Illinois

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Blago Guilty on 1 Count: Lying to FBI

Jury can't decide on 23 others; feds will retry him

(Newser) - A federal jury has found ex-Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich guilty of one count of lying to federal agents. The jury could not reach a decision on the other 23 counts after two weeks of deliberations, and the judge said he intends to declare a mistrial on them. Federal prosecutors say...

Blago Jurors Have Settled on Only 2 Counts

Judge wants them to keep deliberating

(Newser) - The Rod Blagojevich jury continues to be stuck: On its 12th day of deliberations, jurors informed the judge that they've settled on only two counts (it's not clear which ones), remain deadlocked on 11 others, and haven't even begun deliberating the remaining 11 related to wire fraud charges. The judge...

Blagojevich Jury: We're Stumped

Jurors tell judge they're deadlocked on some counts

(Newser) - If you were locked in a room for 11 days talking about nothing but Rod Blagojevich, you'd probably be a little confused, too. The jurors in his corruption case told the judge today they can't reach agreement on some of the 24 counts against him and wondered what they should...

Ex-Congressman Dan Rostenkowski Dead
 Ex-Congressman 
 Dan Rostenkowski Dead 
obituary
Aug 11, 2010 12:24 PM CDT

Ex-Congressman Dan Rostenkowski Dead

Chaired tax committee but got ensnared in scandal

(Newser) - Former Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, the Chicago Democrat who became the leading architect of congressional tax policy in the Reagan era but later went to federal prison for corruption, died today at age 82. As House Ways and Means Committee chairman, Rostenkowski was known as a consensus builder and a master...

Blago Lawyer's Closing: My Client's an Idiot

Prosecutor rejects 'not the sharpest knife in drawer' defense

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich’s defense attorney took an odd tack in his closing argument yesterday, arguing, basically, that the governor had been too stupid to do anything but follow the advice of his staff. “He ain’t corrupt,” and he “never intended to bribe or extort anyone,”...

Blago Lawyer Walks Off the Job

After dispute over closing argument, Sam Adam Jr. departs

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich's lawyer left a federal courthouse in Chicago today without delivering his closing argument after the judge threatened to cite him for contempt of court, the Tribune reports . Sam Adam Jr. wanted to tell jurors about witnesses the government didn't call and planned to contend that their testimony would...

Town May Outlaw Eye-Rolling
 Town May Outlaw Eye-Rolling 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jul 24, 2010 7:00 PM CDT

Town May Outlaw Eye-Rolling

Really. It may be considered 'disorderly conduct.'

(Newser) - If you find yourself annoyed while visiting Elmhurst, Illinois, think twice before rolling your eyes. Officials are debating a “disturbance and disorderly conduct” violation that includes eye-rolling, TribLocal.com reports. It all started when a resident was ejected from a public committee meeting after rolling her eyes and, as...

Backers Push Good Samaritan Law to Save Drug Users

911 callers don't risk arrest themselves

(Newser) - Good Samaritan laws are designed to make sure people who OD on drugs get help. The idea is to shield callers to 911 who report someone in trouble from getting arrested themselves, Newsweek reports in a look at the push for the laws. So far, Washington state and New Mexico...

'Senator Oprah' Sounded Good to Blago

Then-gov considered media titan to succeed Obama as senator

(Newser) - As Rod Blagojevich considered possible successors to Barack Obama as US senator from Illinois, he came up with one name "no one can assail": Oprah Winfrey. As the former governor's corruption trial dragged on today in Chicago, prosecutors played a tape from December 2008—after Obama confidant Valerie Jarrett...

Blago's Lawyer: 'The Guy Ain't Corrupt!&quot; He's a Dupe!
Blago's Lawyer: 'The Guy Ain't Corrupt!' He's a Dupe!
trial opener
Jun 9, 2010 8:24 AM CDT

Blago's Lawyer: 'The Guy Ain't Corrupt!' He's a Dupe!

He was taken in by 'the Bernie Madoff of Chicago,' Tony Rezko

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich is an honest man who "didn't take a dime" of illegal money and simply trusted the wrong people to handle his fundraising, the former Illinois governor's attorney said yesterday in a theatrical opening statement at Blago's corruption trial. "The guy ain't corrupt," said attorney Sam...

