Politics
Lawyers Panel
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald says the people of Illinois are vindicated by the Blagojevich verdict. We hear from Carol Marin and her panel of legal experts on today's historic verdict and discuss what's next for the convicted former governor.
Politics
Blagojevich Trial Verdict
Jurors in the Rod Blagojevich corruption retrial have found the former Illinois governor guilty on 17 counts, not guilty on 1 count and were hung on 2 counts.
The counts included wire fraud, extortion, bribery, conspiracy to commit extortion and conspiracy to solicit bribes. The 20 counts involved five schemes: the marquee allegation of attempting to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat; shaking down Children's Memorial Hospital; shaking down the Illinois Road Builders Association; attempting to extort a race track owner; and attempting to extort then-Congressman Rahm Emanuel.
The following is a list of those schemes alleged by the prosecution with corresponding counts below. Next to each count, you can see how the jury voted.
To hear FBI recordings and read transcripts corresponding to each count, visit Chicago Tonight's "Breakdown of the Alleged Shakedowns" page.
U.S. SENATE SEAT
Rod Blagojevich is accused of trying to use his power as governor to appoint a U.S. Senator in exchange for something of personal value, i.e. an appointment as Secretary of Health and Human Services, a job with a not-for-profit 501c4 organization, or campaign contributions. Blagojevich never received any of these.
Count 2 - Wire Fraud [cf]voteGuilty[/cf]
Count 3 - Wire Fraud [cf]voteGuilty[/cf]
Count 4 - Wire Fraud [cf]voteGuilty[/cf]
Count 5 - Wire Fraud [cf]voteGuilty[/cf]
Count 6 - Wire Fraud [cf]voteGuilty[/cf]
Count 7 - Wire Fraud [cf]voteGuilty[/cf]
Count 8 - Wire Fraud [cf]voteGuilty[/cf]
Count 10 - Wire Fraud [cf]voteGuilty[/cf]
Count 18 - Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud [cf]voteGuilty[/cf]
Count 19 - Attempted Extortion [cf]voteGuilty[/cf]
Count 20 - Conspiracy to Accept Bribes [cf]voteGuilty[/cf]
CHILDREN'S MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
Rod Blagojevich is accused of holding up a rate increase for pediatricians at Children's Memorial Hospital, until the CEO of Children's, Patrick Magoon, held a Blagojevich fundraiser to raise $25,000. The fundraiser was never held.
Count 1 - Wire Fraud [cf]voteGuilty[/cf]
Count 12 - Attempted Extortion [cf]voteGuilty[/cf]
Count 13 - Soliciting Bribes [cf]voteGuilty[/cf]
RACE TRACKS
Rod Blagojevich is accused of holding up the signing of a bill giving race tracks a portion of casino revenues until the CEO of the Balmoral and Maywood race tracks, John Johnston, made a $100,000 campaign contribution. Johnston never made a contribution.
Count 9 - Wire Fraud [cf]voteGuilty[/cf]
Count 14 - Conspiracy to Commit Extortion [cf]voteGuilty[/cf]
Count 15 - Conspiracy to Solicit and Accept Bribes [cf]voteGuilty[/cf]
ROAD BUILDERS
Rod Blagojevich is accused of dangling the possibility of a multi-billion dollar road building program in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to be raised by former Road Builders Association Chief Gerald Krozel. The money was never raised.
Count 16 - Attempted Extortion [cf]voteNoVerdict[/cf]
Count 17 - Soliciting Bribes [cf]voteNotGuilty[/cf]
ACADEMY FOR URBAN SCHOOL LEADERSHIP
Rod Blagojevich is accused of holding up a grant to the Academy for Urban School Leadership unless then-Congressman Rahm Emanuel's brother, Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel, held a fundraiser for Blagojevich. The fundraiser was never held.
Count 11 - Attempted Extortion [cf]voteNoVerdict[/cf]
The Week in Review
The Week in Review with Joel Weisman
This week on Chicago Tonight: The Week in Review, newly released 911 tapes add even more controversy to the Memorial Day beach closings. The city's war on gangs nets 120 arrests as the top cop, Garry McCarthy, has vowed to "obliterate" them. The new school board approves hefty executive pay hikes as salary-slashed teachers protest, and CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard suggests teachers visit students' homes. An old court order from the Council Wars protects Ald. Ed Burke's controversial 24-7 police detail. ComEd is still reeling from the storm blackouts. And in sports, empty seats and off-network coverage spells trouble for the Cubs and White Sox for the once red-hot Crosstown Classic inter-league series.
Guests:
- Mike Flannery, Fox News Chicago
- David Greising, Chicago News Cooperative
- Mary Mitchell, Chicago Sun-Times
- Lou Canellis, Fox News Chicago
More on the Story:
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Viewer Mail
We hear what you had to say about recent stories when we read some of our viewer mail.
Ask Geoffrey
Ask Geoffrey
Geoffrey Baer takes us to the former sites of both the Cubs and White Sox ballparks in this week's edition of Ask Geoffrey.
Cultural Connections
Cultural Connections: Playwright David Henry Hwang
The play is called "Chinglish" and its author is the Tony-award winning writer of the acclaimed "M. Butterfly." Eddie Arruza talks with David Henry Hwang about his latest play, which receives its world premiere at the Goodman Theatre on Monday.
Arts & Entertainment
Steven Petrow on Gay Manners
With civil unions here in Illinois now, Steven Petrow, the author of the Complete Gay and Lesbian Manners: The Definitive Guide to LGBT Life, gives us some etiquette tips.
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