, and the fourth governor jailed in recent history. Former governor George Ryan is currently serving a six-and-a-half-year sentence. A University of Illinois study calculated that corruption in politics costs the state $300m (£188m) a year. Rod Blagojevich Illinois US politics United States Barack Obama Dominic Rushe guardian.co.uk

Posted by on June 27, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.