Judge Bars Blagojevich From Tweeting in Court

But he can still talk to the press

(Newser) - Geez, now Rod Blagojevich is going to have sit still during his corruption trial. The judge today blocked his perfectly rational plan to issue live tweets from the courtroom, reports the Chicago Tribune . Judge Zagel didn't bar Blagojevich from making his many public statements before and after the proceedings, though...

Cops May Have Found Stacy Peterson

TMZ says Drew spilled the beans to a fellow inmate

(Newser) - In what might be the mother of all jailhouse confessions, TMZ is reporting that Drew Peterson blabbed to a fellow inmate how he killed missing wife Stacy Peterson, and who his accomplice was. The inmate allegedly told cops, who tracked down the accomplice, who took them to private hunting grounds...

Obama Speech Rained Out
 Obama Speech 
 Rained Out 
memorial day
May 31, 2010 2:55 PM CDT

Obama Speech Rained Out

With president in Illinois, Biden lays wreath at Arlington

(Newser) - Driving rain and an electrical storm forced President Obama to cancel his Memorial Day speech today at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Illinois. "A little bit of rain doesn't hurt anybody but we don't want anybody struck by lightning," he told the crowd, which was gathered in an...

Senate Candidate Lied About Navy Award

Rep. Mark Kirk fixes his official bio

(Newser) - These are dangerous times for politicians with war records on their resumes. Republican congressman Mark Kirk of Illinois—a Senate candidate for President Obama's old seat—has admitted that his official bio was wrong in declaring that the Navy once gave him the prestigious Intelligence Officer of the Year Award....

Palin to Girls Team: 'Go Rogue,' Snub Ariz. Boycott

'Them're fighting words,' Palin says of canceled trip

(Newser) - The girls of a suburban Chicago high school basketball team should "go rogue" to get around their school's boycott of Arizona, Sarah Palin urges. "Keeping the girls basketball team off the court for political reasons? Them are fighting words," she told a crowd of 4,000 at...

Chicago-Area Rail Chief Takes Own Life

Beleaguered Philip Pagano steps in front of commuter train

(Newser) - The head of the Chicago area's commuter rail system, who had been placed on leave last week as Metra investigated allegations that he paid himself a $56,000 bonus without authorization, committted suicide this morning—by walking in front of a train from the system he headed. Philip Pagano, 60,...

Alleged Jewel Thief Leaves Trail—in Snow

Police had no trouble following suspect to relative's house

(Newser) - Police in Illinois used a cutting-edge technique to apprehend a suspected jewel thief: They followed his footprints in the snow. When a Des Plaines woman came home Tuesday night to find a man rifling through her jewelry, the culprit fled out her back door, reports the Chicago Tribune . Police arrived...

Illinois' Political Culture Is Even Worse Than NY's

But scandals in both states makes it a close race, notes Gail Collins

(Newser) - Illinois and New York both have such awful political cultures that it's tough to decide which state is the biggest loser, writes Gail Collins. Both states have governors who were forced out by scandals and whose successors are mired in controversy, although at least Eliot Spitzer isn't going to be...

Scandals Force Out Illinois Lt. Gov. Candidate

Chicago pawnbroker was abusive steroid addict, deadbeat dad

(Newser) - Scott Lee Cohen, the Chicago pawnbroker whose surprise primary victory in the Illinois lieutenant governor race was quickly followed by an avalanche of scandalous revelations, has quit the race. Leading Illinois Democrats urged Cohen to drop out after the public learned he'd met a prostitute at a massage therapy spa,...

Illinois Primary Could Muffle Tea Party Buzz

Moderate favored over 2 conservatives in today's Senate vote

(Newser) - If polls prove accurate, moderate Mark Kirk will emerge victorious from today’s Republican Senate primary in Illinois, beating out two more conservative candidates with tea party backing. His victory would put a dent in the tea party panic gripping the GOP, says Talking Points Memo . Republicans in states including...

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